Description: Ratti and Westbrook present a new direction for the graphic novel in a series that follows the Asian adventures of a Western pilgrim who is influenced by the interaction (sometimes violent) of cultures in the Medieval era. The captivating text, presented in a highly developed aesthetic fictional setting, ensures that this new series will also inform, captivate, and inspire readers. Yamabushi and Homecoming, published by Via Media as the second volume of a series entitled Tales of the Hermit, belongs to the literary genre known as historical fiction, whose best examples have the dual power to entertain us with their storytelling magic, while opening new vistas for us upon eras, people and events whose impact on our evolution still resonates down through the centuries and across cultures. In Volume I of Tales of the Hermit--The Castle in the Rain and The Judge--Pre Dominic, a Western pilgrim, began his epic journey throughout Europe and the Orient. Upon arriving at the Islands Empire facing the sun, he was welcomed at first, but eventually he was forced to take flight when the countryUs rulers turned against all foreigners and their teachings. In a state of extreme mental and physical exhaustion, Pre Dominic was rescued by a mysterious group known only as the RResidents, S who carried him to safety on the Summit, a remote mountain site. As the Residents employed various therapies to help Pre Dominic regain his health, they encouraged him to explore the collection of scrolls assembled in the Library on the Summit, where other visitors to the site--as well as certain Residents--had contributed accounts of their experiences and imaginative reflections in a series of carefully guardedillustrated manuscripts. After a number of spirited and wide-ranging discussions with the Residents concerning the contents of the first two scrolls he had examined in Volume I, in Volume II Pre Dominic discovers two more scrolls, entitled simply Yamabushi and Homecoming, which will offer different--and challenging--responses to the ever-present and ofttimes agonizing dilemma of how to try to live an ethical life in the midst of a violent reality. Pre DominicUs journey continues . . .

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