“The Legacy of the Turquoise Knight” is a new lyric comic by P. Andrew Miller. This relatively new form has seen very little use, but Miller’s work sets a good precedent. The book is a collection of fourteen poems, accompanied by fourteen comic book style illustrations.
It tells the moving story of the Turquoise Knight, a super hero identity which spans three generations of men in fictional Middle City.
The story opens with the discovery of a magic, turquoise-hilted sword in Persia by the man who would become the first Knight, and moves quickly through his career, and the career of his son, to focus on the grandson.
He grows up with his grandfather’s stories of the Knight’s deeds, and seeks to reclaim the Knight’s sword, stolen at the end of the first Knight’s career.
The story of the three Knights begins to come together then in unsuspected ways, with each generation’s point of view shown through clearly different voice and style.
Like all good superhero stories, the tale takes turns into deeper territory, in this case exploring themes of legacy, heredity, and acceptance, as the final Turquoise Knight finds his destiny blindsided by the relationship between his father and grandfather.
Each poem stands alone with a clear utility, but together they create a thought-provoking tale, which could only have been told by the combination of comics and poetry, and the strong understanding of both which is clearly on display.
The book may be difficult to find, but can be purchased directly from the publisher here.
