Based on the enchanting ballet Coppélia, Coppélia et Swanilda from this year’s ShortBox Comics Fair is a story focused on protagonist Swanilda, who is suspicious that her fiance’s heart may be straying. Determined to find out the truth, Swanilda and her friends begin to test her fiancé’s devotion and decide whether the relationship is worth repairing. But, along the way, dark secrets inadvertently begin to unravel. Whilst the original ballet is a comedy of mistaken identity, Hana Chatani’s adaption looks set to be a much darker take.
Coppélia et Swanilda begins with a befuddled Swanilda watching a poised Coppelia reading on her balcony. Always with a book in hand, Swanilda has never been given the courtesy of a nod of acknowledgement from the village eccentric’s daughter, who has never been seen outside of the confines of her house. Swanilda is given further reason to be riled by her, as her group of friends inform her that they’ve noticed her fiancé, Franz, blowing kisses to Coppelia from below her balcony. While Swanilda is initially gaslit by Franz that the interaction was just a friendly one, she begins to have her doubts when it becomes a regular staple. But the mystery behind Coppelia is much darker and more twisted than Swanilda could ever have imagined…
As the ballet was originally performed in French, it was a nice homage from Chatani to the original through her choice of French title. What’s particularly exciting about Chatani’s Coppélia et Swanilda is its formatting as a manga, as well as the comic being available in both English and Japanese. We don’t often get to see small press comics in this formatting in the Western world, more-so confining manga to its traditional formatting, so it was wonderful to see it presented here.
Chatani’s black and white illustrations are beautiful, with her characters drawn very demurely, with milkmaid braids and dresses, giving them an almost dutch-doll, carved appearance (if you know the twist from the original ballet, this stylistic choice will make a lot of sense…). I enjoyed that this adaption was tonally quite different from the ballet; while the ballet’s main focus was on the comic elements, and Chatani concentrates on these at times, the overarching story is more melancholic and gothic, leaving the reader with mixed feelings about many of the characters and their fates.
Coppélia et Swanilda is something a bit different, with an edge and a mystery that will keep readers guessing. You can buy your digital copy now at this year’s ShortBox Comics Fair!
Hana Chatani (W/A) • ShortBox Comics Fair, £9.00.
Review by Lydia Turner
