Jean Giraud (1938–2012)

Lovely artwork. And the payoff from knowing that the first chapter originated as a promotional piece commissioned by Citroen gets a laugh. For the most part, the plot bowls along with new ideas introduced at a leisurely pace. The central conceit is that our two protagonists, Stel and Atan – later Atana – live in a technological world of constant transplants, processed foods, and supplements that (without them knowing) suppress any sexual characteristics. Kidnapped by a mysterious alien show more pyramid and subsequently dumped on the suspiciously pseudo-natural paradise planet Edena, their natural forms gradually reassert themselves: much to their surprise.

In the last section, the speed of the plot builds up and it frankly all starts to fall apart a bit. We all remember our first attempts at fiction writing as small children: piling complexity upon implausibility and then, when faced with the problem of resolving it all, coming up with the genius plot device of “it was all a dream!” … only to be told by our teachers that this was not new at all and a terrible clichéd old cop-out. And of course, the first variant we think of on that is “It was all a dream! ... or was it? Aha!” ... which is of course still also a cop out. Well: the final stages of this book try to weave an Inceptionesque narrative in which Stel’s dream state is being controlled by a telepathic lizard-being, in order to lead it to Atana (whose role has gradually tailed off from being an active character to merely a sort of vague sought-after abstract goddess-Grail) and it all goes a bit ... haywire. BUT hey, the book as an object is cool and the draughtsmanship is gorgeous and the ideas in the first three-quarters are imaginative, so perhaps we should forgive it the stumble at the end. show less

Enormously influential, wildly imaginative ... and utterly chaotic. I have a really hard time caring about any of the characters, nor do I have time to invest in a plotline before some enormous shift happens. They do lampshade this, particularly the protagonist antihero starts complaining a lot about how they never get a break, but that doesn't really remove the issue -- I rarely found myself having the time to enjoy the goings on. There are too many notions, too many underexplained show more character motivations, too many otherworldly cultures and agendas whose feuds we're dumped into the middle of with little to no explanation or backstory.

In spite of all of that, there _is_ a lot to like here. As I said, it's wildly imaginative, with everything from nihilist techno-zealots to psychic emperor-gods, underwater human societies to centre of the earth trips, human mutant subspecies and alien invaders, interplanetary intrigue and critique of the passive television-enslaved public. While my preferences would have been to explore some of these notions more, rather than gleefully hop from one to the next, it can't be denied it paints a rich and interesting world. While the frantic plot drowns a lot of the emotion, it does not drown it all, and there are many lovely moments of character and pathos interspersed in this six-volume collection. I also found the mystery the story was pretending to be at the beginning (before the pace and scale went insane) to be very engrossing, and the later chapters (when the pace is finally a bit slower again, and I'd learned enough of the world to contextualize and appreciate a bit more of the goings on) to be a step back up.

Considering its popularity and influence, this is clearly someone's cup of tea. But, unfortunately -- though I did get some enjoyment from it -- it wasn't quite mine. That said, my issues are mainly with the pacing and lack of contextual exposition, not the ideas and the plot points, and so I'd actually be very interested to see what else has been done in this impressively elaborate universe since. I hear that the next volume is a much more linear story (and a prequel), so that does sound promising. show less

I thought it was a huge, huge letdown. While there is some truly great & imaginative scenography in this book, it doesn’t redeem the juvenile and at times pompous story, a story that never has any urgency because of its randomness, a randomness which makes it hard to connect and invest in any of the characters – resulting in boredom. On top of that, the dialogue & prose is lifeless, and reeks of artificiality. Jodorowsky’s attempts at spirituality felt ludicrous to me.
The letdown was show more even enhanced by the fact that I loved the first five or six of The Metabarons series when I read it back in my early twenties. The final installments of Metabarons weren’t as convincing, but still entertaining. Because of my experience with The Incal, I’m now afraid to reread Metabarons, 20 years down the line. Taste evolves, and that’s a wonderful thing.

More speculative fiction review on Weighing A Pig Doesn't Fatten It show less

An intellectually self-absorbed, incontinent university professor serves as the protagonist in this mystical adventure with themes of messianic apocalypse, and eventually psychedelic initiation. Supernatural elements are introduced very gradually, and at first it is easy for the reader to join Professor Mangel in dismissing them. There's a lot of sex, as Mangel struggles with the reintegration of his carnal consciousness, and his companions foster the revolutionary cult of the god-goddess show more Jesusa. As in other stories by Jodorowsky, such as his Incal tales, the skeptical ignorance of the protagonist drives much of the plot and its tension.

This collection makes for a good, self-contained read. It should be avoided by those who don't appreciate explicit sex, mystical blasphemy, or controversial politics. show less