Review: Aladdin Legacy Of The Lost Graphic Novel

By Ian Cullen Mar 31, 2011, 5:13 GMT

Synopsis: From the mystical city of Shambhalla to the ends of the earth comes a tale of magic, mystery and the motivations of power.

Synopsis: From the mystical city of Shambhalla to the ends of the earth comes a tale of magic, mystery and the motivations of power.

It is a world of Ala ad-Din, better known as Aladdin. Thief, Gambler, Liar and Cheat, Aladdin's reckless soul falls under the eye of the sorcerer Qassim, who has spent his life scouring the sands for the dreaming jewel. This lost relic of shattering power will enable Qassim to steal the magic of the Djinn of the lamp and reshape the world in his own malicious design. But to do so, he requires a mystical ability carried within Aladdin’s blood... power that not even Aladdin himself knows about.

An epic adventure that twists the classic saga into dark, unexplored territories with multi-Eisner nominated writer Ian Edginton!

I received a nice little package about a week back, which included a copy of the fantastic trade paperback of Ian Edginton’s Aladdin Legacy Of The Lost, which brings a new spin to a much loved classic story. Aladdin Legacy Of The Lost was released in 2010 by Radical Books and it’s one hell of a fun ride.

The art work inside the book by Stjepan Sejic is absolutely spectacular and has a cinematic quality to it, which is a trade mark of most of the books by Radical. The actual story is much more grounded in reality than you’d expect for a take based on Aladdin, which in traditional commercial books and cinematic interpretations such as the one Disney did has often been portrayed as more of a cheeky jack the lad type than an actual rogue.

In fact the Aladdin we meet in the opening few pages is not an easy person to sympathize with. He’s self interested and only in things for what he can get and would sell his own mother out if he had a one.

However, as the story progresses Aladdin actually grows and becomes more and more likable as the adventure moves forward. The character work by Sejjic is brilliant, and some of the more exotic monsters and the Djinn’s especially the female Djinns are very sexy and drawn in such a way that they provoke your imagination, and Edginton’s writing really does bring a fantastic voice to these characters.

For example, whenever I was reading Qassim’s dialogue I kept hearing the voice of Jeremy Irons or even Ian McShane speaking the lines.

What is nice about this book is that it has a little crossover appeal to it as well given that Aladdin is aided on this adventure by none other than Sinbad The Sailor, who sort of becomes a mentor of sorts to Aladdin as he helps the young rogue put right his mistakes and rescue the princess from Qassim and his evil machinations.

As to how it ends I’ll not say but I will reveal that there is a twist that you’ll not see coming. All in all this is a great book and well worth a look if like me you enjoy new twists on classic stories.