Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer is actually Moorcock's third major comic book work, the two previous ones being The Swords of Heaven, The Flowers of Hell (an Erekose graphic novel) and Michael Moorcock's Multiverse (a 12-issue series related to his Third Ether books). The Making of a Sorcerer was originally published in four graphic albums in 2004 and has now been collected into a single trade paperback.

The Story

The Making of a Sorcerer is the story of how Elric came into his sorcerous power and gained the right to become the 428th emperor of Melnibone.

It centers on the conceit that Elric's old servant Tanglebones helped to train him in sorcery by sending him on a series of four dreamquests. Each of these plunged him into a past era of Melnibone where he took on the role of some ancestor and faced the troubles of those times.

(Whether Elric actually possesses his ancestors in these quests, or whether he instead reenacts the stories in some realm of dreams is not entirely clear; it's also not a particularly important point to the story in either case.)

Each of the dreamquests not only tells the story of Elric's struggle, but also helps to fill in the past history of Melnibone, beginning with the Melniboneans' journey to the world of the Young Kingdoms from a different Earth. In addition, each dreamquest also centers around the island's connections with one of the great elements--earth, water, air, and fire.

As Elric engages in his dreamquests, he simultaneously faces another danger, his cousin Yyrkoon who opposes him for the throne. In the end the dreamquests themselves become a referendum for who shall next rule Melnibone.

The Storytelling

Since the 1980s, Moorcock has written less fantasy, and when he has it's been more philosophical. Although The Making of a Sorcerer contains some connections to Moorcock's more recent writings--as noted elsewhere--it also feels like a return to form. This is the most adventuresome and exciting Elric that I've read in twenty or more years.

There's a bit of redundancy in some of the plotting; in multiple of the stories, we get the same plot of Melnibone being invaded, then Elric heading out, leaving Yyrkoon in charge of Immyr, and then encountering a new elemental lord. However, Moorcock manages to throw in enough variety to keep things exciting.

(And the repetition is of course the basis of the stories of the Eternal Champion as well.)

Although the sword and sorcery writing itself is quite fun, the biggest joy in The Making of a Sorcerer is ultimately seeing how it ties in to Moorcock's other stories.

The Continuity

The Making of a Sorcerer is a canon Elric story set at least a year before the first Elric novel, Elric of Melnibone. Overall the continuity seems quite good, and it's especially a joy to see familiar figures like Yyrkoon, Cymoril, and Sadric again. There's surely no discussion of "dreamquests" in the original Elric books, but that's a minor issue--and will doubtless be corrected next time Moorcock revises the series, as he has a wont to do.

Though the "modern day" Melnibone scenes are fun for the characters that we revisit, it's the historical backstory that is going to be the most enjoyable to fans of the Elric books. We see the saga of a nation from its beginnings on foreign shores, to it becoming a trading power, to its turning toward empire. We also get backstory on Melnibone's connections to the elemental lords, to Arioch, and to the two black blades.

I was particularly surprised by the second story, of a chaos god eating the waters of the Young Kingdoms. This harks back to the previous first novel, Elric of Melnibone, where Elric speaks a chant to summon Straasha that goes, "Straasha, eternal king, eternal sea / Thine aid is sought by me; / For enemies of thine and mine / Seek to defeat our destiny, and drain away our sea." For someone who claims never to read his own books, Moorcock seems to have a very good recollection of something he wrote thirty years ago.

The Making of a Sorcerer also has nice continuity with Moorcock's recent writings. Of particular note is the fact that the first story, of the Melnibones leaving their original world, ties directly in to the Elric & Von Bek dreamquest series (The Dreamthief's Daughter, The Skrayling Tree, and The White Wolf's Son), where we revisit that realm. In addition, the whole concept of the dreamquests, which is used in that story to explore Elric's later adventure, has its genesis here.

(And with all that said, I find this new comic much more approachable for new readers than those aforementioned Elric and Von Bek books ... or really any of the fantasy that Moorcock has written since at least the 1980s.)

The Artwork

The artwork in The Making of the Sorcerer is by Walter Simonson, who previously drew one of the arcs for Michael Moorcock's Multiverse. Simonson's style of art is somewhat unusual for the comic book field. I find it reminiscent of Jack Kirby, while I've seen other cite a Moebius influence. In any case, it's larger than life, big and bold, and full of iconic symbols.

I find it largely beautiful, and I think it's a great match for Moorcock's very iconic works. Generally, the artwork is nearly as much of an attraction to this comic as Moorcock's writing.

Conclusion

Michael Moorcock's pure sword and sorcery writing has always been pretty light and fluffy, and this is no exception. However, The Making of a Sorcerer is also a terrific return to the field for Moorcock, and is one of the few old-style fantasies that he's written in some time. Beyond that it's not just a fun prelude to the Elric saga, but it also nicely sets up some of Moorcock's more recent writing.

Walter Simonson's artwork is a great complement to Moorcock's writing, the result being a bold and beautiful story of alien entities and mighty empires.

I've given it an "8" out of "10" rating, and recommend it to any Moorcock fan, and anyone who plans to read the Elric books.