Titan Comics 2016
Written by Serge Lehman & Fabrice Colin
Illustrated by Gess
Coloured by Celine Bessonneau
Translated by Edward Gauvin
After Missbrauch’s startling revelations of a crusade against the normal humans of Europe, Irène Joliot-Curie doesn’t know where to turn... allies turn to enemies as the prospect of war draws ever closer! The one man who knows the true extent of Missbrauch’s plans – the Cockroach – has not been seen since he was captured by the Eye over six months ago in Austria...
I’m a fan of the fact that is told from the European point of view, in Europe. It’s not often we as American’s are exposed to this and to see it with it’s architecture and stylings bring something a little extra to the table. With Paris and much of Europe as the story’s playground in the late 1930’s early 1940’s there really is so much to fully enjoy with just the setting alone add in the mix of unique characters and well it’s very much a recipe for success.
We open up at the Radium Institute which is being picketed. Inside there are experiments going on and new creatures, well I’m really not sure if this is an actual man or not, are being created. There’s so much fun and this indescribable joy in seeing this kind of of uninhibited science going on here. It’s like the old “B” science fiction movies where they did these experiments and usually paid the price for it. It has that quality here and it’s very well done and enjoyable to see.
There’s also something exciting about the fact that we see technology in use that “shouldn’t” exist or that there’s this whole underground resistance type thing happening with it. That Curie’s daughter and her husband are working with WE, the Russians we met at the party last issue, is interesting as is their ultimatum or dilemma. So it’s nice to see how they and their research are tied into the story as a whole.
When we get to George she really does kind of steal the show as it were. Dressed in that suit like a modern day femme fatale lesbian both charming and alarming those around her she makes for interesting character study. Plus that she’s doing a book on the Eye doesn’t help matters, for some, any. Her bluntness and demeanour are some excellent examples of writing and characterisation. It also puts her directly into which side is she truly one in one’s mind or is it simply she’s that ambitious that it doesn’t matter so long as she herself comes out on top. She swirls with a type of mystique that I find incredibly appealing.
I love the interiors here as well. There’s a mixed media quality feel at times and that Salvidor Dali approach to some aspects that make you wonder and get caught up in the backgrounds. This use of backgrounds by the way is exceptionally well done and continues to add that certain air to the story that makes you question everything. The attention to detail here is superb as are the use of page layouts through angles and perspective. Plus seeing the Lone Wolf in action and his style of dress well I now want a story just of him and his exploits.
The imagine and creativity on display here through the storytelling of words and pictures takes you on a journey that is delightful in every possible way.