THE SWORDS OF GLASS Volume 1 Oversized Edition

A mysterious set of swords has fallen from the sky, and a group of unlikely heroes from far and near must band together to save their world in a Studio Ghibli-influenced story for adults. In a world threatened by the imminent death of its sun, young Yama lives a relatively happy and peaceful life as the daughter of the chief of the village. But everything changes the day a sword of glass falls from the sky. Anyone who touches the sword is instantly turned to glass and dies. Orland, the local lord of war, comes to take possession of the unique weapon but Yama’s father is killed and her mother taken away. Yama, however, escapes and survives with only one thought: when she grows up, she will return to get the sword of glass and avenge her parents. She finds a mentor, trains, and grows up. Contains Books 1 and 2 in this acclaimed French series of four books in all. From visionary, award-winning creators Sylviane Corgiat and Laura Zuccheri.. From a review by Laura Zuccheri on Livejournal.com: "Yama alone is able to touch the sword without being harmed. She disappears into the wilds, swearing vengeance. Fortunately, she meets an old hermit who turns out to be a swordmaster, and who also knows something about these glass swords. Years pass... The first arc is about Yama and her quest to become a swordswoman who can hunt down and kill Orland. Her mentor, Miklos, has his own secrets. As Yama grows up, she turns into a little hothead, and becomes increasingly frustrated at the fact that Miklos still sees her as a little girl. In the second book, they travel to the great city of Karelane, seeking the other glass swords, because there's a prophecy about the four of them opening a gateway to another world to save the populace of this dying earth. They find that Orland has become the chief of Karelane's praetorian guards, more powerful than ever. As the series go on, we meet some of the other sword-wielders. Tigran was a blacksmith. One of the glass swords came right through the roof of his shop. His unfortunate wife grabbed it and was turned into a glass statue; Tigran doesn't want to save the world, he just wants to restore his wife. Swords of Glass is a Eurocomic, which has both a narrative and artistic style quite different either from American comics or manga. The world created by Sylviane Corgiat and Laura Zuccheri is beautiful and fantastic and resembles a multicultural fantasy Meso-America with creatures created by Jim Henson. I loved the art, which was expressive both when depicting humans and their facial and body language, and the sweeping city panoramas." First published in France in 2009 and 2011.