Character guide
Who's who in Captains of adventure by Pocock, Roger: meet the 6 main characters, see how they connect, and open a detailed profile for each.
6 illustrated profiles
Also known as the king, the saintly man
The holy king of France and leader of the Sixth Crusade; courageous and devout but an incompetent general.
As drawn: A man in his forties, tall and slender, with a long narrow face and brown hair. He wears a thirteenth-century royal blue robe and mantle patterned with gold fleur-de-lis, with a simple crown.
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Also known as De Joinville, Joinville, the little hero, the seneschal
A merry young French nobleman and seneschal of Champagne who leads a small group of knights and serves Saint Louis.
As drawn: A young man of small stature, slight but hardy, shown battered and thin after severe wounds and famine. He wears a dented mail hauberk and a torn, travel-stained thirteenth-century surcoat.
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Also known as Christopher Columbus, Cristo-fero Colombo, Cristoval Colon, the navigator, the Christ-Carrying Dove
A visionary navigator who believes the world is a globe and sails westward seeking Japan and the Indies; the passage portrays him as intellectually gifted but weak as a commander.
As drawn: A tall, middle-aged man with blue eyes and reddish hair, dressed in the plain dark robe and hood of a foreign monk. In later life his hair is white and he looks frail and worn.
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Also known as Americus Vespuccius
A swindling pork contractor whom the passage blames for giving his name to the Americas.
As drawn: A middle-aged man with dark, wavy hair, a neatly trimmed dark beard, and a composed, sturdy build. He wears a dark Renaissance doublet with a soft cap.
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Also known as the elder son
The elder brother of Khizr and a pirate who rises to become king of Tlemcen; he is ruthless, ambitious, and loses an arm in battle.
As drawn: A middle-aged man with a reddish beard and a strong build, missing one arm. He wears a turban, long Ottoman robe, and broad sash.
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Also known as Barbarossa, King Barbarossa, the pirate king, the King of the Sea, the strong pirate king
Uruj’s younger brother and fellow pirate who becomes king of Algiers, a powerful corsair commander, and a Turkish admiral.
As drawn: An elderly man, over seventy, with a long red beard, weathered features, and a still-powerful build. He wears a large white turban and a richly layered Ottoman caftan.
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Storieta keeps this cast at your side while you read Captains of adventure, portraits, names, and an ask-anything assistant that only knows what you've read so far. No spoilers, ever.
Explore the book page for Captains of adventure and read the opening free, with no account needed.
Captains of Adventure is a wide-ranging history of adventurers, from the Vikings’ voyages to America through crusaders, explorers, corsairs, pioneers, soldiers, sea hunters, and figures such as Columbus, Francis Drake, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill, Gordon, and the conquerors of the Poles. Its focus is the lone-hand pioneer rather than the regular soldier: men and women drawn toward hazardous enterprises for their own sake, not merely for money or official duty. Across fifty-six chapters, the book follows adventure through wilderness, ocean, battle, empire, deserts, and the farthest reaches of the world, while also considering the adventurers of its own era and the emerging possibilities of flight.
The author writes with a forceful, highly personal voice, part history, part seaman’s judgment, and part tall tale. Humor, sharp opinions, vivid landscapes, practical knowledge, and skepticism toward celebrated reputations sit alongside genuine admiration for courage and resourcefulness. The prose has the expansive, masculine rhetoric and imperial outlook of its period, but its lively irreverence keeps it from sounding ceremonious. It should appeal to readers who enjoy historical adventure, exploration narratives, maritime lore, frontier lives, and strongly voiced storytelling.
Every cast illustrated from the original text.
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