The Ways of Almagiel

Horlemonde #1

by Patrick Galliano, Cédric Peyravernay, Bazal

A rich Sci-Fi saga adapted from the work of Julia Verlanger, one of the most celebrated authors of the French science fiction movement of the 1970s.

Humans have scattered and occupied the known universe for so long that many worlds have forgotten their true, Earthly origins. The planets which retain the memory of the Formers have allied together, creating a Galactic Federation, whereas the Retros are worlds that have returned to a more archaic, primitive, and isolationist way of life. The Federation entrusts its best agent, Marce, with a delicate, yet vital, mission to help a retro world called Almagiel evolve. But political machinations, brutal living conditions, and deadly creatures may prove to be the agent's undoing.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction

55 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2008

Reviews

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad 2.7 🌟

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that good. The art was cramped and hard to make out in places. It was not so much an issue of quality as of trying to cram too much into each panel. The plot was serviceable, but the dialogue was odd and a little flat. It seems like a better translator error and a little more care with the dialogue would have made this a much better book.

[Carey Healy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like learning a new fictional universe, and Retroworlds Volume 1 doesn’t disappoint in this regard. The fiction and world building is strong, and the story is enjoyable. The characters are fine, but a little too one dimensional. Their motivations are never fully explored, but there is enough to propel the plot forward.

The art and coloring is good, but as another reviewer mentioned its presentation is a bit cramped. Also, I found it difficult to decipher between secondary characters. Some character silhouettes are too similar making parts of the story hard to follow.

As a comic, the layouts and word-to-panel ratio is average. Although, the art per panel is excellent. When combined as a layout it loses its impact mostly because the coloring isn’t varied enough.

Overall, I really enjoyed the plot and unique lore of the book. The art is good, but as a whole it doesn’t quite come together.

[Aildiin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is very confusing at times.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This two-parter is currently available on Kindle Unlimited. It’s an English translation of a French graphic novel, itself an adaptation of a classic French sci-fi novel.

The old school narrative certainly shows its age with a rather well trodden plot with well trodden themes and tropes. Heroes are heroic just because saving the girl and beating up the baddies is what they do ... it’s nothing original.

The art is very visually inventive, but a bit too busy and at times unclear. The visual storytelling is a bit stilted and at times hard to follow. Good, but not great.

[Freya LaRouge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

I enjoyed ths story line for the most part, but it felt like there were way to many things going on all at once in a short amount of time. I also feel like there should have been chapter breaks ot something, because it would just change what was going on and the characters the story was revolving around. The art was good and it had an interesting story line with some good potential. I'm rooting for Jatred and the Ambassador in the next book for sure.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the art a lot. The story? Not so much. The plot is more of a 'proto' plot, and completely unoriginal, and the dialog is clumsy. It's like what I imagine you'd get if a High School student wrote a comic and somehow managed to get it professionally illustrated.

[Paulo Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saga de ficção científica adaptada da obra de Julia Verlanger, célebre autor do movimento francês de ficção científica dos anos 1970. De colonias áridas, passando por cidades punks até selvas ameaçadoras, um show de cenários luxuosos e personagens exóticos.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of a two part series of a sci-fi story adapted from an european novel offer good art that at times might feel confusing, but have the necesary story beats and classic threads of the genre to at least keep me interested on what happens on the next volu

[Trike · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dialogue in this is really terrible. I hope it’s just a bad translation. The art is okay when looking at individual panels, but it fails to convey the story. Maybe European comics just aren’t for me.

[Johan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comic, artwork and story, felt old, as The Trigan Empire and Storm by Don Lawrence old. It was unable to hold my attention.

PS: I have enjoyed the work of Don Lawrence when I was in my teens and tweens, but not after that.

[Scott Uhls · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s actually more like 1 star, but the art was pretty cool. Typical “two badass guys get sent to prison” bit. The whole lead-up half was utterly disjointed and nonsensical… I don’t even want to keep reading because it was basically what you’d expect from B-rated sci-fi.

[Mark Ames · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artwork is very good and story is the oppressed people fight trope. Enjoyable.

[C. Varn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patrick Galliano's Retroworld does not move me. The art is overly busy and it often a little difficult to tell characters apart despite the good character design. The coloring is top-notch. The plot feels serviceable but rushed and the translation of the dialogue into English is often stilted.