The Incal: by Alexandro Jodorowsky - Moebius

When I was little in the early to mid 80’s the BBC showed a animated sci-fi film that blew my tiny mind and made me cry. For 20 years it stayed in my mind and I kept trying to find out what the hell it was. It turns out it was called ‘Les Maîtres du temps’ (or Masters of Time) and it was animated by the legendary French artist Moeibus (Jean Giraud)So when I walked into my library one day and this book was on the display stand in the entrance I snatched it up immediately. I had never heard of it before but seeing ‘Moeibus’ left me in no doubt that I had to read it. It turns out that not only is this a book by one of my favorite artists but it is regarded as one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. I can see why – for a start it’s illustrated by one of the all-time great illustrators (it’s unfathomable how amazing his imagination is) so the art is stunning.As for the story, well – it is complex, convoluted, spiritual, messy, funny – I don’t quite understand the term ‘Space Opera’ but could see it being a fitting description. All the major themes of life are contained in these pages as well as an ongoing spiritual journey about the meaning of existence. This is truly an epic book full of scope and depth and must be pretty much the high watermark of the graphic novel.

And often extremely strange.But, and this is often overlooked, frequently funny and satirical. Jodorowsky the writer is also known as a maker of surreal blackly comic movies that are also extremely violent. The Incal, however, is Jodorowsky in a playful mood and were it not for the fact that the metaphysical aspects of this science fiction graphic novel seem to be played out with relative seriousness I'd be inclined to call The Incal a satire.I can usually sit down and get through a graphic novel relatively quickly but, while enjoying it, I seemed only to be able to get through it about 10-20 pages at a time spread over a few weeks. This may be because I found myself not quite in sympathy with the fallible everyman protagonist (his name is appropriate) and the metaphysical or spiritual aspect of the thing. It has its moments, many of them but,while in part it deserves its reputation, I sometimes felt I was looking at the emperor's new clothes. Perhaps an introduction might have been useful.As for the art, well it's by Moebius who is one of the greatest graphic story illustrators of the last 40 years. It's worth buying for the art alone and there should be more books by Moebius available. It is good but I feel as if I'm sitting on the fence somewhat.

I am sorry, but I couldn't like "The Incal" as much as I wanted. Its art is what an epic space opera should be. Colossal scale but with attention to detail, really beautiful exotic environments with the necessary disregard of physics and it succeeded in immersing you in that degenarate galaxy. Being true to the sci-fi genre, it also dealed with pressing social subjects, like the indifference of the individual and the media manipulation by the leading elite, which allowed (in my view) the Darkness to creep.It was then, as I mentioned, a story of epic proportions, but the storytelling was lacking. The characters seemed to accept very easily every absurd idea that the Incal had, losing their individuality and, one could say, their own free will. The only one who revolted was John Difool, but in an incoherent, chaotic and seemingly unjustified way. Further, the pacing seemed rushed and there were many times where large jumps were made within the same page.For last, I left the dialogues who seemed for the most part quite uninspired and bland. Perhaps that was due to the translation from French, but unfortunately, unless I dedicate four years of my life to achieve mastery over that language, I will not learn first-hand if the quality in the dialogues was literally lost in translation.To sum it up, I enjoyed it, but it fell short. The three stars are for the general story, the universe and the artwork. Perhaps it was my high initial expectations. Perhaps I wasn't careful enough when I was reading it. Perhaps...I don't know. What I know is that I will certainly give it another chance.PS. In this particular edition, the typed text seemed too poor in oversized bubbles that were designed for the original (French) letters. Please, be more careful the next time.

There's no denying that this is an epic tale - a classic struggle between good and evil and all grey areas inbetween. There are clear parallels with Jodorowsky's 'Holy Mountain' (the lowlife as saviour, the power struggles, the psychedelic harmonising with the universe) and also his aborted take on Frank Herbert's 'Dune' with the labyrinthine heirarchy of various clans and special powers. The scope is enormous - from giant psychic jellyfish, evil sun-enveloping black eggs and seas of acid to an underground trash universe, a robotic president/assassin patched into the world's TV networks and a hermaphrodite emperor/ess. It really is an immense undertaking. Moebius' art is spectacular - the colours and movement of the human form are second to none.However, for the uninitiated, like Jodorowsky's films, it is often easier to admire than love. I found my initial attachment to antihero John Difool deteriorated slightly through the tale as he developed into more of a superbeing and the arc of the story became more intergalactic in scale rather than the trials and tribulations of a reluctant hero.These are minor niggles though for what is a wildly entertaining and immersive read and is so beautifully presented in a hefty hardback tome. Essential reading.

Really good fun to read.And the art is brilliant.The only thing that gets me down about it is that the story is really just nonsensical at times. It may just be the French style of graphic novel. But at times it just seems like ideas are rushed or just ridiculous. But still brilliant if you like this sort of thing.