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Yoko Tsuno #1
The Curious Trio
Vic and Pol are working for a television network when, one evening, they meet a young Japanese electronics engineer under very unusual circumstances. A friendship is soon struck up, a project drafted, and the newly formed trio is on its way to investigate an underground river. But they find a lot more than they bargained for and become part of a story that began millions of light years away, changing their lives forever.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
September 8, 2019
This series of comic books were childhood favorites of mine, that I am now revisiting, thanks to a great friend who has collected the entire series!
A young engineer becomes friends with a television producer and a camera man after a funny misunderstanding. She agrees to work with them on a documentary on speleology, only to make a startling discovery below the cave they are set to film in...
Yoko Tsuno is a wonderful character: tough, clever, competent and independent. Kudos to my dad, who read them with me when I was little, and who exposed me to a wonderful role model!
As this is the first tome, the other characters, Vic, Pol and Khany, are not really developed further than sketches that help push the (slightly rushed) plot towards its conclusion. But these are mere growing pains, and the following books see them more fleshed out. While this story throws a lot of information at the reader, it also perfectly sets the table for future installments.
While it's a true nostalgic pleasure to dive back into this series, I have to say it aged remarkably well! Originally written in the late 70s, these books seem to have been ahead of their time. I'm not sure what age group audience Leloup had in mind, but while they are straightforward enough to be read by children, my grown-up self is just as entertained by the intelligent story and articulate characters.
On to the rest of the series!
A young engineer becomes friends with a television producer and a camera man after a funny misunderstanding. She agrees to work with them on a documentary on speleology, only to make a startling discovery below the cave they are set to film in...
Yoko Tsuno is a wonderful character: tough, clever, competent and independent. Kudos to my dad, who read them with me when I was little, and who exposed me to a wonderful role model!
As this is the first tome, the other characters, Vic, Pol and Khany, are not really developed further than sketches that help push the (slightly rushed) plot towards its conclusion. But these are mere growing pains, and the following books see them more fleshed out. While this story throws a lot of information at the reader, it also perfectly sets the table for future installments.
While it's a true nostalgic pleasure to dive back into this series, I have to say it aged remarkably well! Originally written in the late 70s, these books seem to have been ahead of their time. I'm not sure what age group audience Leloup had in mind, but while they are straightforward enough to be read by children, my grown-up self is just as entertained by the intelligent story and articulate characters.
On to the rest of the series!
September 29, 2021
This is an imaginative science fiction adventure series featuring an Asian female lead. Even though this was originally published in the 1970s, the art and designs hold up well.
June 14, 2025
Terug naar vroeger en mijn favoriete stripreeks nog eens lezen 🤩 eerste strip is niet de beste maar wel mooi begin 😁
August 22, 2017
Premier album de Yoko Tsuno, on perçoit clairement, lorsqu'on connaît le reste de la série, que Leloup n'a pas encore fait ses choix définitifs. Le dessin des personnages est moins réaliste que dans les autres albums, comme s'il avait hésité entre une voie terre-à-terre (les décors, eux, sont impeccables) et une voie plus humoristique (personnages, entre autres avec les noms de Pol et Vic, un peu douloureux).
La formation du trio est un bon renversement de rôles, où la femme, apparemment, "ajoutée" au duo de Pol et Vic, prend rapidement la tête du groupe.
La rencontre avec les Vinéens, qui seront présents tout du long des aventures de Yoko, est le coeur de l'histoire, mais on sent à la fin que le tout n'était qu'une introduction. Bien que la vie du trio soit en danger et qu'il y ait une découverte importante sur ce qui est arrivé à l'ordinateur principal contrôlant la colonie vinéenne, il y a plusieurs trous dans l'intrigue, une agressivité presque gratuite tellement elle surgit non provoquée et il manque d'une certaine tension.
La fin, avec les trois qui retournent à la surface presque comme si de rien n'était, semble trop facile et plusieurs questions demeurent sur les Vinéens et le fait qu'ils soient sur Terre, indétectés, depuis autant de millions d'années. Cela garde l'intérêt pour les prochaines histoires, mais agace quand même un peu.
La formation du trio est un bon renversement de rôles, où la femme, apparemment, "ajoutée" au duo de Pol et Vic, prend rapidement la tête du groupe.
La rencontre avec les Vinéens, qui seront présents tout du long des aventures de Yoko, est le coeur de l'histoire, mais on sent à la fin que le tout n'était qu'une introduction. Bien que la vie du trio soit en danger et qu'il y ait une découverte importante sur ce qui est arrivé à l'ordinateur principal contrôlant la colonie vinéenne, il y a plusieurs trous dans l'intrigue, une agressivité presque gratuite tellement elle surgit non provoquée et il manque d'une certaine tension.
La fin, avec les trois qui retournent à la surface presque comme si de rien n'était, semble trop facile et plusieurs questions demeurent sur les Vinéens et le fait qu'ils soient sur Terre, indétectés, depuis autant de millions d'années. Cela garde l'intérêt pour les prochaines histoires, mais agace quand même un peu.
March 21, 2020
Ben Beeld en Paul Pola maken kennis met Yoko Tsuno en besluiten na de kennismaking een grot te bezoeken om na te gaan waar de ondergrondse rivier naar toe gaat.
Zo komen ze in contact met de Vineanen die 400.000 jaar geleden naar aarde zijn gekomen en onder de grond
De Vineanen die een rol spelen in dit stripboek zijn Traja, Karpan, Khany en Poky.
Uit het verhaal, de teksten en de diepgang van de personages, is duidelijk te merken dat dit het eerste verhaal is wat Roger Leloup vorm gegeven heeft. In rekening genomen dat hij dit geschreven heeft in (volgens mij) de tweede helft van de zeventiger jaren, is het verhaal bijzonder en origineel voor die tijd. In de verdere delen krijgt het verhaal een betere diepgang en worden de personages beter vorm gegeven.
Ik heb het eerst deel zelf cadeau gekregen in de jaren zeventig en herlees de serie nog steeds met veel plezier. Onze dochter heeft ook de serie ontdekt in haar tienerjaren en heeft alle delen meer dan eens gelezen. Tegenwoordig is het traditie dat ik de nieuw uitgekomen delen van haar krijg voor mijn verjaardag of voor kerst.
Voor het plezier wat ik elke keer beleef en het bijzondere van deze strip in de jaren zeventig geven voor mij reden genoeg om 4 sterren te geven.
Zo komen ze in contact met de Vineanen die 400.000 jaar geleden naar aarde zijn gekomen en onder de grond
De Vineanen die een rol spelen in dit stripboek zijn Traja, Karpan, Khany en Poky.
Uit het verhaal, de teksten en de diepgang van de personages, is duidelijk te merken dat dit het eerste verhaal is wat Roger Leloup vorm gegeven heeft. In rekening genomen dat hij dit geschreven heeft in (volgens mij) de tweede helft van de zeventiger jaren, is het verhaal bijzonder en origineel voor die tijd. In de verdere delen krijgt het verhaal een betere diepgang en worden de personages beter vorm gegeven.
Ik heb het eerst deel zelf cadeau gekregen in de jaren zeventig en herlees de serie nog steeds met veel plezier. Onze dochter heeft ook de serie ontdekt in haar tienerjaren en heeft alle delen meer dan eens gelezen. Tegenwoordig is het traditie dat ik de nieuw uitgekomen delen van haar krijg voor mijn verjaardag of voor kerst.
Voor het plezier wat ik elke keer beleef en het bijzondere van deze strip in de jaren zeventig geven voor mij reden genoeg om 4 sterren te geven.
April 20, 2021
2012 = £5.99 = $11.95
TheWolf does what the Blake & Mortimer doofus orchestrates but without all the bs. They are the same type of adventures but much better.
He gives you art instead of long word blocks that describe what you can see in the art. No "he turned his head towards the..." ridiculousness. He doesn't have his characters escaping death twice a page either. That makes the whole story preposterous. Then, a female leader with strong females everywhere is almighty refreshing in this sort of action genre.
In shorter- read this. Whoever you are. It's not just for chickadees.
TheWolf does what the Blake & Mortimer doofus orchestrates but without all the bs. They are the same type of adventures but much better.
He gives you art instead of long word blocks that describe what you can see in the art. No "he turned his head towards the..." ridiculousness. He doesn't have his characters escaping death twice a page either. That makes the whole story preposterous. Then, a female leader with strong females everywhere is almighty refreshing in this sort of action genre.
In shorter- read this. Whoever you are. It's not just for chickadees.
July 28, 2021
translation problems
March 22, 2017
Dur de noter une BD iconique de mon enfance. Pas le meilleur de la série mais une très bonne introduction. Le trio se crée et on rencontre pour la 1re fois les Vinéens.
August 31, 2017
Aion lukea nämä alkuperäisessä julkaisujärjestyksessä, enkä siinä mielivaltaisessa järjestyksessä, jossa ne on suomeksi julkaistu. :P
July 29, 2020
Der erste Band, den es jemals von dieser Reihe gab! Und für einen ersten Band auch vollkommen okay - man merkt, dass Leloup eine Idee hatte und diese sich erst einmal einpendeln muss.
Die Zeichnungen sind gut, aber noch nicht so ganz ausgereift. Yokos Gesicht ist in den ersten beiden Bänden noch härter als später. Leloup hat genau ein Gesicht für Bösewichte und nutzt es einfach immer wieder - nur die Haarfarbe wird unterschiedlich eingefärbt. Die technischen Details sind hingegen top.
Handlungsmäßig gibt es in Band 1 das eine oder andere Plothole, aber wie gesagt, Leloup hatte die Idee mit den Vineanern und hat eine schöne Unterwelt geschaffen, da werde ich ihm die Plotholes in der ersten Geschichte mal größtenteils noch vergeben.
Yoko ist in "Unterirdische Begegnung" noch ein bisschen bitchy unterwegs, ich glaube, nach einigen Bänden wird sie freundlicher. Knut hier nur nervig, ich hoffe, der bekommt noch einige andere Qualitäten, da kann ich mich nicht mehr so dran erinnern...
Die Zeichnungen sind gut, aber noch nicht so ganz ausgereift. Yokos Gesicht ist in den ersten beiden Bänden noch härter als später. Leloup hat genau ein Gesicht für Bösewichte und nutzt es einfach immer wieder - nur die Haarfarbe wird unterschiedlich eingefärbt. Die technischen Details sind hingegen top.
Handlungsmäßig gibt es in Band 1 das eine oder andere Plothole, aber wie gesagt, Leloup hatte die Idee mit den Vineanern und hat eine schöne Unterwelt geschaffen, da werde ich ihm die Plotholes in der ersten Geschichte mal größtenteils noch vergeben.
Yoko ist in "Unterirdische Begegnung" noch ein bisschen bitchy unterwegs, ich glaube, nach einigen Bänden wird sie freundlicher. Knut hier nur nervig, ich hoffe, der bekommt noch einige andere Qualitäten, da kann ich mich nicht mehr so dran erinnern...
February 14, 2014
I loved the Yoko Tsuno comics as a teenager I think I read all of the ones that my local library had. My sister just rediscovered them in her local comic book store and brought home a bunch of them. They are so wonderful and Yoko is such a great female hero!
November 4, 2016
I really can't put my finger to why I found this book boring but it wasn't of the same quality as the other Yoko Tsuno comics I read as child. Wouldn't recommend it
October 14, 2014
Yoko meets Pol and Vic for the first time, and they're plunged into a thrilling adventure involving a subterranean race of blue skinned people.
August 10, 2022
Ma série de bande-dessinée préférée !!
J'ai du lire les volumes de Yoko des millions de fois et je ne m'en lasse jamais.
Un rayon du soleil levant qui illumine l'esprit :)
J'ai du lire les volumes de Yoko des millions de fois et je ne m'en lasse jamais.
Un rayon du soleil levant qui illumine l'esprit :)
April 12, 2019
This edition is the 1977 paperback published by Dupuis, in French.
This series is one of my childhood favourites. Looking back at it some four decades later, it remains of very high quality. Despite being constrained by the standard format of Franco-Belgian graphic novels, and the editorial need to make this a children’s comic, which makes this story short, frantic, and full of plot holes, it nevertheless has a number of sci-fi elements that feel modern even today.
Let’s start with the protagonist, Yoko. She’s Japanese (unusually diverse at the time), grown-up rather than a child or teen (by contrast with most comics’ heroines of the time), a professional and highly competent electronics engineer working in television (unheard of at the time), clearly the leader of the gang without having to be cute or some bloke’s love interest (and her male sidekicks have full agency rather than being weakened so as to make Yoko look good), as well as a full-on, principled, and sassy action hero who doesn’t need anyone to come to the rescue, and who takes no nonsense from anybody.
Her alien counterpart, Khany, is very much the same in an alien society that seems to be fully equal between the sexes.
The story involves an alien planet facing cosmic and ecological disaster and needing to be evacuated, a number of lost generation ships, a two million year journey to Earth in suspended animation, a subterranean refuge for an advanced civilisation (the artwork in respect of technology and architecture is second to none), an AI that governs all of the aliens, but turns out sentient and evil at the end, and finally factions and politics splitting alien society as a result of inadvertent “first contact”. That’s loads for a kids’ cartoon.
As to the plot holes ... why haven’t the aliens adapted to surface life in 400,000 years? If the evil AI sent Khany to welcome Yoko and her gang, why isn’t she one of the minions? Why does the chief minion want to destroy everything at the end if his master wanted to rule the surface world? Never mind, it’s all great fun.
This series is one of my childhood favourites. Looking back at it some four decades later, it remains of very high quality. Despite being constrained by the standard format of Franco-Belgian graphic novels, and the editorial need to make this a children’s comic, which makes this story short, frantic, and full of plot holes, it nevertheless has a number of sci-fi elements that feel modern even today.
Let’s start with the protagonist, Yoko. She’s Japanese (unusually diverse at the time), grown-up rather than a child or teen (by contrast with most comics’ heroines of the time), a professional and highly competent electronics engineer working in television (unheard of at the time), clearly the leader of the gang without having to be cute or some bloke’s love interest (and her male sidekicks have full agency rather than being weakened so as to make Yoko look good), as well as a full-on, principled, and sassy action hero who doesn’t need anyone to come to the rescue, and who takes no nonsense from anybody.
Her alien counterpart, Khany, is very much the same in an alien society that seems to be fully equal between the sexes.
The story involves an alien planet facing cosmic and ecological disaster and needing to be evacuated, a number of lost generation ships, a two million year journey to Earth in suspended animation, a subterranean refuge for an advanced civilisation (the artwork in respect of technology and architecture is second to none), an AI that governs all of the aliens, but turns out sentient and evil at the end, and finally factions and politics splitting alien society as a result of inadvertent “first contact”. That’s loads for a kids’ cartoon.
As to the plot holes ... why haven’t the aliens adapted to surface life in 400,000 years? If the evil AI sent Khany to welcome Yoko and her gang, why isn’t she one of the minions? Why does the chief minion want to destroy everything at the end if his master wanted to rule the surface world? Never mind, it’s all great fun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2022
Yoko Tsuno is a beautiful smart young Japanese woman who works as an engineer. She meets her friends, Vick and Pal, two guys who work on a television station, when she's asked to rob a building to check if the alarm system works perfectly and Vick and Pal mistake her for a bandit.
After the misunderstanding is solved, Vick propose her to work on a new program they're making about nature and exploration and Yoko agrees. Long story short, the trio ends up meeting the Vineans, an alien race who came to Earth after their planet was ruined. And things go nuts…
Yoko Tsuno is one of the few BDs that features a female protagonist in an active role and who's also smart and beautiful. This is extremely rare, since women in BDs don't have main roles and even if they make an appearance, it's short and they're just the male protagonist's love interest with no personality.
Yoko is a breath of a fresh air, since she doesn't end up with neither her male friends, but she mostly forms female friendships (though it was done because Leloup didn't want to upset all the male readers who had a crush on her).
Despite featuring sci-fi elements, the story is realistic.
If my review makes you interested in checking this series, go for it! You won't be disappointed!
After the misunderstanding is solved, Vick propose her to work on a new program they're making about nature and exploration and Yoko agrees. Long story short, the trio ends up meeting the Vineans, an alien race who came to Earth after their planet was ruined. And things go nuts…
Yoko Tsuno is one of the few BDs that features a female protagonist in an active role and who's also smart and beautiful. This is extremely rare, since women in BDs don't have main roles and even if they make an appearance, it's short and they're just the male protagonist's love interest with no personality.
Yoko is a breath of a fresh air, since she doesn't end up with neither her male friends, but she mostly forms female friendships (though it was done because Leloup didn't want to upset all the male readers who had a crush on her).
Despite featuring sci-fi elements, the story is realistic.
If my review makes you interested in checking this series, go for it! You won't be disappointed!
December 22, 2019
Very promising beginning. We see how Yoko, Vic and Pol first get together, and the broad character traits of each are already evident. The art if gorgeous; the characters being drawn in a typical bande dessine style and with very well thought out and detailed backgrounds. Cars and buildings look tantalizingly recognizable.
In this volume, Vic and Pol meet Yoko while she is doing a security test of a laboratory. Impressed by her electronics knowledge, they ask her to be their audio engineer for an investigative video about where the water of an underground river comes out above ground. In the course of this investigation, they meet a secret underground society of Vineans, aliens who came to Earth millions of years ago when their twin suns made their home planet uninhabitable. The trio, and especially Yoko strike up a friendship with the Vinean Khany and her sister Poky.
The central mystery of this story does wrap up a little neatly, but that might be an artifact of the BD constraints where each volume only has forty some odd pages to work with.
Very much looking forward to the continuing this series.
In this volume, Vic and Pol meet Yoko while she is doing a security test of a laboratory. Impressed by her electronics knowledge, they ask her to be their audio engineer for an investigative video about where the water of an underground river comes out above ground. In the course of this investigation, they meet a secret underground society of Vineans, aliens who came to Earth millions of years ago when their twin suns made their home planet uninhabitable. The trio, and especially Yoko strike up a friendship with the Vinean Khany and her sister Poky.
The central mystery of this story does wrap up a little neatly, but that might be an artifact of the BD constraints where each volume only has forty some odd pages to work with.
Very much looking forward to the continuing this series.
September 17, 2025
pas vraiment la plus palpitante des aventures de Yoko mais faut bien passer par la case départ et se faire jeter à la tête un tout plein de science un peu abrutissant à force. Mais bon une héroïne des années 70 comme elle ça vaut quand même le détour ! (c'est à peu près mon avis sur les 3/4 des bd du 1 au 8, ceux que j'ai relus pour le moment). Bon on remarquera qu'ils se sont rapidement éloigné de l'aspect un peu Spirou et Fantasio du début, peut-être parce que le design de Yoko était un peu bizarre voire un poil problématique au début.
ah et il faudrait que Pol arrête de faire des jeux de mots et blagues en rapport avec la couleur de peau/les origines de Yoko c'est juste absolument insupportable.
ah et il faudrait que Pol arrête de faire des jeux de mots et blagues en rapport avec la couleur de peau/les origines de Yoko c'est juste absolument insupportable.
July 25, 2017
I loved the drawings as a child, and have finally decided to actually read the stories, and I think they're great! Action packed, weird, dramatic and full of heart. They're all very nice, and very in awe of Yokos abilities, and it's great! It's a little dated somewhere, and a little racist. Also, the Vinea storyline is a bit heavy, and I like the ones set on earth a bit more. But I like it, nonetheless. And I will keep on.
- Review for the first 8 novels:
Nærkontakt i jordens indre, Djævelens orgel, Budskab til evigheden, Vulcans smedje, Vineas tre sole, Vampyren fra Rothenburg, Titanerne + Vindens datter.
- Review for the first 8 novels:
Nærkontakt i jordens indre, Djævelens orgel, Budskab til evigheden, Vulcans smedje, Vineas tre sole, Vampyren fra Rothenburg, Titanerne + Vindens datter.
September 19, 2020
Jeugdsentiment. Dit eerste deel staat even in voor alle delen die ik achter elkaar las. Ik vond het vroeger zo cool om te zien hoe vriendelijk en slim en vindingrijk Yoko was, en dat is nog steeds genieten. Echter, het valt wel op hoeveel van het verhaal elke keer tekstueel wordt uitgelegd, dat maakte het soms wel eens wat saai. De scenarios zijn interessant en fantasierijk, de relaties tussen de karakters zijn wat simplistisch. Zeker Paul en Ben lijken geen eigen leven te hebben. Wel opvallend en positief is hoe Yoko haar dochter meeneemt en in haar leven inpast, dat zie je niet zo vaak in fictie. Het was mooi om deze stripboeken nog weer eens terug te lezen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2017
Dit is Yoko Tsuno's eerste avontuur en dat is helaas wel een beetje merkbaar. Het tekenwerk en het verhaal balanceren nog op de rand van komisch en realistisch, zonder een duidelijke keuze. Paul is hier nog in zijn element, terwijl hij in latere strips naar de achtergrond wordt gedreven. 'Trio in het onbekende' is meteen de eerste ontmoeting met de Vineanen, en Yoko weet in een paar uur hun hele maatschappij op de kop te zetten. Dit zou ze in latere verhalen nog enkele malen doen...
February 23, 2020
Originally published in French. First story in the Yoko Tsuno series. A science fiction adventure where the Yoko, a Japanese electronics engineer and secutiry consultant, and her friends. Here they investigate an underground river. But they find a lot more than they bargained for and become part of a story that began millions of light years away, changing their lives forever. A long running series by the Belgium artist.
September 18, 2022
Päätin lukea uudelleen kaikki Yoko Tsuno albumit. Osan olen lukenut aiemmin, osaa en koskaan. Yritän päästä mahdollisimman lähelle alkuperäistä järjestystä mutta koska joudun haalimaan osan albumeista eri kirjastoista ja neljättä albumia ei ole saatavilla, en pääse tavoitteeseen näin projektin alussa.
Tämä ensimmäinen tarina julkaistiin alunperin vuonna 1971 ja se on kestänyt aikaa hämmästyttävän hyvin.
Tämä ensimmäinen tarina julkaistiin alunperin vuonna 1971 ja se on kestänyt aikaa hämmästyttävän hyvin.
August 18, 2023
Voici le premier tome des aventures de Yoko Tsuno, ingénieure éléctronique japonaise, et de ses deux amis, Vic et Pol. On découvre les personnage de Khany et Poky, les vinéennes de la planète Vinéa. Les dessins n'ont pas encore le style des albums suivants mais plutôt le style Spirou. Un bon album mais pas parmi les meilleurs de la sèrie à mon avis. Il est quand meme intéressant de voir les débuts de Yoko Tsuno. L'histoire se déroule sous terre.
January 8, 2020
Série lu dans un désordre confus. J'ai décidé de reprendre tous les albums non lus, dans l'ordre cette fois. Je mets trois étoiles car on est loin du potentiel de certains autres albums. C'est les balbutiements, c'est bien normal.
May 14, 2021
Going back to my childhood with one of my favorite characters. It is still beautiful to look at and the story is fun.
February 23, 2022
Slightly racist by French standards .. extremely racist by decent human standards. Also way too fast paced …-3 for it being so unrealistic (no one solves problems that fast)
March 1, 2022
The first book in the series republished as book 7 for English readers. The art is more cartoonish, Yoko is less stoic, and Vic is almost intolerably grumpy, but the seeds of greatness are there.
April 19, 2022
Oli kyseessä tekninen asia taikka juonen käänne, joka asia väännettiin rautalangasta. Teki lukemisesta raskasta, mutta kun tarina toimi ja taide on komeaa, niin hyvä mieli tuli.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews