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Aldebaran: The Catastrophe
In Aldebaran's Worlds, you'll live one of the most fantastic sagas ever written by man. The author tells the story of humanity's first attempts to colonise distant planets. In their travels, Kim and his companions encounter strange creatures and face the dangers of unknown worlds. They witness the destruction caused by the madness of mankind. In the first album, Kim meets Mark, another teenager who has survived the annihilation of their village. Together they set out to find explanations for this terrible catastrophe...
96 pages, Paperback
First published July 29, 2008
9 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira (Leo)
106 books173 followersLuiz Eduardo de Oliveira (born on December 13, 1944 in Brazil),[1] more famous under his artist name LEO is a Brazilian comics creator.
After having graduated as an engineer in mechanics, Oliveira left Brazil because of the military dictatorship that was in power at the time. He went first to Chile, but the following year saw the Chilean coup of 1973. This led Oliveira to leave, moving to Argentina, from where he finally returned to Brazil in 1974.
He found work as an illustrator in the advertising industry of São Paulo, before once more leaving Brazil, in 1981, this time moving to France, hoping to illustrate comics. However as the Franco-Belgian comics industry was in recession at the time, he was forced to work in advertising once again, although he managed to get the occasional piece published in L'Écho des savanes and Pilote.
In 1986, with the assistance of Jean-Claude Forest, Oliveira began contributing to the youth dedicated magazines of Bayard Presse. He illustrated true stories for Okapi magazine. He then recounted Mahatma Gandhi's life in the album Gandhi, le pèlerin de la paix, for Astrapi.
In 1988, the comics writer Rodolphe asked him to provide the artwork for his stories. Their collaboration proved fruitful, producing 8 albums of material for their Trent series and 5 for their Kenya one.
In 1993, Oleveira finally achieved an old dream when Dargaud agreed to publish his first solo series: Aldébaran. In 2000, after 5 volumes of Aldébaran, he launched Bételgeuse, which was nominated for the Prize for a Series at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2004.
After having graduated as an engineer in mechanics, Oliveira left Brazil because of the military dictatorship that was in power at the time. He went first to Chile, but the following year saw the Chilean coup of 1973. This led Oliveira to leave, moving to Argentina, from where he finally returned to Brazil in 1974.
He found work as an illustrator in the advertising industry of São Paulo, before once more leaving Brazil, in 1981, this time moving to France, hoping to illustrate comics. However as the Franco-Belgian comics industry was in recession at the time, he was forced to work in advertising once again, although he managed to get the occasional piece published in L'Écho des savanes and Pilote.
In 1986, with the assistance of Jean-Claude Forest, Oliveira began contributing to the youth dedicated magazines of Bayard Presse. He illustrated true stories for Okapi magazine. He then recounted Mahatma Gandhi's life in the album Gandhi, le pèlerin de la paix, for Astrapi.
In 1988, the comics writer Rodolphe asked him to provide the artwork for his stories. Their collaboration proved fruitful, producing 8 albums of material for their Trent series and 5 for their Kenya one.
In 1993, Oleveira finally achieved an old dream when Dargaud agreed to publish his first solo series: Aldébaran. In 2000, after 5 volumes of Aldébaran, he launched Bételgeuse, which was nominated for the Prize for a Series at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 7, 2019
The world building in this series is quite good. The flora and fauna are weird and truly alien, and you never know what is going to turn up next. Regarding the story, there are a few mysteries that are set up. They aren't resolved in this volume, so you'll have to continue reading the series to find out what is going on. The weak point of this book is that the protagonists aren't that interesting.
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May 6, 2022Because we all make questionable decisions sometimes, I recently grabbed a Humble Bundle of Cinebooks Euro SF comics, despite the fact I've made minimal inroads on the Humanoids Euro SF comics I've already got via the same route. Hey, at least this strand of my foolhardy retail therapy habit doesn't take up space in the flat. And the covers were very pretty... The interiors, alas, were exactly what I should have known to expect. There are some fabulously weird images scattered about – the sea suddenly turned to jelly and extruding strange structures; a vast, helium-filled life-form which travels the airways; a fish which looks uncannily reminiscent of an incel. But they're dotted sparsely around a story which does that frustrating thing of acting like SF on the page has to deal with the same constraints as on screen, so that despite the fact it's no more expensive to draw a cool alien life-form than two humans bickering in a wood, we still get an awful lot of humans bickering in woods. Or on beaches, or sometimes in small towns. And Leo's landscapes are pretty, but not so Manara pretty that they can altogether sell this mundane stuff. As for his people, well, they could be worse; in places I was reminded of Jacen Burrows before he got the Marvel colourists, where you could tell this was heading along a road that leads to McKelvie or Steve Dillon, but where the cheap finishes meant it wasn't there yet. Oh, and also some of the people have been awkwardly covered up, because despite 35 years of articles headlined 'Biff! Pow! Comics aren't just for kids anymore!', apparently the Anglophone audience still can't be trusted with the sight of a boob. Though possibly the bashfulness is for the best given the scene where, literally as soon as she's had her first period, the 13-year-old character cops off with a rebel musician who looks exactly like the guys who play acoustic guitars during picnic season. To be fair, they decide not to go very far, and otherwise the comic does make efforts to avoid the skeeviness which sometimes seems like Eurocomics' default. Which is to say, male lead Mark often fucks up in the way young men will, but his after-the-fact narration knows he's fucked up, and that fancying someone doesn't mean they owe you anything, rather than treating him like a hero of the life force for it or some fucking thing. Alas, that's about the best which can be said for the writing. Aldebaran (actually the fourth planet circling Aldebaran, but fair enough) is a human colony cut off from Earth since FTL travel went screwy, now under the control of a bog-standard dictatorship which is run by the church but doesn't even seem terribly theocratic, or that good at being totalitarian. They still refer to Earth as 'the blue planet' despite their new home having water across even more of its surface, and the events of this book see them I think trying to cover up the discoveries some rogue scientists have made about what's out there in the deep? Although by the end of the volume, it's still not altogether clear, and gods help me, there is a perverse part of me which wants to carry on with the series and find out more. This despite the fact that most of the dialogue reads like translation, and I know it is a translation, but all the same I strongly suspect the same would hold true for the original. "There, I've finally found you! You and your troublesome phenomena! For all the years I've been following you, your powers never cease to amaze me... Ah, there's another one of those disconcerting symmetric structures forming! What's all this for, Mantris? Will we humans manage to communicate with you and understand you one day?" Mate, if you manage all of that in one page, and talking to yourself at that, is it any wonder if the sea monster doesn't fancy a chat?
January 24, 2026
Ich mag die Arbeit von Leo. Mit jedem Comic von ihm bestätigt sich der Eindruck.
Er erweckt interessante, phantastische Welten, die trotzdem ausreichend plausibel bleiben. Ich mag die klar erkennbaren Charaktere, die Stories, den Phantasiereichtum bei der Gestaltung der fremden Welten, Flora, Fauna.
Auch Aldebaran gehört zu den Arbeiten, die Leo bestens gelungen sind. Eine eigene, fremde Welt in der die dort gestrandeten Menschen sich zurechtzufinden müssen, während sie einem großen, unheimlichen Ereignis beiwohnen müssen.
Er erweckt interessante, phantastische Welten, die trotzdem ausreichend plausibel bleiben. Ich mag die klar erkennbaren Charaktere, die Stories, den Phantasiereichtum bei der Gestaltung der fremden Welten, Flora, Fauna.
Auch Aldebaran gehört zu den Arbeiten, die Leo bestens gelungen sind. Eine eigene, fremde Welt in der die dort gestrandeten Menschen sich zurechtzufinden müssen, während sie einem großen, unheimlichen Ereignis beiwohnen müssen.
October 3, 2019
I believe that for many people this would be ***** but I'm just not a guy likes "punch to the eye sci-fi". The characters were very well formed and the art top-notch.
I thought we were the puritans- this BritEdition (all Cinebooks) states on the copyright page that "With the author's consent, and in order to not upset our more sensitive readers, certain illustrations of this edition of Aldebaran have been modified." The book has a "15+" rating and violence is a PG affair in the west these days (right?) and don't they have widely circulated papers containing nudity that are available to anyone? I'm not desperate- what made me mad was that I couldn't tell what was changed and that made my inner sleuth furious!
I thought we were the puritans- this BritEdition (all Cinebooks) states on the copyright page that "With the author's consent, and in order to not upset our more sensitive readers, certain illustrations of this edition of Aldebaran have been modified." The book has a "15+" rating and violence is a PG affair in the west these days (right?) and don't they have widely circulated papers containing nudity that are available to anyone? I'm not desperate- what made me mad was that I couldn't tell what was changed and that made my inner sleuth furious!
December 23, 2016
•●When an early Christmas present results in an obsession●•
Words fail me. I'm unable to accurately convey how much I loved this, but it's not necessarily because certain elements of it were particularly fantastic, it's that the book as a whole just did it for me.
The world; Aldebaran is mostly water with a 91/09 percentage of sea to land. From the first page we learn that something is going on in the ocean. A stranger comes to town and tells everyone that a rare sea creature is passing through and causing strange phenomenons. That's what the stranger said, but I'm not convinced yet what exactly is going on.
The story had me. I already fangirled on Instagram about this part, but I thought it was so damn cool when they realised the ocean had solidified into a jelly-like state --- and that explains the cover.
The artwork was perfect. Nothing over the top. The creatures were SO COOL. Eerie. The flora was also cool. The forests are full of awesomeness, including these balloon-like plants that are held in place by vines. Gah, you guys! I'm in love.
Needless to say, Leo has quickly become a favourite. HIGHLY recommended if you like sci-fi and/or graphic novels, or perfection, in general.
Words fail me. I'm unable to accurately convey how much I loved this, but it's not necessarily because certain elements of it were particularly fantastic, it's that the book as a whole just did it for me.
The world; Aldebaran is mostly water with a 91/09 percentage of sea to land. From the first page we learn that something is going on in the ocean. A stranger comes to town and tells everyone that a rare sea creature is passing through and causing strange phenomenons. That's what the stranger said, but I'm not convinced yet what exactly is going on.
The story had me. I already fangirled on Instagram about this part, but I thought it was so damn cool when they realised the ocean had solidified into a jelly-like state --- and that explains the cover.
The artwork was perfect. Nothing over the top. The creatures were SO COOL. Eerie. The flora was also cool. The forests are full of awesomeness, including these balloon-like plants that are held in place by vines. Gah, you guys! I'm in love.
Needless to say, Leo has quickly become a favourite. HIGHLY recommended if you like sci-fi and/or graphic novels, or perfection, in general.
May 21, 2022
I recently bought a bundle of translated science fiction Eurocomics from Humble Bundle and this was the first one I chose to read. It is the first of a series of 12 that tell the story, through 3 different titles.
This comic is much more story driven when compared with American comics, or even the manga I have read, both of which seem more action-driven - although the field of manga is so vast, that my comment may just be showing my bias of the type of manga I read.
The story is an interesting sci-fi story, with more emphasis on world-building than on action, which is not surprising for the beginning of a long series. This does make the pace fairly slow for this part of the story. The dialogue is occasionally clunky, but it's quite possible that is the fault of the translation. The artwork is crisp and clean, although there is a certain similarity to many of the faces of the people in the story (particularly the women).
Overall, it's an enjoyable read.
This comic is much more story driven when compared with American comics, or even the manga I have read, both of which seem more action-driven - although the field of manga is so vast, that my comment may just be showing my bias of the type of manga I read.
The story is an interesting sci-fi story, with more emphasis on world-building than on action, which is not surprising for the beginning of a long series. This does make the pace fairly slow for this part of the story. The dialogue is occasionally clunky, but it's quite possible that is the fault of the translation. The artwork is crisp and clean, although there is a certain similarity to many of the faces of the people in the story (particularly the women).
Overall, it's an enjoyable read.
October 27, 2021
DNF @ 70%
Oof. I can't believe I wasted my precious Hoopla borrowed on that!
THE GOOD: the art, the fantastic landscapes that had delightful alien flora and fauna. A bizarre, impossible and intensely interesting artifact that appears in the middle of the ocean.
THE BAD: the characters, the character motivations, the pacing, the story's willingness to substitute substance with caricature and slapstick. THE SEXUALIZATION OF A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!! *screams*
This can't all be blamed on it being written in the mid 90s, either! Oh, and this is almost an afterthought compared to my hostility towards the writing... The translation was rather poor as well. I know the English version needs to physically fit inside the text bubble, but it was damned awkward at times.
No. Just, no. Not recommended.
Oof. I can't believe I wasted my precious Hoopla borrowed on that!
THE GOOD: the art, the fantastic landscapes that had delightful alien flora and fauna. A bizarre, impossible and intensely interesting artifact that appears in the middle of the ocean.
THE BAD: the characters, the character motivations, the pacing, the story's willingness to substitute substance with caricature and slapstick. THE SEXUALIZATION OF A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!! *screams*
This can't all be blamed on it being written in the mid 90s, either! Oh, and this is almost an afterthought compared to my hostility towards the writing... The translation was rather poor as well. I know the English version needs to physically fit inside the text bubble, but it was damned awkward at times.
No. Just, no. Not recommended.
March 1, 2022
Een (getipte) ontdekking! Ondertussen een klassieker (in het wereldje). De eerste verhalen in een hele reeks. Veel mysterie, veel aandacht voor de personages, veel avontuur. Niet te veel actie of heroisch gedoe. Goede science-fiction met leuke evolutionaire spielerei op andere bewoonbare planeten.
July 7, 2016
This is the first volume in Leo's Aldebaran saga, published in the UK by Cinebook, and contains the first two albums in the series: The Catastrophe and The Blonde.
The story is set on the planet Aldebaran, which was colonised by Earth over 100 years ago, but which has been out of contact with Earth for at least a century, when strange events are starting to happen. Mark and Kim are two young people, 17 and 13 respectively as the story opens, who are from the same small fishing village. Due to events beyond their control they are tossed together on a strange adventure which would appear to have global significance (even if that is yet to be truly seen).
It is a well-paced narrative, and a good opening to the series. I would have rated the two albums in this collection individually, I would probably have settled for three stars for The Catastrophe and four stars for The Blonde as the latter deepens the story and our understanding of the characters. So, the total is probably closer to three and a half stars, but good enough to even it out upwards, in my humble opinion.
As with many of Cinebook's releases, some images have been altered with the creators approval in order to protect potentially sensitive readers. In the second album in this volume, there are some very obvious cases of censored nudity, and the alteration feels very clunky and unnatural all things considered, unfortunately.
All in all, it is a series well worth reading, with interesting science fiction themes being dealt with.
The story is set on the planet Aldebaran, which was colonised by Earth over 100 years ago, but which has been out of contact with Earth for at least a century, when strange events are starting to happen. Mark and Kim are two young people, 17 and 13 respectively as the story opens, who are from the same small fishing village. Due to events beyond their control they are tossed together on a strange adventure which would appear to have global significance (even if that is yet to be truly seen).
It is a well-paced narrative, and a good opening to the series. I would have rated the two albums in this collection individually, I would probably have settled for three stars for The Catastrophe and four stars for The Blonde as the latter deepens the story and our understanding of the characters. So, the total is probably closer to three and a half stars, but good enough to even it out upwards, in my humble opinion.
As with many of Cinebook's releases, some images have been altered with the creators approval in order to protect potentially sensitive readers. In the second album in this volume, there are some very obvious cases of censored nudity, and the alteration feels very clunky and unnatural all things considered, unfortunately.
All in all, it is a series well worth reading, with interesting science fiction themes being dealt with.
April 5, 2020
Dois episódios da popular saga de BD francesa de ficção científica, escrita e desenhada pelo autor brasileiro Leonardo Oliveira. Num futuro próximo, os colonos de um planeta habitável no sistema solar de Aldebaran perderam o contacto com a Terra. Mantém uma vida algo rudimentar, com pouca tecnologia, e em equilíbrio com um planeta suave, cuja vida alienígena não é incompatível com os humanos. No entanto, este está longe de ser um paraíso idílicos.
O governo aparenta ser uma teocracia repressiva, que mal se sente nas fimbrias da colónia, onde começa a aventura. E estranhos acontecimentos, cujo conhecimento é reprimido pelo governo, parecem ameaçar a estabilidade da colónia, com uma série de catástrofes naturais que talvez não o sejam.
Com este pano de fundo, uma clássica história de aventura e crescimento, quando dois jovens se vêem forçados a abandonar a vila que sempre foi o seu mundo, destruída por um dos misteriosos desastres que fazem intuir que há algo misterioso no planeta.
O traço de Leo é luminoso. A sua iconografia entre o futurista e o rústico, aliado à omnipresença de paisagens alienígenas tropicais, dá a este livro um sedutor toque de FC tropicalista, muito distante do habitual frio futurismo.
O governo aparenta ser uma teocracia repressiva, que mal se sente nas fimbrias da colónia, onde começa a aventura. E estranhos acontecimentos, cujo conhecimento é reprimido pelo governo, parecem ameaçar a estabilidade da colónia, com uma série de catástrofes naturais que talvez não o sejam.
Com este pano de fundo, uma clássica história de aventura e crescimento, quando dois jovens se vêem forçados a abandonar a vila que sempre foi o seu mundo, destruída por um dos misteriosos desastres que fazem intuir que há algo misterioso no planeta.
O traço de Leo é luminoso. A sua iconografia entre o futurista e o rústico, aliado à omnipresença de paisagens alienígenas tropicais, dá a este livro um sedutor toque de FC tropicalista, muito distante do habitual frio futurismo.
June 24, 2022
Currently available on Kindle Unlimited, this English language version of a graphic novel by a Brazilian artist published in France contains the first two volumes of the series.
Some things are good: the imagination concerning the flora and fauna is exceptional, both in terms of art and world-building.
Some things are meh: this world is meant to be about 100 years into the future, but it has a distinctly 60s or 70s feel to the fashions and behaviour. Tech is inexplicably low with little or no electronics. There’s a religious dictatorship that seems to have evolved spontaneously.
Some things are poor. The characters are very stiff. The dialogue is stilted, possibly a bad translation. The actions of the characters are very stereotyped and implausible. There’s too much teenage obsession with sex, getting really cringeworthy at times. The story is bland.
As long as it’s available on Kindle Unlimited I’ll read on, but it’s not the classic the blurb proclaims it to be.
Some things are good: the imagination concerning the flora and fauna is exceptional, both in terms of art and world-building.
Some things are meh: this world is meant to be about 100 years into the future, but it has a distinctly 60s or 70s feel to the fashions and behaviour. Tech is inexplicably low with little or no electronics. There’s a religious dictatorship that seems to have evolved spontaneously.
Some things are poor. The characters are very stiff. The dialogue is stilted, possibly a bad translation. The actions of the characters are very stereotyped and implausible. There’s too much teenage obsession with sex, getting really cringeworthy at times. The story is bland.
As long as it’s available on Kindle Unlimited I’ll read on, but it’s not the classic the blurb proclaims it to be.
April 8, 2020
The Good: World building, particularly the flora and fauna.
The Bad: The characters - they were shallow, silly, and predictable
The Meh: The art, the action.
I hated how the main character was motivated purely by hot chicks (but in an absurdly naive, childish way) and getting to some city he doesn't know anything about. I realize that this is pretty much every teenager, but I don't want to read about it. Kim was a silly mix of 'wise beyond her years' and a pain in the ass. In the first two volumes there's 95% traveling mishaps, arguing, unrequited love, and swooning. The interesting world history and government conspiracy had no spotlight. Leaving me feeling like not much actually happened. In the hopes that it gets better I'll read one more volume.
The Bad: The characters - they were shallow, silly, and predictable
The Meh: The art, the action.
I hated how the main character was motivated purely by hot chicks (but in an absurdly naive, childish way) and getting to some city he doesn't know anything about. I realize that this is pretty much every teenager, but I don't want to read about it. Kim was a silly mix of 'wise beyond her years' and a pain in the ass. In the first two volumes there's 95% traveling mishaps, arguing, unrequited love, and swooning. The interesting world history and government conspiracy had no spotlight. Leaving me feeling like not much actually happened. In the hopes that it gets better I'll read one more volume.
June 5, 2020
I'll call this series Leo's series for lack of a better name. The author and illustrator of Aldebaran is a renaissance figure of imagination, storyline, and minimalist art. Sure the art could be more polished, but I enjoyed the first volume of Aldebaran as few other graphic novels. The main characters are young teenagers. They bringing an energy that permeates the series. Combined with the tropical island colour scheme and mystic encounters, it feels like a biblical story. At its heart though, Aldebaran is a pulp science fiction adventure, with a civilization that regressed technologically and a tyrannical government stifling progress. In this complex worldbuilding, the protagonists enjoy quite an adventure of mystery and discovery.
August 12, 2013
It's kinda... Young Adult style of writing, where Arthur C Clarke's Songs of Distant Earth's world has been used as a backdrop to a fairly interesting story - the buildup is nice, and it's easy to empathize with and go along with, but the characters... are a little too Enid Blyton. When you're living under an oppressive, violent tyranny, in a world filled with large, unknown, dangerous lifeforms, and a fairly lax rule of law & order, you need to be a little more streetsmart.
Other than that, pretty engaging.
Other than that, pretty engaging.
August 14, 2020
This sci fi comic series has intricate lines that must relate to the engineering background of its author, colourful painted pallets within each section, and real-world people. The realism of the characters, with their weaknesses and flaws makes them relatable, but then you remember that you aren’t just on a beach in Greece, there’s a weird alien creature that although totally unknown and odd, somehow fits exactly into the scene and the world.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for more! Great character development and dynamics as well.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for more! Great character development and dynamics as well.
June 14, 2017
Really beautiful art and coloring, I love the styles that seem to appear in many of the Franco-Belgian works I've read. The story is very intriguing and I can't wait to dig into the next one. Some of the dialogue was pretty clunky, which I'm guessing was a mediocre translation, but still a recommended read.
September 3, 2016
Great world building.. Loved the illustrations of alien creatures. I was kept in suspence from the first to the last page...Extremely engaging I would say. Cant wait to buy the next episodes. Very recommended
August 11, 2022
Recent Reads: Aldebaran - The Catastrophe. The first two books of Leo's classic SF BD in one volume. On an abandoned colony world a mysterious creature destroys a fishing village, sparking a clash that will upend the planet's struggling human population. A graphic travelogue.
June 24, 2012
Great sci-fi, trying to find a complete edition somewhere to finish the series
December 23, 2013
The characters could be more mature, but I liked it nonetheless.
March 5, 2016
A French sci-fi graphic novel written and illustrated by a Brazilian.
Was OK but a bit YA-ish. The 1st in a series but not interested enough to continue.
2+ or 3 *.
Was OK but a bit YA-ish. The 1st in a series but not interested enough to continue.
2+ or 3 *.
July 31, 2016
[2 and 1/2 stars]
January 6, 2021
After reading Kenya and Namibia my attention turned into Aldebaran and after reading the first 2 items it caught my will to read it all of them!
January 12, 2021
Bizarre, different and engrossing.
April 29, 2022
Surprised + Interesting to think...this arn't earth but looks + feels like Earth until the weird alien wildlife and planet physics pops in.
May 16, 2022
I enjoyed this. It reminds me a bit of older golden age scifi. The world is interesting and the creatures are cool.
June 28, 2022
Could have been good if the focus was more on the world and the story instead of a 17 year old boy lusting for everything with boobs.
May 16, 2023
A great start to an epic sci-fi saga in this graphic novel series. Love the high standard of art and the weirdness of the alien life forms depicted. Racing to pick up the next volume to read further.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews