Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“The bloodied face of a female fighter is beautiful. It is strength”
“Eight Limbs,” a graphic novel centered around Muay Thai, opens with an earnest foreword by creator Stephanie Phillips. She reflects on the double standards women face in the sporting world. While scars on male boxers are often celebrated as badges of honor, women boxers are pitied for supposedly ruining their faces. Phillips asserts that the blood, cuts, bruises, and welts in this sport are all symbolic of the unwavering commitment women fighters devote to it.
I felt that the foreword was the most compelling part of the graphic novel, whereas the actual story itself seemed formulaic and lacked excitement. “Eight Limbs” revolves around the life of Mari, a 16-year-old orphan in the foster care system who frequently finds herself in fights, leading to her expulsion from schools and even families. As her case-worker struggles to find a new foster family for Mari, a temporary solution emerges: Mari is placed under the care of Joanna, a retired Muay Thai world champion who runs a training center. Joanna believes that Mari could benefit from the discipline and training provided by the martial art. Will Mari be able to embrace this opportunity for growth, or will she continue to stir up trouble as she always has?
The artwork in the graphic novel by Giulia Lalli (Illustrator) and Lee Loughridge’s (Colorist) is engaging and colorful, even though the tones are largely subdued. Many scenes are so visually captivating that they effectively convey the story without the need for extensive dialogue. In terms of character design, Mari’s appearance reminded me of a young Rogue from X-Men, or maybe I made the comparison because of the slight similarities in their personalities, they are both angst-ridden and fairly asocial. Joanna’s character on the other hand seemed a little too good to be true, and one wishes there was more nuanced conflict in the tale.
Given the limitations of space within the novel, it becomes challenging to delve deeply into the intricacies of Muay Thai. However, “Eight Limbs” manages to provide readers with a reasonable introduction to the sport. Notably, it cleverly incorporates descriptions of some pre-fight rituals that participants observe before stepping into the ring. Apart from that, the novel is pretty generic in nature, although I did enjoy the almost picture-perfect ending.
It’s a 3 on 5 from me.