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Alt-Life #1

Alt-Life

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On a dying Earth in a not-so-distant future, Josiane and René are the first to enter a new virtual world where just about anything is possible... Part dystopian love story, part psychedelic meditation on human nature, "Alt-Life" takes the reader down a mind-bending rabbit hole of desire, loneliness, and self-discovery.

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2018

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Thomas Cadène

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
7,036 reviews83 followers
October 6, 2018
Read it in English. Visually great and original this graphic novel present a vision of the future were humans live most of their time in an alternate life, simulated reality. So far this is good and it also have great moment, but the problems is, whatever their doing, everything always came back to sex. They can explore and build world, live like Gods, but they have sex for most of the time. I think a little less of it and more deeper reflexion on or presence in the world and alternate reality would have been great and it have some of it, just don't enough. Interesting, original and unique, but it could have been so much more!
Profile Image for Jeff James.
218 reviews35 followers
October 22, 2018
Alt-Life is the story of what happens when two horny French people volunteer as beta testers for an all-encompassing VR experience that lets them escape from the polluted, dying Earth. Once you’re inside the VR devices, which look like giant red eggs full of undulating cilia, the system integrates with your body and you live out the rest of your life on the inside.

For the first year they’re inside the devices, Josiane and René are alone in an infinite world, testing out the system so that the rest of humanity can join them when it’s ready. They explore its limits and discover that there aren’t any as long as your device has enough memory. They also explore every possible sexual fantasy. Josiane sinks into endless hedonism, but René quickly becomes disillusioned with the lack of substance in his imagined encounters and loses his sex drive.

This, then, is where more existential questions come into play. If you can have anything you imagine with the snap of your fingers, does any of it have meaning or value? What does it mean to be rich or powerful in a virtual world? The arrival of other humans in the virtual world brings even more complications because, by that time, Josiane and René have changed in immeasurable ways.

While René and Josiane are inside their virtual world, we also get glimpses of the world outside. It’s obvious that the Earth has become inhabitable, presumably due to some kind of environmental catastrophe (sound familiar?) and humanity has created these bizarre organic VR devices as a way to preserve themselves in some form, even if that means living out the rest of their lives in an imaginary world.

From reading some of the other reviews of this book, it seems like the wall-to-wall sex was a bit much for some readers, but Alt-Life is about more than just sex. Instead, the author explores the nature of humanity and what it could mean to give up on “real life” and retreat into a virtual refuge. It just happens to be a particularly horny refuge.

I especially enjoyed the art style. At first, everything is minimalist, all solid colors and simple lines, but once Josiane and René start letting loose and playing with their abilities, there are huge panels full of bright colors and meticulous detail. It’s a beautiful book. My only criticism is that the dialog is lettered in a tight cursive, which makes it difficult to read
Profile Image for Marc Gagnon.
32 reviews3 followers
January 31, 2021
Sommes-nous des êtres de chair ? Le bonheur, c’est la contrepartie du malheur ? Un monde sans contrainte peut-il amener ce bonheur ? Qui sommes-nous ? Qu’est-ce qui fait de nous des humains ? Tant de questions posées dans Alt-Life !

Une longue attente pour une juste anticipation
Alt-Life, je l’attendais avec impatience. J’avais une vague impression que cette BD serait un de ces trucs qui sort du lot, qui ne reste pas sur le chemin de brique jaune. Et je ne m’étais pas trompé ! Elle représente très bien ce qu’est notre époque et anticipe où nous allons.

Une immersion totale
Nous suivons l’histoire de 2 pionniers, Josiane et René, qui ont accepté de faire un avec la machine pour intégrer leur esprit dans le nouveau monde virtuel où l’humanité ira les rejoindre après une année de tests et d’évolution de ce projet qui se nomme « la génération ». Plus de retour en arrière possible pour eux, c’est une fusion parfaite entre l’homme et la machine où l’esprit est absorbé dans ce nouvel univers. Dans ce nouveau monde, pas de contrainte, ou si peu. Plus besoins de manger, de boire, d’aller aux toilettes, de prendre de douche. Tout est géré et conditionné par la machine. On peut y créer ce qu’on veut, on peut y faire ce qu’on veut, aucune limite à part notre imagination. Bref, c’est l’immersion totale. L’expérience ne sera pas vécue de la même manière par nos 2 aventuriers du virtuel. Au début, Josiane laisse libre cours à ces pulsions sexuelles inassouvies. René aura plus de difficulté à basculer complétement dans ce type de relation et se questionnera sur la réalité de la chose. Les 2 personnages évoluent dans cet univers différemment pour à la fin se retrouver tous les 2 dans une quête d’humanité. Une fois leur année passée, le reste des gens viendront les rejoindre mais avec un accès moins élevé dans leur possibilité de création mais surtout d’espace qui leur est donné. Ici aussi, dans cet univers, la disparité entre les classes sociales est présente. Les riches ont plus d’espace, les pauvres moins. Pas beaucoup d’évolution sociale!

L’humanité en question
Il est difficile de bien décrire Alt-Life tant cette BD est complexe et regorge d’éléments philosophiques et de questionnements sur notre humanité. En fait, pour bien la comprendre vous allez devoir la lire ! Alt-Life est tellement collée sur notre époque que ça peut paraître épeurant en lecture. Tant de ressemblance avec nous, ce que nous vivons, ce que nous sommes. Et cette anticipation de devenir de pur esprit de la machine dans un nouveau monde est bien présente dans les diverses formes d’art depuis très longtemps. Quand j’ai terminé ma 1re lecture, j’ai ressenti plusieurs émotions. La peur, la peur de voir cet avenir arriver. Un avenir où on laisse tomber notre monde pour s’enfuir dans un nouveau qui, malgré les précautions, ressemblera de plus en plus à notre ancien monde. La colère, la colère de participer tacitement à cette inexorable évolution de notre société pour le meilleur et le pire. L’excitation, car je suis un être de pulsions et avoir la possibilité de vivre ces pulsions sans contrainte et conséquence est tentante mais tout aussi troublante. L’espoir, car à la fin de cette histoire, Josiane et René recherche cette réalité, la réalité qui pue, qui fait mal, qui nous fait pleurer, qui nous frustre mais aussi qui nous stimule, qui nous rend heureux, qui nous donne du plaisir, qui fait de nous des humains. Car la grande question de cette BD, et elle est très Dickienne cette question, qu’est-ce qui fait de nous des humains ?

Une BD qui porte à réflexion
Alors, lisez Alt-Life ! Pour la grande qualité du scénario : quand vous aurez terminé de la lire, elle vous restera en tête fort longtemps. Pour la qualité graphique qui colle à l’histoire de façon parfaite avec son petit côté psychédélique dans la couleur et les dessins. Pour la profonde réflexion qu’elle vient mettre en nous. Une grande BD !
Profile Image for Laura.
3,250 reviews103 followers
October 14, 2018
A man and a woman are given the chance to live in a virtual reality where they can do or be anything they want. And what do they choose to do? Have sex, because of course that is something one can never have in real life, right?

Oh, sometimes they do other things, such as eat, or explore, but it always come down to sex, somehow.



If you enjoy graphic novels about people having sex, in a virtual reality, then this book is probably for you.

If you want to read the same story, but without all the needless sex, check out The Need for Air which explains what happens when we decide to stay in an alternative reality, and not come back.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Profile Image for Venus Maneater.
607 reviews34 followers
July 18, 2021
My dream, my fantasy. To be a brain in a jar, fully submerged in a VR life where anything is possible, the only limit is your imagination.

I see some reviews being critical about the fact that these people spend a lot of time having sex. I don't disagree per se, there is a lot of sex and a lot of nudity....but to be fair, my experience would probably be the same. I'd create a wonderful environment and after spending days or weeks in it, I'd have a big old key party with all of my friends.

The protagonist are a little flat, though. Their backstories come in small pieces and in hints between sentences. Sentences that are, mind you, very hard to read because of the twirly font. That took a solid star off of the rating for me, the font is literally unreadable to me.

At the very end, half of the protagonist has given his craving to brutal reality freedom and is making his own universe. A universe with restrictions. A universe with pain. Hands down the most interesting part to read. Too bad it's the very end of part 1.
Profile Image for Vämpiriüs.
562 reviews3 followers
October 27, 2021
Zajímavé pozastavení nad budoucností virtuální reality, které mi místy připomínaly Matrix. Jaké následky tato virtuální realita má na lidskou mysl, to zde ukazují testovací subjekty mužského a ženského pohlaví. Vyprávění nutí k zamyšlení, ovšem kromě vtipných souloží a inteligentních dialogů obsahově nenabízí nic zajímavého. Děj je tedy minimální. Autor se soustředí především na vývoj ústředních postav a svět za jejich zády je pouhou kulisou umocňující jejich existenci. Finální vyústění nenabízí žádnou formální odpověď či životní paralelu. Každopádně se mi kniha i kresby líbí.
Profile Image for Oneirosophos.
1,588 reviews74 followers
November 17, 2019
Hands down, the best scifi BD I've read this decade!

I REALLY hope one day Luc Besson gonna adapt it to an equally awesome movie!

We are in the future, Earth is ruined by pollution and a new VR system is introduced as Alt-Life. With a woman and a man as beta testers...

Profile Image for Dean Simons.
337 reviews4 followers
December 9, 2018
Rather enjoyed it. I found the journey that the two leads take in understanding themselves and their world in a new context intriguing, and picking up the background elements interesting too.
Profile Image for The Laughing Man.
356 reviews52 followers
October 24, 2022
Crazy good. This is one of the concepts I love digging in deeper and deeper. Definitely my cup of tea.
197 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2024
Bd de science fiction. Les personnages tentent un nouveau monde « en réalité augmente »… beaucoup de sexe … la nostalgie de l ancien mode de vie …
Profile Image for Emma.
158 reviews4 followers
January 11, 2026
L'idée est intéressante, ça m'a un peu fait penser à black mirror. Mais quelle lourdeur à toujours en revenir au 🍑...
Profile Image for Sydney S.
1,241 reviews67 followers
February 10, 2019
I was given an ARC by Netgalley for an honest review.
So, Alt-Life was weird. And I like weird. But I’m not sure about this one. It gets good, but it takes about 90 pages (or half the book) to get really good. I love the concept. Cool idea, even if it has been done before. And the ending is really awesome. Rene has a hand in that awesomeness, but you'll have to read it to find out what it is.

What's the story about? Basically, the Earth is dying. People create some virtual reality world where “anything is possible,” so you can do almost anything or go anywhere you can imagine (unless it’s copyrighted, as we see when Josiane wants to wear Wonder Woman’s outfit and is denied).
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The characters never actually leave these gelatinous bubble egg things that seem to grab onto them at times, like coral or something.
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They’re placed in these things then dropped into water. I assume a deep pool of water because they don’t show you if it’s an ocean or a lake or a pool or what.
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Rene and Josie spend an entire year in this VR alone (well, as the only two real people in there). And they learn a lot about themselves and existence while they're there. As test subjects, really, testing out the world before the rest of the humans join. We see the "others" come in at the end, but I won't spoil that part.

The art wasn’t bad, and at times it was actually very good, but it looked much better zoomed out.
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One small problem was with the lettering/fonts. They really threw me off. The handwritten cursive would’ve been OK, but it was very small and smooshed in a lot of bubbles, and difficult to read. Then it switched to a big and bold generic font randomly, seemingly for no reason. Maybe to show exclamation? If that's the case though, why didn't they just all-caps or bold the cursive lettering, or just make it bigger? Sometimes a character would be talking in cursive, then they'd be talking in a digital generic font in the same panel or one panel over. It was a bit confusing.
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Consistency would be good, even if it's just that all the characters we can see get the cursive font and the "voice" of the VR control people that we can't see get the generic digital font.


NOTE: I’m going to talk about some negatives, but you should know that almost exactly halfway through this book, things change for the better. So these negatives mostly apply to the first half of the book.

There wasn’t a whole lot of emotion with the scenes. Didn’t feel like I was connected to any character, or even immersed entirely in the story because it was pretty blank emotionally.
On to content. I’m no prude, but there’s a good bit of unnecessary sexual stuff. Like, it seems like it was written by a teenager who just wanted to write the word “tits” and draw close ups of men’s crotches.
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This is pretty much the first thing this girl wants to do in the VR world.
And there’s this weird scene where Josiane tries to grope some computer-generated VR dude and that dude PUNCHES HER OUT OF THE WATER. It’s crazy. Funny, but crazy.
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Then we abruptly switch scenes to Rene, the non-VR guy who was just on the beach with Josiane, chilling in space, hanging out, then he decides to masturbate. Can we get some lead up here? A transition? It just doesn't flow well.
 photo 2018-10-17 mast_zpsgtu1tw5k.png


Then the VR gods send him a bunch of female clones to bang him. I won’t include pictures of those panels because they are definitely NSFW, and there’s a lot of them for this scene. You can imagine.
It’s seriously 90% sex and nudity.
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Extremely graphic at times. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing necessarily, but it just felt very forced and random. I could post more pictures, but I would be posting the entire comic if I did that. Seriously. They might as well have called this Virtual Reality Sex World. The massage scene gets pretty wild very fast.
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You can imagine some of what follows.

You can do pretty much anything, and all these two want to do is sex up some fake VR people. Fake VR humans, I should say. Not even aliens or weird unknown species, just boring ole humans. I feel like they'd want to fly first. Or explore space. Or create their own Minecraft world or something, with new creatures and everything. Play god. I guess that type of thinking does come later...much later. But I think that would be my first move. I wouldn't go straight to "human orgy for hours" mode. Rene and Josiane do go straight to that, for what I can only assume is months. And for Josiane, years.

Rene does check out a book at a VR library, but he ends up not reading very far and instead just checks out some VR girl. In a semi weird way.
 photo 2018-10-17 9_zpseh1lfiql.png
And show him she does.

They do acknowledge that it’s creepy, but they still do it.
 photo 2018-10-17 10_zpscgxy33mj.png

(Well, at least Josiane does. Surprisingly, Rene is the one who steps out of the sex machine first).

On the phone with your mom from the real world? Why don’t you just have sex with some VRs while talking to her? I’ll save you the excitement and not post pictures of this part. Read it yourself for the full shebang.

There are some great panels on Earth, people talking about the planet dying, what will happen to them, life and death and whatnot, but I feel like it almost isn’t enough.
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I wanted more plot, and sooner. The few pages of this could be turned into something more for sure. And I’m not quite sure what’s happening to the gel bubble egg things Rene and Josiane are in. Why are there people tasked with standing near them and touching them in a huge empty room?
The good thing is, some great points are made, and there are some awesome panels throughout. I’m glad I read this graphic novel.
 photo 2018-10-17 15_zpsgoc2dngk.png

But, it does have some issues, as I’ve been saying. I feel like I couldn’t connect to the characters like I wanted to. And the oversexed vibe was a bit distracting. It’s great to live out all of these fantasies with the characters, if that’s what you’re into, I just wasn’t prepared for that. As is, I think I would’ve been more impressed if I had gone into it knowing it was Erotica, or some kind of erotic sci-fi graphic novel. Or even as an absurdist-erotic-sci-fi-humor piece. That would’ve been great. It just wasn’t presented that way, and the summary didn’t hint at any of that.

I get what they were trying to do... I think. Show the negative/scary side of VR, and how boredom can be a nightmare even when you can do anything you want. Because it’s never the same as something REAL. I love that message, I just think it might have taken a wrong turn somewhere and didn’t express this as well as it could have. I think part of the flaw might lie in the art. The details of facial expressions weren’t there when I wanted them to be. But, maybe that’s just me. I DID enjoy this comic, I’m just pointing out a few things that may help others know what they’re getting into with this one. It certainly isn’t for everyone.

I'll conclude this with a few great scenes from the middle/last 3/4 of the book.
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So, you see there are some pretty cool parts. I really liked these surreal moments, where the characters really let their imaginations run while, or when they lost control of their thoughts and entered a terrifying mindscape. And I like the takeaway.
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When the rich leaders of the real world, or the VIP folks, finally enter the VR world, Rene and Josie give it to them straight. And I like this ending. It works.
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SPOILER:

I guess my main question is... who's watching over these egg jello things when everyone is in the VR world? It's not like you can get out of them once you're in. You're in for good. The earth is going to be dead soon. Are there people in the real world left watching over everyone in the VR world? If this VR world is rooted in earth, in some body of water there, full of gel eggs with people inside, what happens if the earth gets hit by a meteor or something? Or an alien race visits? Or the sun dies and demolishes the solar system? They act like they're in this VR world forever and ever, but I just don't know how that could be possible if they weren't uploaded into this thing. Their bodies are still connected to reality... right? I don't know. I think I'm overthinking it.
Overall, good read!
Profile Image for Aves Trainor.
69 reviews
August 23, 2025
Reminds me of reading Jules Verne as a child. Now, updated with near future and future technology. It’s fun and silly, but also thoughtful in places.
Profile Image for Irene Mendoza.
67 reviews5 followers
February 16, 2021
Es una novela gráfica muy fácil de leer, en un par de horas lo has podido terminar sin problema.
Su temática y planteamiento me parecieron muy atractivos, pero a la par cómo se resuelve no me convenció.
Profile Image for Vivienne.
Author 2 books112 followers
October 8, 2018
My thanks to Europe Comics for this digital copy in English of ‘Alt-Life’ via NetGalley.

Fascinating premise of two people, a virtual Adam and Eve, entering a fully immersive virtual reality as pioneers for a period before this alternative life is made available to the many others waiting to remove themselves from a dying earth.

It impressed me with thought-provoking ideas and stunning artwork. There is quite a lot of sexual encounters that threatened to dominate the narrative at times. However, it was approached with openness and the imagery was erotic. There was some humour, mainly supplied by the AIs overseeing the project.

The idea that mortality and the inability to feel pain would become tedious was explored with the attendant concept that tales of the gods entering into the mortal realm for experiences denied them was reflected by this move into a future virtual reality. Loved that ‘The Matrix’ was referenced.





Profile Image for (arc).
19 reviews3 followers
July 14, 2021
Some of these negative reviews are really disappointing to me. First of all, its a French graphic novel. The French are known to be comfortable with sex, and exploration of meaning through sex is legitimate, worthwhile and fruitful.
Folks seemed to totally ignore the the immediate philosophical conflict and struggle of one of the main characters. In a virtual world full of pleasure but without pain or suffering he tries to find meaning.
Personally,I find this exploration to be quite helpful in a world that is becoming more and more like the one they were in. Also, I think its fun to consider that what we think of as reality could very well be advanced technology. Alt Life is definitely a new favorite.
Profile Image for Alex Sarll.
7,080 reviews363 followers
Read
November 17, 2018
A gorgeous, trippy and very French graphic novel about the first two people patched into the virtual world for which humanity is abandoning a dying Earth. At first, she just takes advantage of the possibility of endless configurations of gang-bang, but he can't quite handle the lack of authenticity and mainly ends up reading. And, granted that Percival Everett's Erasure was a fabulously niche choice for him to read, and that at least they didn't have the gender split the other, more obvious but I think less true way, I was still wondering 'is this it?' Turns out, that's entirely deliberate, because so are they, and from there things get far stranger. There's an enormous amount packed into this, and I mean that only partially in the innuendo sense, but it doesn't hold your hand, something which other readers seem to have taken for formlessness. Also, the handwritten lettering, while making for an effective contrast with the system's printed responses, can be slow going.

(Netgalley ARC)
Profile Image for Dávid Novotný.
596 reviews13 followers
July 13, 2022
Mankind is moving to some kind of virtual space, where anything is possible and two young people are selected as early adapters to tune things up. Interesting idea, but I would like to know why and how it all works. Books is standing somewhere between two main lines. First one is sci-fi asking questions what defines mankind and human life, and if we are able to live happily in environment without negative aspects. Second is more intimate look into relationship in virtual space. But truly is it neither of this, and mostly focuses on how and if will people satisfy their sexual needs in 'matrix'. which is kind of wasted potential, as theme offered quite a lot to explore. There is second book so maybe... It wasn't bad, but I expected more 3.5*
Profile Image for A M H.
805 reviews10 followers
November 20, 2018
This scifi matrix virtual reality utopia was a decent concept. You have the power to imagine and do anything, but it focuses way waaaayyy to much on sex. Shame that's all they did with the story instead of something a bit more imaginative.. or well anything else story wise really.. The concept of VR realities isn't exactly new, but it was an alright take on it regardless. Another problem with this story is the text. Cursive? Seriously? Who does that in graphic novels? It sometimes makes things confusing to read.
Profile Image for Jayda.
396 reviews22 followers
November 12, 2019
Very interesting. I know some people did not like the amount of sex it contained but, it's really not that bad.
Also, it left a few good unanswered questions like:

Did Josiane and René become one celestial being at the end?
And
When everyone transfers over to the VR world, who will monitor the technology their bodies run on in the real world?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
1,159 reviews47 followers
April 20, 2019
   Cette BD a gagné une mention spéciale du jury aux Utopiales 2018 pour le Prix Meilleur Album de BD. C’est l’histoire de Josiane et René qui se lancent comme pionniers dans un monde entièrement virtuel, où ils gèrent le monde qu’ils voient, qu’ils touchent, qu’ils vivent. Une fois assimilé dans ce monde, c’est à eux de créer leurs propres univers, leurs propres raisons d’être, et de découvrir toutes les possibilités d’un univers où ils ne sont limités que par leurs imaginations et les peu de règles du système.
   On découvre assez vite que ni Josiane ni René n’était très « connecté » dans ce monde du proche future très technologique, avec ses implants et ses box virtuel pour échapper le monde réel mourant. Mais ils s’habituent tant bien que mal à cet univers qui appartient qu’à eux. Ce qui est vraiment intéressent c’est comment ils s’habituent, car ils ne s’habituent de la même façon.
   Josiane, elle, elle se lance dans cet univers de son imagination, imaginant des scènes onirique où elle pousse les frontières visuelles et sensorielles de son nouvelle réalité. Pour être franche, elle passe beaucoup de son temps à créer et vivre des rencontres sexuels. Elle pense presque que au sexe, pour la plupart de l’histoire.
   Quant à René, il n’arrive pas à trouver un désir dans ce monde trop fluide, trop farfelu. Donc il va se réfugier dans des scènes plutôt simples et dans la création d’un sous-monde avec des lois physiques et sensorielles qui approchent les lois da la vie réelle. Il n’arrive pas à accepter un monde virtuel où presque tout est permissible, même s’il finit par s’habituer lui aussi.
   Ces deux sont plutôt des inconnus au début de l’histoire, mais comme Josiane et René partagent cette nouvelle expérience ensemble, ils se rapprochent.de l’un l’autre malgré leurs différences de pensée et d’adaptation. Ils vont trouver des moments de refuge ensemble, une semblance de la réalité à laquelle ils ont renoncé en attendant les premiers arrivants dans ce monde nouveau. Mais seront-ils trop tard à arriver pour vraiment faire une différence dans les vies virtuelles de Josiane et René ? Et qu’est-ce que c’est la réalité, après tout ? Un monde physique ou un monde virtuel, quand dans les deux on peut ressentir quasiment les mêmes sensations ?
   J’ai trouvé le côté métaphysique et psychologique bien plus engageant que la fixation avec le sexe. Même si le sexe fonctionnait aussi comme un point de départ pour analyser la situation psychologique/métaphysique, il y a beaucoup d’autres activités qui auraient pu faire l’affaire aussi. Donc j’aurais préféré passé plus de temps avec René avec ses réflexions philosophique et l’univers qu’il a créé qu’avec Josiane et ses conquêtes amoureuses et oniriques. Mais l’histoire arrive tout de même à nous faire poser les questions philosophiques et métaphysiques sur ce monde virtuel, et nous donne de quoi faire des réflexions sur l’actualité et la croissance du virtuel dans notre monde actuel. En plus les scènes oniriques sont très colorées, très détaillées, et reflètent bien les possibilités visuelles d’un monde virtuel où on peut tout créer, tout visionner.
Profile Image for Ije the Devourer of Books.
1,969 reviews58 followers
October 19, 2018

This was an imaginative story with excellent artwork and gorgeous colouring. Earth is dying and so people are entering a new virtual world where anything is possible.

Josiane and Rene are the first to test out this new world. It is a world that has so many possibilities and much potential, but no turning back. Josiane embraces this new world and all it has to offer, especially with regards to sex, but Rene struggles with this abundance of new life and experiences. For him the new world is a lonely place.

I thought this story was interesting, particularly in the way it shows how Josiane and Rene explore their new world. I thought there was a lot of emphasis on sex in the new world and the story could have broadened out a bit to include other aspects of life. At some point other people enter the new world and I wanted to know more about who was left behind sustaining people as they enter their pods. Was this world limitless in what could be imagined or did people place limitations on themselves?

As other people enter the new world it becomes clear that people have to pay for levels of comfort in the new world so inequality was actually built into a world that was supposed to bring hope for people and I though that was another interesting aspect. To enter the new shiny, limitless world is freedom and excitement but also death.

It is a fascinating story which raises lots of questions which the reader can ask as they reflect on the gorgeous art work.

Copy provided by Europe Comics in exchange for an unbiased review.
Profile Image for Wayne McCoy.
4,298 reviews32 followers
October 20, 2018
'Alt-Life' by Thomas Cadene with art by Joseph Falzon is a dystopian graphic novel about two explorers who will save humanity by trying to live in a weird kind of bubble reality.

Rene and Josiane get chosen to participate in a new program that will hopefully save the human race. They don odd suits and wake up in a place where they can make anything happen with the power of their mind. The world is lonely, so they populate it with simulated humans. Then they start having sex with them. Or not having sex as the case may be. Josiane has no problem, but Rene feels weird about it all. Rene also feels weird about not hurting when he falls, or having smelly armpits. It's a strange new world, and these are kind of strange people.

Besides all the sex, and there seems to be an awful lot, I liked the premise of this. I really liked the art. What seemed odd to me about this is they have a program and they manage to pick these two? Rene seems to have trouble coping and Josiane just wants to have sex all day. It seems like a weird basis for an experiment.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Profile Image for ChevalierBayard.
168 reviews
August 13, 2018
Biberonné à William Gibson et voyant dans la fusion de l'homme et de la machine l'échappatoire la plus plausible à ce qui nous attend dans ce monde, Alt-Life ne pouvait que capturer mon intérêt. Nous voici donc spectateurs de la grande migration de l'humanité vers la matrice, en commençant par l'arrivée des deux premiers beta-testeurs dont l'expérience est suivie de près par le reste de l'humanité comme une sorte de "Loft" high-tech qui, comme son aîné, ne manque pas de sexe ; cet univers des possibles servant bien entendu dans un premier temps à assouvir les fantasmes de ces héros du virtuel, humains avant toute chose. Cette exploration de la sexualité dans un monde où tout est possible débouche sur la question de notre rapport à la réalité et il faudra bien une année d'apprentissage à Josiane et René avant de pouvoir accueillir et guider les premiers humains VIP à intégrer cette matrice éclatée entre mondes espaces communs et univers personnels dont les limites ne se trouvent que dans l'espace mémoire qu'ils occupent.
Mine de rien, je pense qu'Alt-Life n'est rien de moins qu'un album indispensable dans votre bibliothèque cyberpunk !
Profile Image for Prin.
215 reviews49 followers
October 11, 2018
I did not expect to love this as much as I did. Basically, it’s about a futuristic Adam and Eve tasked with pioneering a virtual reality where the human race can continue to exist long after the Earth has lost all its resources. Probably not the most original plot out there, but the excellent artwork and narrative makes it so unique.

I can describe it as an erotic scifi but it’s also an extraordinary love story. It really takes the concept of open relationships to a whole new level. The sex scenes for me are also effective tools in portraying the shifting cultural and gender roles in the new world.

The book challenges our perception of perfect happiness and contentment: if anything is possible...what then? If you can have everything and anything across multiple universes, how would you know what really matters? Perhaps our imperfections, insecurities and struggles are what makes us essentially human.

My last thoughts towards the ending: “So this is how gods are born” and it’s so surprising but also makes so much sense. I am completely mindblown.

*Big thanks to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.*
Profile Image for The Book Badger.
153 reviews4 followers
October 30, 2018
‘Alt-Life’ is a spectacular exploration of the ‘experience machine’ thought experiment. What happens when humans are exposed to a world where anything and everything is possible, all your desires can be instantly met and suffering and hardship is removed from the human experience. The book follows it’s characters through their exploration of this new world, seeing one explore her deepest sexual fantasies, and the other become an angry god. It really is an excellent illustration of the concept and very well thought through. There is a great deal of sexual content, which I wasn’t keen on but given the subject matter it was at least justified. My only major complaint is that the font used throughout the book is damn near impossible to read. It is genuinely the single worst choice of font I have ever seen in any form of literature and it infuriated me - I almost had to stop reading at the beginning as I struggled so much with the font.
9,100 reviews130 followers
October 12, 2018
Read in English.

This books seems to suggest the future of mankind is entirely virtual, and – in a world with multiple possibilities – all people can think of is living war games for real, and having sex. A lot. And oddly enough, only one man can think beyond that and doubt things – partly because he can't get off on pixels led by his own imagination. Don't get me wrong – I'd be nothing like him, I'd be tupping away like nobody's business, but it's a bit awkward for a book to pretend to such prurience and plainly live on the ethos of showing as much cleavage and ass as possible. There's the 'ooh isn't smut bad – but look at the tits on that' side of the book to object to, and there's the snowflake gender-swapping nonsense that's supposed to have A Message. It's all an attractive mess. I'd only come here if your sex life was the same. And that font blows chunks.
Profile Image for Audrey RZR.
342 reviews19 followers
March 17, 2019
Grâce à mon abonnement Izneo, j'explore le monde de la bande dessinée.

Dans Alt-Life de Thomas Cadène, il est question de réalité virtuelle.
Nous y suivons deux protagonistes, un homme et une femme, qui se sont portés volontaires pour être les pionniers d'un nouveau mode de vie, entièrement virtuel, censé sauver l'humanité d'un monde aux abois (l'intrigue se déroule dans les années 2030).

Avec un dessin chatoyant et onirique, l'auteur immerge le lecteur dans un univers où tout devient possible. Très vite, les personnages expérimentent, réalisent leurs fantasmes les plus fous (y compris et surtout sexuels).
Mais peut-on désirer ce qu'on crée de toute pièce ? Peut-on désirer sans altérité ? Se satisfaire du faux, de l'artificiel quand on a connu le vrai, l'humain ?

Une bande dessinée dans l'air du temps, entre Black Mirror et Westworld.


Profile Image for Kayla (onthefritz).
733 reviews121 followers
August 12, 2019
Woahhh this hurts my brain. What a wild story!

The Artwork: At first I wasn't a fan, but it was consistent and became part of the story.

The Story: Amazing! I was teetering between 4 or 5 stars, but man I just know this is going to linger with me and I cannot stop thinking about it. This made me think in a different way and in an enjoyable way. Loved how the story evolved. The guinea pigs are learning the ropes and help the creators learn more before opening it up to the general public. I loved the take on consumerism still existing in this virtual world for the general public, but the guinea pigs have unlimited access so it is interesting to see what they do with their limitless resources. The ending was wild and a little terrifying.

If you love science fiction, pick this up. It is sex heavy, so be aware that is a big factor in the plot.
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