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The Metabarons: Digital Omnibus
A grand scale space opera about family, sacrifice, and survival told within an immense universe, both in scope and originality. 1 VOLUME RELEASED - INDEPENDENT STORIES. A must-read cult spin-off of The Incal, by Moebius and Jodorowsky, centering around the fascinating lineage of the ultimate warrior. This collection introduces the Metabaron's bloodline and reveals the origins of their deep-seated principles. Find out the source of the family's vast wealth, learn why every Metabaron has cybernetic implants, and why the only way to become the next Metabaron is for him to defeat his own father in a mortal combat. Follow each successive generation as it struggles to overcome the forces amassed against it in a galaxy corrupted by greed, power, and terror. A true classic in the pantheon of graphic storytelling and Science Fiction as a whole.
470 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 12, 2020
81 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Alejandro Jodorowsky
695 books1,948 followersAlso credited as Alexandro Jodorowsky
Better known for his surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain filmed in the early 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an accomplished writer of graphic novels and a psychotherapist. He developed Psychomagic, a combination of psychotherapy and shamanic magic. His fans have included John Lennon and Marilyn Manson.
Better known for his surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain filmed in the early 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an accomplished writer of graphic novels and a psychotherapist. He developed Psychomagic, a combination of psychotherapy and shamanic magic. His fans have included John Lennon and Marilyn Manson.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 1, 2024
Certainly the weirdest story I’ve read, not for everyone and not for the squeamish. Peak family drama.
October 21, 2024
Great book. Magnificent world building. Beautiful art. Amazing.
December 1, 2022
Well, that was a ride...
Be warned you better not be easily offended by extreme violence, incest, rape, etc., or you won't get too far in this story. None of the Metabarons are heroes nor good people. Even the few "good people" in the story have moments of eye-opening stupidity or amorality. Just as the Metabarons are tested for their tolerance to pain, readers will be tested for their tolerance to... well, everything! But if you feel up to par, their story is actually quite intriguing, the world building is very interesting, and the robotic pair of Tonto and Lothar will provide the necessary moments of levity and humor.
Be warned you better not be easily offended by extreme violence, incest, rape, etc., or you won't get too far in this story. None of the Metabarons are heroes nor good people. Even the few "good people" in the story have moments of eye-opening stupidity or amorality. Just as the Metabarons are tested for their tolerance to pain, readers will be tested for their tolerance to... well, everything! But if you feel up to par, their story is actually quite intriguing, the world building is very interesting, and the robotic pair of Tonto and Lothar will provide the necessary moments of levity and humor.
February 10, 2021
classic!!!!! SCIFI OG!!!
May 5, 2023
Imagine Dune and Warhammer 40k smashed together with lots and lots of drugs. It's complete nonsense, but fun for what it is. I believe this aspired to be like a Greek tragedy but it just isn't; that's Jodo just being arrogant. The story is very simple and dumb, made worse by Jodo's continually adding "techno-," paleo-," or "meta-" in front of absolutely every word he can.
So the genesis of this is that Jodo tried to make a Dune movie (which was wildly different from Dune), failed, and so he wrote this with Gimenez doing the art. Gimenez's art is mostly fantastic when it comes to battles/spaceships/monsters, but his downfall is he seems to only be able to draw one face. Especially later in the story, when old characters from the beginning show up again, it's hard to tell who is new and who has been around since they all look exactly the same.
The plot, such as it is, is that the Metabaron is the best warrior in the universe who can never lose. Also each Metabaron has to kill their father when they turn 16 for some reason so they can be the next Metabaron - this kind of negates the whole "the Metabaron can never lose" trope but whatever, this is a Jodo story so it obviously isn't going to make sense in the details (and don't get me started on the absolute nonsense science in this supposedly science fiction story). This loose plot is really just an excuse for Jodo to come up with more contrived reasons for Gimenez to draw bigger and bigger battles and explosions.
The pace is frenetic, although Jodo has never understood his attempts at humor are uniformly awful. I can see why lots of people hate this. Every character is awful, the gore is blatantly unnecessary, every woman dies horribly for no reason and the dialogue is atrocious. Still, it's weirdly compelling and probably the best of Jodo's work (yes I am including The Incal in that statement).
So the genesis of this is that Jodo tried to make a Dune movie (which was wildly different from Dune), failed, and so he wrote this with Gimenez doing the art. Gimenez's art is mostly fantastic when it comes to battles/spaceships/monsters, but his downfall is he seems to only be able to draw one face. Especially later in the story, when old characters from the beginning show up again, it's hard to tell who is new and who has been around since they all look exactly the same.
The plot, such as it is, is that the Metabaron is the best warrior in the universe who can never lose. Also each Metabaron has to kill their father when they turn 16 for some reason so they can be the next Metabaron - this kind of negates the whole "the Metabaron can never lose" trope but whatever, this is a Jodo story so it obviously isn't going to make sense in the details (and don't get me started on the absolute nonsense science in this supposedly science fiction story). This loose plot is really just an excuse for Jodo to come up with more contrived reasons for Gimenez to draw bigger and bigger battles and explosions.
The pace is frenetic, although Jodo has never understood his attempts at humor are uniformly awful. I can see why lots of people hate this. Every character is awful, the gore is blatantly unnecessary, every woman dies horribly for no reason and the dialogue is atrocious. Still, it's weirdly compelling and probably the best of Jodo's work (yes I am including The Incal in that statement).
June 6, 2022
(5/5 stars) After being continuously disappointed with the way modern shallow/woke American comics and graphic novels have been going I started looking for other foreign options and boy was I glad I did. I bought the massive hard cover and I read all 530 pages of this beast. Every single page was beautiful and very well written. The artwork was some of the best I’ve ever seen, it’s very mesmerizing and brutal. The storyline is epic and complex yet simple enough to keep you interested. I’ve never read an American series this badass and well illustrated. If you like futuristic sci-fi fantasy, the Metabarons is a must read.
January 22, 2024
2.5 stars—-
I liked the beginning a lot more than the end, and it may be closer to a 2 star for me, but I enjoyed the art and the larger plot lines of the story. I also enjoyed it more than the Incal omnibus, where the art just didn’t work for me.
Certain parts of this story were not fun to read, and they kinda ruined the whole story in my opinion. There was the standard unnecessary nudity throughout, along with some darker shit that seemed even more unnecessary but..art? Idk, if any reader out there enjoyed those parts, then they should seek help from a professional.
I liked the beginning a lot more than the end, and it may be closer to a 2 star for me, but I enjoyed the art and the larger plot lines of the story. I also enjoyed it more than the Incal omnibus, where the art just didn’t work for me.
Certain parts of this story were not fun to read, and they kinda ruined the whole story in my opinion. There was the standard unnecessary nudity throughout, along with some darker shit that seemed even more unnecessary but..art? Idk, if any reader out there enjoyed those parts, then they should seek help from a professional.
May 25, 2024
Jodorowsky is a genius
I recently watched a documentary about Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to film his vision of “Dune”. While that never was made, he told the interviewer that many of the design ideas from his storyboards made it into The Incal and this comic. I had read the Incal but had only done so because of Möebius — but the story was written by Jodorowosky. It’s a worthy read.
I recently watched a documentary about Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to film his vision of “Dune”. While that never was made, he told the interviewer that many of the design ideas from his storyboards made it into The Incal and this comic. I had read the Incal but had only done so because of Möebius — but the story was written by Jodorowosky. It’s a worthy read.
October 3, 2024
I was so looking forward to reading The Incal and Metabarons series I got via a Humble Bundle. It was a huge disappointment. I was unable to finish this comic. Lousy artwork and uninspiring lousy storytelling. This comic borrowed heavily from Dune, Star Wars and a Don Lawrence series like Storm, but not in a good way. It's a mess.
DNF
DNF
October 7, 2022
Art makes it a 4
Story is very classical mythology but space-fantasy. The writing gets kinda weird in a not fun way, but overall its enjoyable in its ridiculousness and the art is fantastic.
Story is very classical mythology but space-fantasy. The writing gets kinda weird in a not fun way, but overall its enjoyable in its ridiculousness and the art is fantastic.
September 3, 2023
Nonsense story
What a nonsense. This is bad written. It has no rhythm. It takes pieces from other books or stories and apply them in a bad manner. Steelhead is a joke. The graphics are terrible
What a nonsense. This is bad written. It has no rhythm. It takes pieces from other books or stories and apply them in a bad manner. Steelhead is a joke. The graphics are terrible
April 26, 2023
A seriously bonkers story with amazing art.
January 8, 2025
This is up there with the Incal for me. An epic saga of a family in line with a greek tragedy. Also the artwork is some of the best in comics.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews