Over the past decade or so, comic books have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in popularity. And as awesome as that may be, one of my favorite things about this shift is how graphic novels have gained a lot more acceptability as a form of reading material. Even though I’m more of a passing fan of the genre, sticking mostly to the “illustrated classics” like Maus or Persepolis, there’s literally a world of choices out there. But it seems like one of my all-time favorite graphic novels always manages to float beneath the radar, so I’d like to get up on my soapbox and give a well-earned shout-out to Richardo Barreiros’ and Enrique Alcatena’s brilliant production, “Moving Fortress.”
“Moving Fortress” first appeared in Argentina during the 1980s, as a serialized comic in the Spanish-language magazine “Skorpio.” In 1988, the story was turned into a stand-alone graphic novel in English through the assistance of legendary writer Chuck Dixon. It was at least seven or eight years later when I first stumbled across this book in the most inauspicious of locations: the bargain bin of Bop City Comics in Framingham, MA. As a proud Dungeons and Dragons alumnus, the awesome cover art caught my eye immediately, and after only one quick flip through the pages the amazing black-and-white illustrations had me sold. I’m not sure what the original cover price would have been back in 1988, but it was clear that this book was definitely worth at least one of my hard-earned dollars.
The story revolves around a hapless rogue named Bask De Avregaut, who opens the story by recounting some sort of illicit love affair gone wrong, a trist which caused him to flee for his life in a hot air balloon. But after a rough crash-landing, Bask is set upon by the most terrifying of sights— a giant moving fortress, one which is steaming across the desert on a direct course for war! Bask is taken captive, forced to work deep down inside the creation’s fiery furnaces, working night and day to shovel radioactive fuel into the engine. But when a skirmish breaks out, his skill in combat earns him greater responsibility… leading to a pivotal role in the climactic battle!
I can’t remember when exactly I got rid of my copy, but it was probably around the time I left home to matriculate at Clown College. I must’ve passed the copy along to a friend in a box of old comics, so I’m pretty sure the recipient would’ve enjoyed it. And then a decade later, when the traveling circus shipped me off to Iraq for the first time, I passed the time with writing short stories and re-reading some old favorites. It turned out that the secondhand copy of “Moving Fortress” that I’d managed to score off Amazon was just as awesome as I’d remembered… and as an unexpected bonus, I also found a used copy of “Subterra,” the follow-up Bask De Avregaut adventure that I’d never known existed. Great success!
Nearly two years later, at the end of that particular Middle East engagement, the traveling circus was striking the tents and shipping me back home. I was limited to just a pair of footlockers, so I decided to lighten the load by mailing “Moving Fortress” and “Subterra” off to my friend Jason, who’d always enjoyed reading comics. A couple weeks later, Jason sent me back a message through MySpace (remember that?) to let me know that one of the books had actually been autographed by Chuck Dixon, a detail that I’d overlooked completely. And even though Dixon was one of his all-time favorite writers, Jason even offered to send the book back to me, just in case it might be worth something. The way I saw it, though, that copy probably ended up with the right person, someone who was sure to appreciate it. Besides, by that time I was already sketching out the first stories which would become “The Great Game,” drawing heavily on Barreiro and Alcatena’s work for inspiration.
And you know what? This past Christmas, there were a couple of Amazon gift cards tucked down deep in my stocking. And of course, one of the first decisions I made was to pick up replacement copies of “Moving Fortress” and “Subterra,” well over a decade since I’d last owned them. This time, however, I don’t think I’m going to let them go so easily…