Review of Barbara Albers Jackson’s Rama, The Legend (Los Angeles: Arcana Studio, 2008).
As both a professor of chemistry at Tennessee Tech University and an award-winning screenwriter (for her film Forgotten Son, most recently), Barbara Albers Jackson has already proven herself to be multitalented. Her latest writing project, Rama, The Legend, demonstrates yet another facet of her versatility. It’s a graphic novel.
For those not familiar with this relatively new term, a graphic novel is a comic book thick enough to need a bookmark, according to Pulitzer-prize-winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman.
Rama, The Legend retells the ancient story of Rama, who was first introduced over two thousand years ago in the Ramayana. Rama is a key figure in Hindu culture and religion, the epitome of virtue and a model for righteous living, or dharma. His devotion to truth served as an inspiration for Gandhi during India’s independence movement.
As the perfectly handsome eldest prince of Ayodhya, Rama gains favors from the gods and wins initial fame by singlehandedly defeating an army of demons. Flying monkey warriors, a self-serving stepmother, a shapeshifting temptress, and a floating city all play roles in Jackson’s book. While Rama travels abroad in exile, his profoundly beautiful wife is abducted by Ravana, the ten-headed demon king. The book’s climactic battle is a wild fantasy of arrows that turn into serpents and eagles, invisible flying chariots, and a flying mountain, along with a resurrection or two.
Like most Americans who are not Hindus, I was mostly unfamiliar with Rama’s story before reading Jackson’s book. Some of its elements remind me of Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. When Rama strings the impossibly inflexible Bow of Shiva to win his wife, I think of Odysseus stringing a bow to win back his own estranged wife, Penelope. Late in the story, when a band of Rama’s colleagues fall victim to an enchantress’s temptations to stay in her paradise rather than continue on their quest, I think of Odysseus’s similar delay on Circe’s island. Unlike the hotheaded Odysseus, however, Rama is a model for ideal behavior at all times. The primary value expressed in the story of Rama is honor—behaving honorably and keeping one’s promises and obligations, even at great cost.
While the book’s castles and customs locate the story thousands of years ago, Jackson introduces contemporary elements that freshen the tale for today’s readers. Her wisecracking crow, for example, provides charm and comic relief. Jackson’s strength as a storyteller lies in establishing relationships through dialogue; she builds believable conversations between husband and wife, between family members, and between friends.
Jackson’s collaborator, Ashok Bhadana, provides beautiful, vibrant, color-saturated illustrations to complement the exotic story. The layout of panels helps to showcase the actions on each page, especially during battle scenes. While thin lines provide specific visual details, each scene has an expertly air-brushed, almost three-dimensional quality.
While the story’s plot includes battles, no graphic violence is depicted. This is an all-ages book for anyone who enjoys timeless stories of virtuous behavior, with plenty of fantasy elements. Professor Jackson unveils Rama, The Legend at a book signing at Poets On The Square in Cookeville on Sunday, June 15, from 1:00 to 3:00.
–Tony Baker, Tennessee Tech University Associate Professor of English
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