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Cyclops #1-2
Cyclops Volume 1
In 2054, a man looking for work gets a job at a private military contracting firm that has just won a bid to handle the UN's peacekeeping missions, propelling him into a highly sophisticated war broadcast worldwide by the soldiers themselves thanks to the micro-cameras in their helmets. But how far will he go in exploring the boundaries between war and peacekeeping, news and entertainment? Collects the first four issues of Cyclops.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published May 17, 2011
38 people want to read
About the author
Matz
175 books47 followers"Matz" is the pseudonym for French writer Alexis Nolent. He has written scripts for video games, a novel, and as Matz, a number of comics including Triggerman by Walter Hill. His graphic novel, Du plombe dan la tete a.k.a. Headshot, was adapted into the 2012 film, Bullet To The Head.
See http://www.dargaud.com/bd/Auteurs/Matz for a bio in French.
See http://www.dargaud.com/bd/Auteurs/Matz for a bio in French.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 8, 2015
Overall I enjoyed the first installment of Cyclops. I felt the writing and the graphics were decent and did not detract from each other. Arachaia produces a quality product. Initially, What I liked about the graphic novel was it's multiple layers. Rich with critical examination of the media, materialism and privatization of traditionally public sector roles. It encourages its readers to think, and I like that. However, I got board with it because the ideas discussed were not original. It echoes back to the Blackwater controversy, and rehashes the critique of mass media (yes, media is controlled by corporations and capitalists only want more money; we've heard this before). While I got board with the redundant political themes, I enjoyed it at it's surface. A sci-fi action adventure in the vein of Starship Troopers (the movie) but with a European flavor.
January 21, 2013
Halo meets reality TV in this political thriller. Matz and Jacamon team up again to deliver another yarn about a future where the UN has contracted to a private company to handle military affairs- and this company has decided to turn the specialized forces unit into a reality TV-like show. The star is newly appointed Doug Pistoia, who begins to question his role as a simple soldier as he starts to realize that there may be a darker side underlying it all. Despite the usual good cartoony art by Jacamon, the story is almost too plodding on the whole conspiracy, while offering very little plot development, and probably worse yet, virtually no character development. Pistoia is not a well-defined character, the bigger players serve only to move the story, and the whole premise feels a bit fake. If volume 2 proves to be better there might be some hope for this series, but as a start, it is not looking good.
April 12, 2017
The dialogue is a bit rough (the translation?), but overall it's an interesting story. Some of the scene transitions could be cleaner as well. The art is great, though.
October 17, 2011
Pretty decent story that mixes political thriller with millitary sci-fi. Although I've seen most of the sci-fi ideas before (broadcasting a war via tv, crazy spy tech, etc) it's delivered well so I didn't come away feeling like it was a big ripoff. This is largely an introduction; while there's plenty of millitary tactics, the bigger story of the main charater taking on the establishment is really just getting started by the end of this volume. Has lots of promise and I'll probably pick up the next volume to see where it goes.
October 9, 2013
I picked this up because I liked "The Killer," by the same creative team, but I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much. It felt like an incomplete idea (not only because I didn't have the second volume handy), and one that's been done a little better in other comics (like Rick Veitch's "Army @ Love," which is a full-on satire of a media-friendly war, or "The American," which explores the implications of a government-sponsored super soldier and the aftermath).
Having said that, I liked the art and the story was okay. It's just ground that's been tread upon before.
Having said that, I liked the art and the story was okay. It's just ground that's been tread upon before.
April 28, 2012
From the creative team that brought us "The Killer" what this book lacks (a little) in excitement, It makes up for in Sci-fi potentialities. This reminds me of Charlie Huston's "Deathok" though most will be reminded of "The Hunger Games" kinda reality t.v.combat premise.
Hopefully this is a book emphasizing the groundwork
to set up future excitement and action in book 2.
Hopefully this is a book emphasizing the groundwork
to set up future excitement and action in book 2.
August 5, 2012
A pretty talkie comic, with some heavy themes: moral responsibility, celebrity, war as a commercial venture etc... Its a slow start, but by the end of volume one, all of the themes and characters seems to be in place, ready to address some interesting ideas. I'm looking forward to the next few volumes.
November 17, 2011
Matz and Jucamon are my fav modern french speaking comic creators. They write intellegent thriller stories. Cyclops is a smart story of future warfare like Starship Troopers with reality tv spin on it.
Not quite as strong as The Killer series but still very good story, art
Not quite as strong as The Killer series but still very good story, art
November 27, 2011
The writing was so unnatural it was distracting. It's possible it was because this was a translation. Also, I don't recommend starting this without volume 2 in hand. The unfinished story provides no resolutions.
June 18, 2013
Interestingly done story with scary overtones of potential reality. Much better than fely would be on starting
May 8, 2012
Couldn't finish it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews