The Legend of Memo: the Hierophant (Norman Catherine)

Allan Cameron,Norman Catherine

Published by Orion Children's Books, 1995, softcover, illustrated, ii8 pages, 26 cms x 26 cms, inscription to title page otherwise condition: very good.

Memo is the last elephant in Mutanis, where the evil Gorgon rules by terror. Then, Memo learns of his ancestors the Hierophants and discovers his destiny - to become a Hierophant himself by flying a kite on the Mountain of Dreams. Only through this can Gorgon be destroyed.

The Legend of Memo the Hierophant is the result of almost twenty years work between Allan Cameron and Norman Catherine, two South African artists. Their artistic background look at Catherines work, for example, its great means that Memo is more a visual story than a verbal one. It is classified as a graphic novel, but it isnt a comic. Its a prose story that uses its illustrations just as much as if not more than the words.

And what illustrations! The pictures in this book are utterly beautiful. The story is set in the dystopian city of Mutantis, swarming with biomechanical anthropomorphic animals, militant Warhogs, and other strange beings, and the pictures, with colouring that is eye-catching while highlighting Mutantis sleaze, bring the setting to life. There is a mixture of Blade Runner, African art, blacklight and even more orthodox cartoon animals, and the result is a unique aesthetic.