The Chimpanzee ComplexVol 1: Paradox
Written by Richard Marazano
Art by Jean-Michel Ponzio
2009
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The Chimpanzee ComplexVol 2: The Sons of Ares
Written by Richard Marazano
Art by Jean-Michel Ponzio
2010
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The Chimpanzee ComplexVol 3: Civilisation
Written by Richard Marazano
Art by Jean-Michel Ponzio
2010
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
"...Gentlemen! Pray that this "signal" won't turn out to be a ballistic missile launched by Saddam Hussein's grandson to screw up the free world!"
Oh dear. Dialogue like that (on the first page no less) tends to make me come out in hives. Yes - I know that it's a French book and so maybe that kind of clunker is more the fault of the translator than the original writer - but reading the finished product there's no way to know who's to blame. All I do know is that it sounds like it was written by someone still in sixth form (not good).
The Chimpanzee Complex is a three-part story detailing far out outer space adventures that is severely indebted to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although instead of subtle suggestive philosophical science-fiction - it opts for strangeness seemingly for the sake of it and couples it onto familiar horror and action-movie style nonsense which leaves it more in the Event Horizon bracket: leaving me the feeling that stuff was happening not because it served some deeper point - but rather that the author thought it would seem cool and then couldn't be bothered to work out the details afterwards and just figured that things would take care of themselves.
On the plus side: the artwork is totally sumptuous and with such a fine amount of detail it feels like it must have taken years to complete in that way that European comics so often are. Which kinda makes it worth reading anyway... (sigh) If only the writing exhibited the same amount of care.
...................................................................................................................................................
Links: Forbidden Planet Blog Review of Vol 1 / Vol 2 / Vol 3, Down The Tubes Comics Review of Vol 1 / Vol 2 / Vol 3.
Further reading: Ministry of Space, Blacksad: Somewhere between the Shadows, Heart of Empire or the Legacy of Luther Arkwright, The Manara Library.
All comments welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment