Cold Cut Distribution's Feature Spotlight #44 - October/November 2000
Saga of the Metabarons
| Publisher: | Les Humanoids Publishing |
| Writer: | Alexandro Jodorowsky |
| Artist: | Juan Gimenez |
| Cover Price: | $2.95 |
| Format: | 32 full-color pages |
| Frequency: | Monthly |
| Issues Available: | 7 |
| This review by: | Jon Roth |
Storyline:
Othon and his family only wished to live as peaceful
stonecutters. Instead, their secret brought the greed of the
galaxy down on their heads. Over the next several generations,
Othon and his descendants establish the lineage of the
Metabarons. With cybernetic body replacements and ritualistic
mutilation, each Metabaron's father and son must battle to the
death as a necessary element of this unforgivingly severe
martial discipline.
This comic book series follows each Baron and their battles to
preserve the family and the Empire. These struggles involve
space pirates kidnapping the royal heir, evil mystics
attempting to usurp the throne in the name of their dark god,
and trusted friends and unknown enemies consumed by their
greed for the Metabarons' wealth and technology.
Writing Review:
The key word for this story is "epic". With only seven issues
published at the time of this review, Jodorowsky has managed
to craft a generation-spanning story of heroism and sacrifice.
The intense emotion each character displays forms an immediate
bond with the reader. Each death (and there are plenty in
this brutal saga!) is keenly felt. Even when there is no
physical conflict, the verbal outbursts seem ready to tear
holes in the page. Our cast is shown to be not a bunch of
one-dimensional heroes and villians, but multi-layered,
impassioned individuals whose desires force them to cling to
each other one minute, and brawl to the death the next. If
you are looking for a story with tangible emotional impact,
this comic is for you. The Saga of the Metabarons exemplifies
some of the best comic storytelling that Europe has to offer.
![[ panels from Metabarons ]](images/metabaronsweb.jpg)
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Art ©1999 by Juan Gimenez
Art Review:
This comic is worth its price tag for the artwork alone! In
today's market, where many readers are reluctant to spend
three dollars on a comic book, each issue of the Metabarons
provides 32 pages of richly-colored artwork. Gimenez' command
of the human form is sublime. The portrayals of action and
motion are cleanly rendered, without being cluttered by an
overdose of speed lines. Whether illustrating a giant
spaceship, block of marble, alien floating ape, bio-engineered
monster/deity, a haunting landscape or a technical marvel,
each panel combines form and color into a painted delight for
the eye while moving the story to its dramatic finale. The
high-quality paper and inks used to present this painted
artwork makes this package a bargain!
Audience:
Naming a single comparison for this comic is difficult. If
you like the epic human dramas of Beowulf or Age of Bronze, or
if Greek and Norse mythology is your cup of tea, give Saga of
the Metabarons a try. Much like the media mega-epic Star
Wars, the crucial elements of myth-meets-space-fantasy are
abundant here. The Operatic relationships make the story kin
to P. Craig Russell's Niebelung series while the technical
monstrosities and tough, hard-bitten, out-numbered heroes
should please fans of Wolverine, Robocop, the Terminator, or
Tarzan.
This comic book is also a perfect starting-point into the vast
and greatly underappreciated (at least in America) world of
European comics. If you find you like Metabarons, be sure to
check out some of the other critically-acclaimed books now
being published by Les Humanoids, including The Nikopol
Trilogy, Dormant Beast, and The Technopriests.
If you like Metabarons, take a look at:
Cold Cut Distribution
220 N Main St. - Salinas, CA 93901 - (831) 751-7300