Sholm Pearly

I am first attracted to comics by their visual appeal, and this post-apocalyptic one looked so pretty I had to read it. The European drawing style means the visual are very high quality, the two main characters are charming and the world is a post-apocalyptic survival story in a flooded parisian suburb. 

The very first few pictures welcome you into an extremely dynamic world, with our hero jumping, running and crashing. You can picture perfectly the smooth action, like a film. The colouring is complexe and lively, it looks like real water colour, very talented and professional. The earthy tones are vibrant with life and it really looks like setting sun hues on everything. It is impossible not to be impressed by such craftsmanship. The backgrounds of both natural and dystopian cities are stunning.

The hint of the romance is adorable, and for once started by the male character. I thought the story would be one thing, but I turned out to be pretty wrong. We follow Astar, an energetic girl in a tribe-like place suddenly taken over by a technologically advanced one. When the story suddenly swerves into the sporting arena style I was just baffled. While I love SF and fantasy, I have little interest in sports fiction so it was hard to keep me interested.

I think this comic is very much geared at teen boys: amazing graphics, lots of action (pirates, army fights, internal quarrel, corruption, civil unrest…), sports action, humour, fierce pretty girls, father/son relationship, brothers relationship… there is something of Lord of the Flies, if they had been playing dodgeball. It’s an unlikely combo, not exactly for me, but I’m sure it will convert a lot of people drawn in by the strong graphic. I’m glad lots of European comics are getting translated because there is a lot of talent over there and it’s good to see something different.