Broken Frontier

You may never have heard of the costumed vigilante named Wildclaw. If you’re a fan of superhero comics then it’s not much more likely that you’ve seen the character at all. Duncan, an ordinary father who must chase his abducted daughter into Hell, gains the ability to transform into a variety of beasts, risking his soul in the process. He’s the character from the story-within-a-story from Jodi Picoult's most recent novel, The Tenth Circle.

Since Ms. Picoult is slated to take over the writing chores on DC’s Wonder Woman, after Allan Heinberg’s run, it should be interesting to read the novel. At least a reading might give an inkling of this writer’s perspective. What direction does Picoult come from? What will she bring to the comics?

One thing that Picoult is clear about when promoting the novel is the inclusion of a series of comics interludes. It’s an unusual move for a bestselling author to include graphic story-telling in a novel. The Tenth Circle is an unusual book.

“I knew, as soon as I came up with this idea, that I’d be challenging the structure of the common novel, and yet it made sense!” declares Picoult in a podcast on her website called Go to Hell. She discusses her reasoning and research as well as the plot of the book. Picoult was lucky enough to have a friend in Jim Lee, who connected her with Dustin Weaver who drew the interstitial comics sections of the book.

The Tenth Circle revolves around the small-town Stone family. Daniel, the father, is an up-and-coming comics writer/artist who seems an even-tempered fellow. His Wildclaw project reflects the action taking place in the novel and the torment building up in Daniel’s heart. Laura Stone, the mother, is a classics professor who teaches a class in Dante’s Inferno. Thirteen year old Trixie Stone is a popular High School Freshman who wonders how she’ll survive her recent break-up with her boyfriend Jason. When Trixie is date-raped at a friend’s party, the implosion of the Stones begins.

Picoult confronts what must be some of her readers’ personal demons – anger, confusion, mistrust. For those who have known a person affected by rape or abuse, these are ghosts that linger indefinitely. Sexual violence leaves scars on a victim that might taint any of their future relationships. The story of the Stones explores the half-truths existent in the average person’s life and which are compounded and made more terrible in cases of rape. The destruction of Trixie, Daniel and Laura is worsened by the ambiguity – the ‘his word vs. her word’ – and the lies told by each of the Stones in order to protect their individual secrets.

It’s curious that Ms. Picoult chose the world of comics as one of the major motifs in her novel. Daniel Stone’s Wildclaw comics might evoke a more black and white (or Good vs. Evil) sensibility. A comic book fan might think of a violent act as something simple and distinct, like Captain America punching out the Red Skull. However the ramifications of violence are easily twisted up into history. The Tenth Circle suggests that the routine white lies of the Stone family, not unlike those of many families, can take a problem that alone is devastating and create a whirlwind of hate and other human horrors.

Yet when the comics are filtered through a view of the events and themes of the book they take on a different character altogether. In her acknowledgements, Ms Picoult calls Dustin Weaver’s drawings “the soul of the book.” Duncan, the animalistic shape-shifter follows his daughter through the various circles of Dante’s hell. This pursuit might lead to redemption or annihilation, but it also reveals layers to the novel which might not be apparent at first glance.

As for how Ms. Picoult might treat Wonder Woman when she takes over in 2007, one can only wager a guess. Will she take Diana through a course of controversial, hot-button topics? Will the story arcs be more subtle? Picoult is recognized for taking difficult topics, those subjects that people are reticent to discuss, and expanding them into stories that can break readers’ hearts.

With The Tenth Circle, Jodi Picoult delivers a book that is resonant, painful and thought-provoking. It is a novel that is well worth discussing and that asks its readers to ask questions about trust, the glue that binds a family together.