Les Spectres d'Inverloch

Valérian and Laureline #11

by Pierre Christin, Jean-Claude Mézières (Illustrator)

Galaxity’s orders are rather bizarre, lately. Laureline has been left on stand-by in a Scottish castle. Valerian, haunted by recurrent nightmares, has been sent to capture a sentient being as if it were a wild animal – an unsavoury task, to say the least. And on Earth in the 1980s, members of the military and political elites are descending into madness one by one. What future does our planet still have ... and who’s so bent of changing it?

Genres: Comics, Science Fiction, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fantasy

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Pierre Christin was a French comics creator and writer.

Reviews

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ghosts of Inverloch and The Wrath of Hypsis make one arc and are closely connected to previous two volumes. Definitely not my favourite ones, simply because I find the scenery of good old Earth boooring. Humour saves it as always, so does the presence of one abducted Glapum'tian as well as always scheming Shinguz. These made me giggle a lot of times, especially their debates on morals...



Shingouz make the world go round!

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first volume in a two volume story. In this particular volume, a team is gathered to deal with a great crisis. However, you won't find out what that crisis is until the next volume, so as a stand-alone read, this isn't very satisfying. There are a few returning characters, though. So, if you are the type of reader who gets a thrill from seeing returning characters that you thought you wouldn't see again, this might be interesting. Otherwise, it's just OK.

[Raisu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was difficult to rate, because it's not very riveting, but at least it's better than the previous entry to the series. Two and a half stars, rounded up to three because of The Shingouz.

[João Luís Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inventivo, cativante, surpreendente!

[Gijs Grob · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Verschijningen op Inverloch' is met 'De Banvloek van Hypsis' het tweede dubbelalbum in de Ravianreeks, na het superieure 'Halte Châtelet, richting Cassiopeia'/'Brooklyn Station, Eindpunt Kosmos'. Het is een dappere exercitie: in 1984 raakte 1986, het jaar waarin de auteurs in het vroege Ravianverhaal 'Het woedende water' de aarde laten vergaan, snel dichterbij. Om de reeks niet door de werkelijkheid te laten inhalen, nemen de auteurs een drastische beslissing, waarna helaas de reeks nooit meer hetzelfde zou zijn.

'Verschijningen op Inverloch' is al een voorbode van de latere, lichtere stijl. Het verhaal bestaat uit zes verschillende verhaallijnen die pas aan het einde bij elkaar komen. Helaas gaat er alleen van het Amerikaanse avontuur enige dreiging uit. Interessant is ook Christin's verwijzing naar diens samenwerking met Enki Bilal: 'De jacht'. Maar het geheel is te rustig en te licht verteld om indruk te maken. En bovendien begint Mezières' tekenstijl hier ook akelig slordiger te worden, een trend die nooit meer gekeerd zou worden.

[Jean-Paul Keulen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bij de eerste acht afleveringen van Ravian dacht ik geregeld 'jongens, probeer niet zoveel verhaal in 48 pagina's te rammen' (iets wat ik trouwens heb bij de meeste strips uit de jaren zeventig). Bij het tweeluik Halte Châtelet, richting Cassiopeia en Brooklyn Station, Eindpunt Kosmos leken de makers eindelijk de balans goed te hebben. Deze eerste helft van het volgende tweeluik is dan weer het andere uiterste: een album waarin feitelijk bijna niets gebeurt. Niet alleen moet de actie nog komen, zelfs het probleem is nog niet geïntroduceerd. Bovendien speelt het verhaal (of eigenlijk dus: het gebrek daaraan) zich grotendeels af op de laat-twintigste-eeuwse aarde, waardoor er weinig ruimte is voor illustrator Mézières om te laten zien wat hij kan. Desondanks niet vervélend om te lezen, maar hopelijk maakt het volgende deel de investering goed.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give it the three stars for the slow build, but . . . that's all this is: a slow build. The entire book is set-up for the next book. However, it does a good job pulling in various threads and characters from previous books, therefore adding to their value.

So on the one hand, great pacing that adds to the mystery. On the other hand, this is not an entire book. This is half a book. Let's see where this plot goes.

[Naïma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Décidément je n'accroche pas trop avec Valérian... je reconnais la qualité de cette BD, l'inventivité et la solidité du scénario et des personnages mais à part les petits traits d'humour, je ne suis pas transportée plus que ça par l'histoire. J'ai lu le suivant aussi, c'est un récit en deux tomes : même ressenti.

[Paul Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laureline gets to ride horseback in the Highlands and have high tea in a castle. Valérian is on an alien world waist deep in a swamp trying to capture a giant jellyfish-like creature. There's a proper British secret agent, and our old friends the Shingouz are back in another imaginatively written, richly illustrated story elevated by second-wave feminism and anti-Gaullist ethics.

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inverlochin aaveet ja seuraava Hypsiksen salamat ovat taas jatkis, jossa ollaan maapallolla, kuten parissa edellisessäkin. Massiiviset ja eeppiset avaruusvisiot ovat vaan parempia kuin nämä maapalloseikkailut.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un peu partout encore sans direction. C'est la troisième histoire de suite comme ça. La première partie de deux c'est pas terrible mais j'ai besoin d'un peu qui se passé avant les dernières 5 pages. Et encore une fois Valérien et Laureline ne sont pas ensembles pour la majority de l'histoire.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have joyed this bit of serialization, but unsure about its conclusion. It might not even be over as another episode is to follow. Though I did enjoy all the one-sit episodes as this series started off, I did not know it would lead to this.

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probablemente la serie ha alcanzado su cenit con los los dos dípticos formados por los álbumes "Metro Chatelet, dirección Casiopea" + "Estación Brooklyn, final de línea el cosmos" y "Los espectros de Inverloch + Los Rayos de Hypsis".

[Norman · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I understand the need for setup, typically that also establishes what the stakes and objective and/or general threat is. This volume doesn't do any of that, and doesn't even set up in an economical way, having Laureline just kinda...hang around.

What a waste of Scotland.

[Dbgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely atmospheric, great storytelling, and I loved the art too. Oh and this was funny also.

[Arensb · Rating 3 out of 5]

First part of another two-parter.

[Pascale · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'aime beaucoup quand on ne sait pas tout dès le départ... je crois que celle-ci aura une suite...

[NoImporta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mystery unfolds!

[Comics Alternative · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/euro-com...

[Simon Chadwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laureline and Valerian are once again separated in their roles as spatio-temporal agents, working across time and space on the orders of the future Terran Galaxity. But all’s not well. Laureline is in Scotland at a roughly contemporary time to our own, enjoying the hospitality at Inverloch Castle while she awaits orders, while Valerian is undertaking a somewhat wet extraction mission in another star system. Plagued by nightmares, and with Galaxity cut off from him, he’s not particularly content with what he’s been asked to do, nor the working in enforced silence.

And the trouble stretches further, with the alien information traders known as the Shingouz working on behalf of Earth on one planet, and the overseer of the Spatio-Temporal Service wandering a deserted Galaxity, there is a steady drip-drip of information that someone or something is infiltrating Earth and altering humanity’s destiny amongst the stars. Hidden in human form, whoever they are they are successfully eroding at humankind’s achievements and defences, so by the time Valerian arrives at Inverloch Castle the scale of the worry can be revealed and what might be Valerian’s and Laureline’s most important mission laid out.

Don’t expect a resolution within these pages. Essentially this is a lengthy set-up for what follows in volume 12, but it’s by no means a wasted read and gives us a proper sense of scale to the seriousness of the matter, not to mention an opportunity for us to get to know a few of the supporting characters a little better too. Mézières and Christin offer a unique angle on science-fiction storytelling and if you’ve not discovered the series before then now’s the time to do so as Valerian and Laureline are set for their big screen debut next year courtesy of Luc Besson. So do yourself a favour and get immersed.

[Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the 1984 hardback in French from Dargaud, which obtained the top prize at the Festival of Angouleme that year.

This episode is something of a reset for the series. There’s little or no story, just a convergence of characters in preparation for the next step in the following episode, but this episode bursts with energy, invention, humour, and emotion. The artwork is reinvigorated, the storytelling is as satirical as ever. If a bit more happened, this would definitely be a five star review. Importantly also, the relationship between Valérian and Laureline has a big reset too. Without support or orders from Galaxity, they are once again a mutually supportive and mutually reliant couple. It seems like Valérian’s indiscretions in previous episodes have been forgiven by a (surprisingly?) magnanimous Laureline.

Despite the levity, the theme is grave and as hard sci-fi as sci-fi can get. This story was published just before the date of the end of the world set out in La Cite Des Eaux Mouvantes. Clearly that wasn’t going to happen, so the paradoxes of time travel were finally catching up with the characters. The Galaxity Valérian and Laureline had known is falling into a vanishing parallel universe, under the evil influence of the planet Hypsis. A new era seems to be opening for the characters, with all the possibilities this paradox offers. This episode is effectively the first of a new series.

A very good read, and one I need to follow up on as I left France shortly thereafter and haven’t been able to keep up with this favourite series.

[reveurdart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like re-reading this today. It's always been my favourite story in the series. I like the earth setting and how it's used in the storytelling. Even though it's part of a bigger arc, it can be read on its own.

[Frans Kempe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something is altering the human part in the galaxy and Valentin and Lauraline amongst other are gathering in Scotland. A build up for the next book.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valerian hunts a ghost on an alien planet and Laureline visits a Scottish noble family in search of the lost planet of hypsis.

[Alie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je préviens tout de suite : il ne se passe rien dans cette 1ère partie d'un double tome.

Cependant, l'univers et l'ambiance mise en place sont très intéressants et donnent vraiment envie de lire la suite.

Valérian ne sert toujours à rien mais les différents personnages déjà introduits dans les histoires précédentes sont plus développés et nous permettent de mieux nous plonger dans l'univers que Mezieres et Christin ont créé avec la série des Valérian.

J'attends donc de lire la suite et espère que cette fois, je ne serais pas déçue par le second tome...

[Vindersloon · Rating 3 out of 5]

in het Nl