''Murena'' is

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

comic book written by

Jean Dufaux Jean Dufaux (; born 7 June 1949) is a Belgian comic book writer. Beginning his professional career as a journalist for "CINÉ-PRESSE", Dufaux started writing comic books in the 1980s. Perhaps his most well-known, and certainly his most long-runn ...

and drawn by Philippe Delaby. The series is set in ancient Rome, around 54 AD, when Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

seized power. The strip is mainly characterized by its realistic style and the additional historical information. The first volume was published by

Dargaud Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

in 1997. After the death of Phillipe Delaby in 2014, Theo Caneschi took over as the series' artist.

Synopsis

The story begins in ancient Rome during the reign of Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

. The Emperor fell in love with a young woman, leaving alone the terrible Agrippina and her adopted son, the future Emperor

. After Claudius was murdered, Nero ascends the throne and becomes the prey of madness, real or imagined, that consumes him. Through these episodes, we see how Nero, by a combination of circumstances, becomes more and more evil. A game of manipulation and revenge begins...

Characters

* Lucius Murena: hero of the series, the patrician son of

Lollia Paulina Lollia Paulina, also known as Lollia Paullina Britannicus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. For a time he was considered his father's heir, but that ...

: the son of Claudius. Because of his parentage, he blocks the way to the throne to Nero and, thereby, to his mother. *

: Roman emperor, the fifth Caesar of Rome. * Aggripina: ambitious woman with fatal beauty. She never ceases to recognize his son as the sole heir to the empire. *

: young man crushed by the influence of his mother, he first obeys to his mother and be an accomplice of the most terrible acts, but * Balba: former gladiator who wants to take his revenge against Nero. * Massam: a cruel gladiator in the service of Nero.

Development

The authors define their work as being like the novels of Alexandre Dumas, who "took pleasure in following history but kept independent from its sources."

Glossary

At the end of each volume, a glossary defines the Latin words used or the precise historical context of a scene. It is sometimes followed by an erratum when an inaccuracy in a previous album was reported to the writer.

Reception

Murena has received universal critical acclaim from Belgian and French critique and newspapers: * "Murena is an excellent epic" '' Lire'' * "Murena the historical epic is the best I have ever discovered." Michael Green, professor of Roman history at King's College, Oxford, historical consultant on the film Gladiator. * "A great history lesson transcended by the breathtaking graphics of Delaby" Page des librairies. * "A history lesson in the extent of human folly"

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

* "If I taught in a High school, I will certainly give Murena to my students." Jean-Paul Thuillier, Professor and Director of the Department of Science from Antiquity of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.

Volumes

First cycle: Cycle of the Mother

# La Pourpre et l’Or (The Purple and the Gold) (1997, ) # De sable et de sang (Of Blood and Sand) (1999, ) # La Meilleure des mères (The Best of Mothers) (2001, ) # Ceux qui vont mourir... (Those Who Are About to Die...) (2002, )

Second cycle: Cycle of the Wife

# La Déesse Noire (The Black Goddess) (2005, ) # Le Sang des Bêtes (The Blood of Animals) (2006, ) # Vie des Feux (Life of Fires) (2009, ) # Revanche des Cendres (Revenge of the Ashes) (2010, )

Special editions

# Les Épines (The Thorns) (2013, )

References

{{Reflist

External links

French publisher of Murena
1997 comics debuts Comics set in the Roman Empire Belgian comics titles Cultural depictions of Nero Cultural depictions of Agrippina the Younger Cultural depictions of Britannicus Cultural depictions of Poppaea Sabina