Dave McKean, on either side of the mirror

A masked man crosses a desolate moor – medieval or post-apocalyptic – accompanied by a raptor serving as his armed arm to hunt monsters. Sokól, that’s its name, sells its services to those who can afford them. His story appears from the pen of Arthur, a late 19th century Welsh author of fantasy tales, who struggled to get back to writing after the death of his wife. Two planes of life, two seekers of infinity. Each plays with the vagueness between reality and fiction to mingle with the other. If we add to this the rituals of a hermetic lodge which seeks occult connections, as well as a mysterious gold coin which corrupts the one who receives it, we understand that Raptor, the latest comic from Dave McKean, juggles multiple reading levels. To the point that one can legitimately ask the question of who is the creation of whom.