In this heartfelt tribute to George Orwell’s acclaimed anti-Soviet satirical novel, Animal Farm, the cocreators of Animal Castle have expanded Orwell’s allegorical attack on totalitarian societies to include an embrace of civil disobedience, nonviolent resistance, and the concept of love, as weapons to fight and beat social oppression. In this beautifully illustrated graphic novel, a majestic castle has been mysteriously abandoned by humans and is now run by a vicious and vainglorious dictatorial bull and a militia of brutal dogs that terrorize the rest of the animals and ruthlessly force them to work in support of their oppressive anthropomorphic animal regime. In this six-page excerpt, Azelard, a mysterious rat-entertainer traveling between communities with an allegorical performance that inspires disobedience to despots, is attacked by the dogs after delivering a suspiciously subversive performance to the castle animals. Animal Castle by Xavier Dorison and Felix Delep will be published in July by Ablaze.
