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Planeta Ziemia. 500 000 lat w przyszłość.
Ludzkość wymarła tysiące lat temu. Dwoje naukowców, Robert i jego żona June, pozostawali na orbicie Ziemi, do czasu kiedy ta znów będzie nadawać się do zamieszkania. Z pomocą ekipy robotów chcą zacząć wszystko od nowa, być nowymi Adamem i Ewą, nie powtarzać błędów przeszłości.
Najpierw Rober musi odnaleźć June, która prawdopodobnie wylądowała trochę dalej niż on, w tym bezkresnym lesie, ich Edenie, zamieszkanym przez dziwaczne stworzenia, osobliwe naczelne...
Diego Agrimbau i Lucas Varela z pewną miękkością i gorzkim humorem wprowadzają nas w głębię dzikiego świata i zwierzęco-ludzkiego szaleństwa.
Ludzkość wymarła tysiące lat temu. Dwoje naukowców, Robert i jego żona June, pozostawali na orbicie Ziemi, do czasu kiedy ta znów będzie nadawać się do zamieszkania. Z pomocą ekipy robotów chcą zacząć wszystko od nowa, być nowymi Adamem i Ewą, nie powtarzać błędów przeszłości.
Najpierw Rober musi odnaleźć June, która prawdopodobnie wylądowała trochę dalej niż on, w tym bezkresnym lesie, ich Edenie, zamieszkanym przez dziwaczne stworzenia, osobliwe naczelne...
Diego Agrimbau i Lucas Varela z pewną miękkością i gorzkim humorem wprowadzają nas w głębię dzikiego świata i zwierzęco-ludzkiego szaleństwa.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2019
6 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
January 15, 2020
(3,7 for sci-fi GN with a story with greater potential than 130 pages could make use of)
Humans started to decline thanks to unspecified deterioration of environment conditions here on Earth. So few scientists decide to engage plan to human survival in the form of Project Phoenix. The plan is to wait in cryosleep on Earth's orbit until it becomes habitable again and then repopulate the Earth. 500 000 years later, when the Earth restored its condition, two leading scientists Robert and June (husband and wife) descended from orbit back to Earth. The earth is now in excellent shape and it looks more "alien" in means of plants and weird new species of apes. The landing is rough, but androids, the help for the scientists' couple to execute the mission, rescue Robert from his landing pod and he start his search for June.
Well, the setting is great. The description I wrote is nothing inventive or new, it's rather a common scenario for this kind of sci-fi. But the deeper detail creates a quite interesting scenario. For me, there comes a major flaw. At first, I was happy with the number of pages. But in the end, the 130-ish pages is not enough. There is a lack of information to start with (not necessarily a flaw by itself) and with such an interesting scenario I got a lot of missing links. I love how book pretends it's Robert's story, but it's actually Alfa's one from beginning to the end.
So, on one hand, I like the story, but on the other hand, I'm disappointed in ways how executed it is, how the actual scenario is not elaborated enough. The art is OK, not exactly by my tase but not against it either. In conclusion - this is a nice comic with an interesting story and at least "OK" art, but there is so much unused potential and that could leave the bitter taste after reading.
Humans started to decline thanks to unspecified deterioration of environment conditions here on Earth. So few scientists decide to engage plan to human survival in the form of Project Phoenix. The plan is to wait in cryosleep on Earth's orbit until it becomes habitable again and then repopulate the Earth. 500 000 years later, when the Earth restored its condition, two leading scientists Robert and June (husband and wife) descended from orbit back to Earth. The earth is now in excellent shape and it looks more "alien" in means of plants and weird new species of apes. The landing is rough, but androids, the help for the scientists' couple to execute the mission, rescue Robert from his landing pod and he start his search for June.
Well, the setting is great. The description I wrote is nothing inventive or new, it's rather a common scenario for this kind of sci-fi. But the deeper detail creates a quite interesting scenario. For me, there comes a major flaw. At first, I was happy with the number of pages. But in the end, the 130-ish pages is not enough. There is a lack of information to start with (not necessarily a flaw by itself) and with such an interesting scenario I got a lot of missing links. I love how book pretends it's Robert's story, but it's actually Alfa's one from beginning to the end.
So, on one hand, I like the story, but on the other hand, I'm disappointed in ways how executed it is, how the actual scenario is not elaborated enough. The art is OK, not exactly by my tase but not against it either. In conclusion - this is a nice comic with an interesting story and at least "OK" art, but there is so much unused potential and that could leave the bitter taste after reading.
March 18, 2020
Quite good, if a bit predictable.
November 29, 2022
It's been half a million years, yet humanity never changes, we always go through with the same mistakes, over and over again:
There's a lot of good ideas the comic raises, but it ends up rather one-dimensional and preachy by the end - it presents its one true way of nature and science and evolution, some fairly archaic notions on our societal roles (as seen above in the spoiler: the joke wasn't much of an exaggeration of my takeaway), then fails to acknowledge any other ideas or viewpoints. I was left with several disagreements, and consequently, loose ends.
But it had a good run making it there. A fairly good story, with action and suspense and a couple emotional high points and fine prose. The art is good throughout, and the setting is well-established and offers a lot of potential - even if some of it was worked rather arbitrarily and unnaturally to serve the dramatic beats. Good going up until around midway point, and it only really falls flat towards the very end.
There's a lot of good ideas the comic raises, but it ends up rather one-dimensional and preachy by the end - it presents its one true way of nature and science and evolution, some fairly archaic notions on our societal roles (as seen above in the spoiler: the joke wasn't much of an exaggeration of my takeaway), then fails to acknowledge any other ideas or viewpoints. I was left with several disagreements, and consequently, loose ends.
But it had a good run making it there. A fairly good story, with action and suspense and a couple emotional high points and fine prose. The art is good throughout, and the setting is well-established and offers a lot of potential - even if some of it was worked rather arbitrarily and unnaturally to serve the dramatic beats. Good going up until around midway point, and it only really falls flat towards the very end.
December 1, 2019
This is for the Saga lovers.
The plot is on Earth 500,000 years in the future. The main protagonist Robert comes to Earth with a team of robots to find his love June ... and I guess they want to repopulate the Earth. So you have that Adam and Eve theme.
Everything goes wrong of course.
Spoiler:
The art is beautiful. I liked the combination of colors.
The plot is on Earth 500,000 years in the future. The main protagonist Robert comes to Earth with a team of robots to find his love June ... and I guess they want to repopulate the Earth. So you have that Adam and Eve theme.
Everything goes wrong of course.
Spoiler:
The art is beautiful. I liked the combination of colors.
January 16, 2021
Me ha gustado bastante la premisa, aunque hay cosas que no me han convencido. Pero toda la ambientación y los roboces y el dibujo preciosísimo han compensado los pequeños detalles. Muy recomendable si os gusta la ciencia ficción algo más clásica.
January 14, 2020
Buď jsem o tomhle četl na fb, nebo u někoho viděl tady na Goodreads. Mám rád tyhle příběhy z daleké budoucnosti kde lidstvo opustilo planetu nebo vymřeli. Tady je ta první verze kde opustilo zemi a vrací se zpátky. Příběh nebudu spoilerovat ale jsou to plnohodnotný 3*. Hvězdu navíc dávám nádherné kresbě na kterou je radost se dívat.
January 6, 2020
J'aime beaucoup les histoires qui se déroulent dans le futur et qui imaginent ce qu'il pourrait être. C'est le cas ici, avec un vaisseau venu du passé avec à son bord un humain et un groupe d'androïdes. Ce qui vont découvrir ne m'a pas réellement surprise et, si j'ai bien apprécié le graphisme, j'ai moins raffolé des couleurs choisies et de l'histoire en elle-même. Peut-être qu'il devient difficile de m'étonner et c'est pour cela que je suis ressortie un peu frustrée de ma lecture. Il aurait pu y avoir encore beaucoup à raconter, il me semble !
April 18, 2020
3,25 / 5
El pronosticado fin del mundo, cuando una serie de cataclismos activos por culpa del cambio climático acabe con la especie humana, no es algo descabellado del todo. Día a día vemos como nuestro mundo va agotando sus fuentes y combustibles naturales, principalmente a causa de nosotros mismos. De aquí parte El Humano, un cómic francés guionizado por el argentino Diego Agrimbau y dibujado por Lucas Varela. Nada menos que medio millón de años en el futuro, Robert y su unidad Alpha despiertan en una nueva Tierra. Ha pasado el tiempo suficiente tras el cataclismo humano, mientras ellos esperaban en criogenización orbitando alrededor del planeta, para que este haya sido capaz de sanearse a si mismo. Su misión: encontrar a June y reiniciar la humanidad.
Por supuesto, nada es como esperaban y la llamada misión Phénix tendrá otros derroteros. El Humano es una historia clásica de ciencia ficción y aventura en un entorno hostil repleto de nuevas especies. O no tan nuevas. Un escenario común que reflexiona sobre la explotación ambiental, la manipulación científica sobre la naturaleza y por supuesto, la inteligencia artificial. También sobre la tendencia del Homo Sapiens a creerse el gobernador del universo y el mandatario único sobre el mundo. La tendencia humana a creernos poseedores de todos los derechos sobre los demás habitantes del planeta Tierra.
La mayor virtud de El Humano es el dibujo de Lucas Varela. Al menos, es su elemento más novedoso. Con unos diseños muy sintéticos, pero expresivos, el artista argentino desarrolla una narrativa y composición que se amolda a cada momento de la historia. Sabe pararse en los momentos más reflexivos de Alpha, pero también acelerar cuando la acción lo requiere en largas y violentas cacerías o persecuciones. Así como esas tonalidades de rojos, grises y negros, que nos transportan a un mundo totalmente desconocido, pero que tiene atisbos salvajes del que si conocemos. Es El Humano, en verdadera instancia, una fabula clásica de ciencia ficción de lo más disfrutable.
El pronosticado fin del mundo, cuando una serie de cataclismos activos por culpa del cambio climático acabe con la especie humana, no es algo descabellado del todo. Día a día vemos como nuestro mundo va agotando sus fuentes y combustibles naturales, principalmente a causa de nosotros mismos. De aquí parte El Humano, un cómic francés guionizado por el argentino Diego Agrimbau y dibujado por Lucas Varela. Nada menos que medio millón de años en el futuro, Robert y su unidad Alpha despiertan en una nueva Tierra. Ha pasado el tiempo suficiente tras el cataclismo humano, mientras ellos esperaban en criogenización orbitando alrededor del planeta, para que este haya sido capaz de sanearse a si mismo. Su misión: encontrar a June y reiniciar la humanidad.
Por supuesto, nada es como esperaban y la llamada misión Phénix tendrá otros derroteros. El Humano es una historia clásica de ciencia ficción y aventura en un entorno hostil repleto de nuevas especies. O no tan nuevas. Un escenario común que reflexiona sobre la explotación ambiental, la manipulación científica sobre la naturaleza y por supuesto, la inteligencia artificial. También sobre la tendencia del Homo Sapiens a creerse el gobernador del universo y el mandatario único sobre el mundo. La tendencia humana a creernos poseedores de todos los derechos sobre los demás habitantes del planeta Tierra.
La mayor virtud de El Humano es el dibujo de Lucas Varela. Al menos, es su elemento más novedoso. Con unos diseños muy sintéticos, pero expresivos, el artista argentino desarrolla una narrativa y composición que se amolda a cada momento de la historia. Sabe pararse en los momentos más reflexivos de Alpha, pero también acelerar cuando la acción lo requiere en largas y violentas cacerías o persecuciones. Así como esas tonalidades de rojos, grises y negros, que nos transportan a un mundo totalmente desconocido, pero que tiene atisbos salvajes del que si conocemos. Es El Humano, en verdadera instancia, una fabula clásica de ciencia ficción de lo más disfrutable.
November 13, 2019
I really enjoyed this sci-fi graphic novel with robots, drama and the last man on earth.
The artwork was good, all in reds, grays and dark colours which conveyed the feel of an alien yet familiar world. It is a very creative story and gripping too.
I really wanted to know what happened next. This was so good but I think there is still much more for the author to tell us, at least I hope there is more.
Copy provided by Europe Comics in exchange for an unbiased review.
The artwork was good, all in reds, grays and dark colours which conveyed the feel of an alien yet familiar world. It is a very creative story and gripping too.
I really wanted to know what happened next. This was so good but I think there is still much more for the author to tell us, at least I hope there is more.
Copy provided by Europe Comics in exchange for an unbiased review.
December 18, 2019
Human (2019) is a 138-page French graphic novel written by Diego Agrimbau and illustrated by Lucas Varela. Both authors were born in Argentina. Agrimbau is a multi-awarded scriptwriter who has been creating comics since the 1990s in an array of genres, collaborating with several artists. Varela started working fulltime on comics in 2006; in 2012 he participated in a residence in Angoulême and made his entry into the Franco-Belgian market. Before reviewing this graphic novel I find it pertinent to share the synopsis made available on the book back cover and on the Europe Comics website:
“Planet Earth: 500,000 years in the future. Humans have been extinct for millennia. Two scientists, Robert and June, have been orbiting the Earth, waiting for the planet to become habitable once more. With the help of a team of robots, they plan to start over from scratch: a new Adam and Eve who won’t make the same mistakes as their ancestors. But first Robert has to find June, who seems to have landed somewhere else in this vast jungle—their Eden—full of grotesque creatures and strange primates…”
This science-fiction narrative takes place half a million years in the future. To better understand it, and because the sci-fi genre embraces so many subgenres and themes, one should first categorize the story according to an appropriate subgenre. The French philosopher Jacques Derrida said that “[e]very text participates in one or several genres, there is no genreless text; there is always a genre and genres, yet such participation never amounts to belonging.” It’s also important to understand that the genre system is an intellectual tool and that it evolves; new genres are created often to better accommodate the stories being told.
When a story takes place long after a cataclysm when things have gone back to ‘normal’, the subgenre post-apocalyptic is not the appropriate term. According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction website the appropriate expression is ruined earth. I find it inadequate and more so when applied to the graphic novel Human. When the character Robert crash-lands in the forest, it’s not a ruined earth scenario we see but a new “Eden”, a healthy planet devoid of technological humans and their destructive ideals (the Anthropocene Era as we know it is over). The best subgenre by which we can categorize this book is the post-post-apocalyptic because the narrative doesn’t dwell on the aftermath of a big catastrophe when a few survivors fight to stay alive, the plot takes place in a distant future, long after the Homo sapiens ‘extinction’, when the planet has found its balance (there are still a few remnants of the technological past on Earth, a reminder of the destructive power and hubris of Man).
It’s time to enter spoilers territory. If you haven’t read the book stop here and come back after you do, hopefully in a not so distant future. If spoilers don’t affect you continue reading. I hope you enjoy this review and decide to read the book.
Our planet Earth was once a place where different species of humans coexisted. In this book, several hominids once again live side by side. Man hasn’t gone extinct it has evolved and adapted. Before the arrival of Robert, his wife June catalogues a few new species: Homo aereous, Homo hydronensis, Homo terribilus, Homo cavernalis, Homo arborens, and Homo minimus. June has crash-landed early due to a technical malfunction, 104 years before Robert, but she soon realizes that their plan to reintroduce Homo sapiens is not the right thing to do and she tries to prevent Robert’s awakening from his cryosleep. Knowing he will eventually arrive she leaves him data (notes and videos) about what she discovered. These post-human beings have evolved into a more animalistic state, better suited to a more natural correlation with the ecosystems they inhabit.
Another poorly known sci-fi subgenre comes to mind: the speculative evolution category. This subgenre is better known for the illustrated books of Dougal Dixon but the first known example is The Time Machine (1895), by H. G. Wells, where a scientist travels into the future and discovers that mankind has split into two different species. The graphic novel Human can be viewed through the lens of this subgenre as well but, as Derrida said, “such participation never amounts to belonging.”
In the monograph Posthumanism and the Graphic Novel in Latin America (2017), the authors Edward King and Joanna Page address two of Diego Agrimbau’s graphic novels as antihumanist fables with “dystopian visions of the consequences of environmental exploitation or enslavement to modernizing progress.” The two mentioned books are La Burbuja de Bertold (2007) and Planet Extra (2009). In Human, it’s obvious that when the character Robert loses his goal to reintroduce the Homo sapiens species on planet Earth his first actions are those of an environmental exploiter, a despot king cutting down trees to build a palisade (renouncing nature) and implementing cruel biopolitics rules of enslaving the ‘wombs’ of other hominids to create a new species he suggestively baptizes as Robert sapiens. His god-complex leads him into trying to create a future not so different from his past where power and hubris led to the extinction of his race. This is the opposite of his first moral and good intentions towards the future but the death of his wife and his inability to cope with his new reality lead him into perdition.
To enforce his will, Robert orders the robot called One to animate through technology the cadavers of a few Homo cavernalis. This Frankensteinian trope or zombification of the posthuman bodies of the Homo cavernalis is appalling and a signal of how far from his original plan Robert has gone. For the psychologist John Vervaeke, the zombie is the XXI century monster zeitgeist and represents all the lacking qualities that make us human. It’s the perfect metaphor for contemporary alienation, anxiety, consumerism, and disenfranchisement in Western nations. No wonder Agrimbau decided to include an army of the dead controlled by a king out of his time, paralleling George R. R. Martin’s Night King and his magically undead army who invade the realms of Man. The mostrification or zombification of the cadavers and the creation of a killing machine for Robert’s gladiator games shows us his “enslavement to modernizing progress.” His scientific mind is interfering with his ability to live a simpler life and have a healthier relationship with ‘nature’. The German philosopher Walter Benjamin, in his small text To the Planetarium (1928), said that technology should not be the subjugation of nature by Man, but the control of the relationship between humankind and nature. Robert opted for the first.
Fortunately, the three ape-like women Robert impregnates will be his downfall. The victims have their revenge after being aided by Alpha. They kill him by sending him down a waterfall, thus ending his chaotic and savage reign. Alpha, then, initiates a voyage with the three posthuman women accompanied by the subservient robot One (an enabler who seeks only to serve). Alpha now knows what to do and her first decision is to get out of the jungle and find a good place to raise Robert’s babies. The last panel (splash page) shows another capsule of the mother ship on orbit falling from the sky, indicating that another person (Homo sapiens) is arriving. This story is most definitely not over and the worldbuilding deserves at least one more instalment.
This graphic novel was made for a ‘younger’ audience despite the violent and complex themes it works with and, sometimes, the dialogues and some plot devices suffer from that option. This doesn’t take away the merit of the story that treats complex thematic subjects with skill. The art is very interesting and the colour palette sparsely uses blue and green hues resulting in a kind of alien planet Earth. The lack of green trees and blue skies show the jungle as a space of otherness. The drawings are reminiscent of Hergé’s ligne claire style mixed with Mike Mignola’s more graphic approach. Overall this is a book worth reading, especially for sci-fi fans that enjoy speculative stories about the future of Mankind and posthuman fiction.
“Planet Earth: 500,000 years in the future. Humans have been extinct for millennia. Two scientists, Robert and June, have been orbiting the Earth, waiting for the planet to become habitable once more. With the help of a team of robots, they plan to start over from scratch: a new Adam and Eve who won’t make the same mistakes as their ancestors. But first Robert has to find June, who seems to have landed somewhere else in this vast jungle—their Eden—full of grotesque creatures and strange primates…”
This science-fiction narrative takes place half a million years in the future. To better understand it, and because the sci-fi genre embraces so many subgenres and themes, one should first categorize the story according to an appropriate subgenre. The French philosopher Jacques Derrida said that “[e]very text participates in one or several genres, there is no genreless text; there is always a genre and genres, yet such participation never amounts to belonging.” It’s also important to understand that the genre system is an intellectual tool and that it evolves; new genres are created often to better accommodate the stories being told.
When a story takes place long after a cataclysm when things have gone back to ‘normal’, the subgenre post-apocalyptic is not the appropriate term. According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction website the appropriate expression is ruined earth. I find it inadequate and more so when applied to the graphic novel Human. When the character Robert crash-lands in the forest, it’s not a ruined earth scenario we see but a new “Eden”, a healthy planet devoid of technological humans and their destructive ideals (the Anthropocene Era as we know it is over). The best subgenre by which we can categorize this book is the post-post-apocalyptic because the narrative doesn’t dwell on the aftermath of a big catastrophe when a few survivors fight to stay alive, the plot takes place in a distant future, long after the Homo sapiens ‘extinction’, when the planet has found its balance (there are still a few remnants of the technological past on Earth, a reminder of the destructive power and hubris of Man).
It’s time to enter spoilers territory. If you haven’t read the book stop here and come back after you do, hopefully in a not so distant future. If spoilers don’t affect you continue reading. I hope you enjoy this review and decide to read the book.
Our planet Earth was once a place where different species of humans coexisted. In this book, several hominids once again live side by side. Man hasn’t gone extinct it has evolved and adapted. Before the arrival of Robert, his wife June catalogues a few new species: Homo aereous, Homo hydronensis, Homo terribilus, Homo cavernalis, Homo arborens, and Homo minimus. June has crash-landed early due to a technical malfunction, 104 years before Robert, but she soon realizes that their plan to reintroduce Homo sapiens is not the right thing to do and she tries to prevent Robert’s awakening from his cryosleep. Knowing he will eventually arrive she leaves him data (notes and videos) about what she discovered. These post-human beings have evolved into a more animalistic state, better suited to a more natural correlation with the ecosystems they inhabit.
Another poorly known sci-fi subgenre comes to mind: the speculative evolution category. This subgenre is better known for the illustrated books of Dougal Dixon but the first known example is The Time Machine (1895), by H. G. Wells, where a scientist travels into the future and discovers that mankind has split into two different species. The graphic novel Human can be viewed through the lens of this subgenre as well but, as Derrida said, “such participation never amounts to belonging.”
In the monograph Posthumanism and the Graphic Novel in Latin America (2017), the authors Edward King and Joanna Page address two of Diego Agrimbau’s graphic novels as antihumanist fables with “dystopian visions of the consequences of environmental exploitation or enslavement to modernizing progress.” The two mentioned books are La Burbuja de Bertold (2007) and Planet Extra (2009). In Human, it’s obvious that when the character Robert loses his goal to reintroduce the Homo sapiens species on planet Earth his first actions are those of an environmental exploiter, a despot king cutting down trees to build a palisade (renouncing nature) and implementing cruel biopolitics rules of enslaving the ‘wombs’ of other hominids to create a new species he suggestively baptizes as Robert sapiens. His god-complex leads him into trying to create a future not so different from his past where power and hubris led to the extinction of his race. This is the opposite of his first moral and good intentions towards the future but the death of his wife and his inability to cope with his new reality lead him into perdition.
To enforce his will, Robert orders the robot called One to animate through technology the cadavers of a few Homo cavernalis. This Frankensteinian trope or zombification of the posthuman bodies of the Homo cavernalis is appalling and a signal of how far from his original plan Robert has gone. For the psychologist John Vervaeke, the zombie is the XXI century monster zeitgeist and represents all the lacking qualities that make us human. It’s the perfect metaphor for contemporary alienation, anxiety, consumerism, and disenfranchisement in Western nations. No wonder Agrimbau decided to include an army of the dead controlled by a king out of his time, paralleling George R. R. Martin’s Night King and his magically undead army who invade the realms of Man. The mostrification or zombification of the cadavers and the creation of a killing machine for Robert’s gladiator games shows us his “enslavement to modernizing progress.” His scientific mind is interfering with his ability to live a simpler life and have a healthier relationship with ‘nature’. The German philosopher Walter Benjamin, in his small text To the Planetarium (1928), said that technology should not be the subjugation of nature by Man, but the control of the relationship between humankind and nature. Robert opted for the first.
Fortunately, the three ape-like women Robert impregnates will be his downfall. The victims have their revenge after being aided by Alpha. They kill him by sending him down a waterfall, thus ending his chaotic and savage reign. Alpha, then, initiates a voyage with the three posthuman women accompanied by the subservient robot One (an enabler who seeks only to serve). Alpha now knows what to do and her first decision is to get out of the jungle and find a good place to raise Robert’s babies. The last panel (splash page) shows another capsule of the mother ship on orbit falling from the sky, indicating that another person (Homo sapiens) is arriving. This story is most definitely not over and the worldbuilding deserves at least one more instalment.
This graphic novel was made for a ‘younger’ audience despite the violent and complex themes it works with and, sometimes, the dialogues and some plot devices suffer from that option. This doesn’t take away the merit of the story that treats complex thematic subjects with skill. The art is very interesting and the colour palette sparsely uses blue and green hues resulting in a kind of alien planet Earth. The lack of green trees and blue skies show the jungle as a space of otherness. The drawings are reminiscent of Hergé’s ligne claire style mixed with Mike Mignola’s more graphic approach. Overall this is a book worth reading, especially for sci-fi fans that enjoy speculative stories about the future of Mankind and posthuman fiction.
March 5, 2021
Lucase Varelu jsem si oblíbil v jeho komiksu "The Longest Day Of The Future" díky jeho kresbě a smyslu pro humor. Proto když jsem viděl, že vyšel jím kreslený komiks L'humain (Human, Człowiek), netrpělivě jsem čekal, až vyjde v pro mě srozumitelném jazyce. Měl jsem to sice stažené v angličtině v počítači, ale já preferuji čtení z papíru. Když to nedávno vyšlo v Polsku, tak nebylo co řešit. Sice čtení polštiny nepatří k mým oblíbeným kratochvílím, ale s pomocí Google překladače se to dá zvládnout.
Komiks Człowiek klame tělem. Sice to podle obrázků vypadá, že půjde o stejnou ztřeštěnost jako v "The Longest Day Of The Future" (i když to taky nebyla jen komedie a byly tam skryté vážnější tóny), tak v této sci-fi nejde o nic menšího, než je zamyšlení na lidstvím samotným a nad tím, zda problémy lidství mohou být vyřešené lidmi. Příběh nás přivádí na Zemi v 500 000 let vzdálené budoucnosti, kam se vrací poslední dva žijící lidé, aby na planetu vrátili lidský druh a vyhnuli se chybám, které lidstvo udělalo ve své minulosti. Jak zjistíme už na začátku, návrat na zemi se nepovedl podle plánu. Novodobého Adama a Evu doprovází hrstka humanoidních robotů, kteří jsou zde minimálně stejně důležití jako lidé a humor na odlehčení přichází právě od robotů. Celková nálada příběhu je však spíše smutnější.
Polské nakladatelství Timof vydalo Człowieka ve zvětšeném hardbacku na extrémně tlustých papírech. Je to pěkně udělaná kniha, ale zabírá v knihovně zbytečně hodně místa.
Komiks Człowiek klame tělem. Sice to podle obrázků vypadá, že půjde o stejnou ztřeštěnost jako v "The Longest Day Of The Future" (i když to taky nebyla jen komedie a byly tam skryté vážnější tóny), tak v této sci-fi nejde o nic menšího, než je zamyšlení na lidstvím samotným a nad tím, zda problémy lidství mohou být vyřešené lidmi. Příběh nás přivádí na Zemi v 500 000 let vzdálené budoucnosti, kam se vrací poslední dva žijící lidé, aby na planetu vrátili lidský druh a vyhnuli se chybám, které lidstvo udělalo ve své minulosti. Jak zjistíme už na začátku, návrat na zemi se nepovedl podle plánu. Novodobého Adama a Evu doprovází hrstka humanoidních robotů, kteří jsou zde minimálně stejně důležití jako lidé a humor na odlehčení přichází právě od robotů. Celková nálada příběhu je však spíše smutnější.
Polské nakladatelství Timof vydalo Człowieka ve zvětšeném hardbacku na extrémně tlustých papírech. Je to pěkně udělaná kniha, ale zabírá v knihovně zbytečně hodně místa.
November 18, 2021
I was really intrigued by the blurb for the book. Humans being extinct and two scientists trying to repopulate earth!! The art style was really cool!
February 24, 2024
Me gusta mucho esta dupla, así que me sorprende que este comic me haya dejado más bien frío. La premisa me encanta, el mundo del futuro que plantean también, pero el desarrollo y la resolución no me convencieron tanto. Como punto en contra, también está el hecho de que los personajes hablen de tú aunque sea una edición argentina de un comic de dos autores argentinos, pero bueno, no fue esa cobardía lo que hizo que la historieta no me gustara tanto así que quedará como una contra menor.
November 20, 2019
Human is so much more than just a super interesting looking cover and a nice red aesthetic. It's the story of power, spiraling out of control. Of an ancient Earth, still living and healing long after people have deemed it uninhabitable. Human might be one of my favourite graphic novel's that I've read lately, and I think it would make a really nice addition to anyone's bookshelf, but specifically mine.
Check out my full review here!
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Check out my full review here!
https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpr...
February 17, 2020
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Human, by Diego Agrimbau, Lucas Varela
★★★★★
144 Pages
Content Warning: extinction, dictatorship, death, slavery, off-page forced insemination
Human is a graphic novel about what humanity is capable of, the injustices we commit without thought of consequences, the depravity we're all capable of in extreme situations, and the hard truth that the world would be better off without our destructive influence.
That sounds harsh, but it's the truth.
Honestly, when I began reading Human, I wasn't sure what to think. Alpha was an interesting character, though it would have been good to have an idea of identity long before halfway through the story, as I didn't realise Alpha was female until Robert used pronouns. Until this point, Alpha thought their name was Robert, because of the marks on their robotic body RBRT. However, getting past that was easy enough because, in my mind, robots are all genderless. Once Robert came into the story, it became something interesting and new – the last human on Earth – until he reveals that his wife, June, crash landed nearby.
The plot is clever, original and absolutely something I could imagine an egotistical scientist could imagine – take his wife to the distant future, after humans have already destroyed their own world. Emerge in a time when the planet has flourished without humans and recovered from the damage we've done, then repopulate the planet with his wife. Enter = God complex.
How Alpha – a robot who was made with the ability to disobey, if an order was only given once (given twice, they would be compelled to comply) – reacted to all of this was the interesting part. Created by humans, but fundamentally a robot with only rudimentary Empathy programming, Alpha was, by far, the most interesting character. They had a unique view of the situation. At times, they reacted as a robot would, but at others, they showed more foresight, more empathy and understanding of the situation than Robert, with his egotistical and limited human view.
For me, Human was a graphic novel that explored the depths of human nature in less than 200 pages, with stunning sci-fi appropriate illustrations, and a clever and original plot. I loved Alpha and June equally, One was intriguing and Robert was a typical human who couldn't adapt to a changing world. In short, Human was utterly terrifying...because of its realism.
Though it's not billed as a Volume 1, the story left the ending resolved but open to more. I'd definitely be intrigued to see what came next.
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Human, by Diego Agrimbau, Lucas Varela
★★★★★
144 Pages
Content Warning: extinction, dictatorship, death, slavery, off-page forced insemination
Human is a graphic novel about what humanity is capable of, the injustices we commit without thought of consequences, the depravity we're all capable of in extreme situations, and the hard truth that the world would be better off without our destructive influence.
That sounds harsh, but it's the truth.
Honestly, when I began reading Human, I wasn't sure what to think. Alpha was an interesting character, though it would have been good to have an idea of identity long before halfway through the story, as I didn't realise Alpha was female until Robert used pronouns. Until this point, Alpha thought their name was Robert, because of the marks on their robotic body RBRT. However, getting past that was easy enough because, in my mind, robots are all genderless. Once Robert came into the story, it became something interesting and new – the last human on Earth – until he reveals that his wife, June, crash landed nearby.
The plot is clever, original and absolutely something I could imagine an egotistical scientist could imagine – take his wife to the distant future, after humans have already destroyed their own world. Emerge in a time when the planet has flourished without humans and recovered from the damage we've done, then repopulate the planet with his wife. Enter = God complex.
How Alpha – a robot who was made with the ability to disobey, if an order was only given once (given twice, they would be compelled to comply) – reacted to all of this was the interesting part. Created by humans, but fundamentally a robot with only rudimentary Empathy programming, Alpha was, by far, the most interesting character. They had a unique view of the situation. At times, they reacted as a robot would, but at others, they showed more foresight, more empathy and understanding of the situation than Robert, with his egotistical and limited human view.
For me, Human was a graphic novel that explored the depths of human nature in less than 200 pages, with stunning sci-fi appropriate illustrations, and a clever and original plot. I loved Alpha and June equally, One was intriguing and Robert was a typical human who couldn't adapt to a changing world. In short, Human was utterly terrifying...because of its realism.
Though it's not billed as a Volume 1, the story left the ending resolved but open to more. I'd definitely be intrigued to see what came next.
December 2, 2019
This was a very quick, easy read with beautiful graphics.
Human is set on planet Earth 500,000 years in the future. We start with Alpha waking up & exploring the world, coming across others his kind (robots) & finding a pod containing their creator, a human named Robert. Robert instantly sets about creating a home for them & finding his wife & fellow scientist who should have landed nearby after orbiting the Earth in a pod until it was safe again . What he finds is not a happy ending, and seemingly riddled with grief, he turns against the natural progression of the world (primate creatures) and appears to put nature vs technology in battles to prove what he can do. It appears that underneath this madness he has another crazy plan: capturing the female ape like creatures and inseminating them in a mission to rebuild humanity from its truest form “Robert sapiens”
From tapes June left, Alpha discovers that june had realised how to save humanity. And it may not be like they originally planned for.
Robert orders four to kill alpha which resorts to the apes attacking him, five attacking the ape & the ape retaliating, causing an explosion. The “girls” seem protective of alpha and were a part of this.
Seems to be a happy ending, although the last image could also suggest otherwise.
Human is set on planet Earth 500,000 years in the future. We start with Alpha waking up & exploring the world, coming across others his kind (robots) & finding a pod containing their creator, a human named Robert. Robert instantly sets about creating a home for them & finding his wife & fellow scientist who should have landed nearby after orbiting the Earth in a pod until it was safe again . What he finds is not a happy ending, and seemingly riddled with grief, he turns against the natural progression of the world (primate creatures) and appears to put nature vs technology in battles to prove what he can do. It appears that underneath this madness he has another crazy plan: capturing the female ape like creatures and inseminating them in a mission to rebuild humanity from its truest form “Robert sapiens”
From tapes June left, Alpha discovers that june had realised how to save humanity. And it may not be like they originally planned for.
Robert orders four to kill alpha which resorts to the apes attacking him, five attacking the ape & the ape retaliating, causing an explosion. The “girls” seem protective of alpha and were a part of this.
Seems to be a happy ending, although the last image could also suggest otherwise.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2019
This book was a wild ride and not for the faint of heart. I had expectations from the premise and it "dashed them quite expertly". Set 500,000 years in the future when, hopefully, the planet has healed enough to become inhabitable two scientists plan to land their pods and become the new Adam and Eve. of course, things don't always turn out the way you plan them.
This book deals with unfulfilled expectations, for you and the characters, a bit of madness, and some pretty grotesque scenery in instances. It was definitely a bit disturbing, understandably so, but I also thought it was pretty interesting. Though not my style, the art was interesting as well with a limited palette.
I do wish we'd seen more of the recordings filled out in the book as I think it would help fill in the characters and make you care more about them. I also feel like this could even be the beginning of a series the way it left off.
This book deals with unfulfilled expectations, for you and the characters, a bit of madness, and some pretty grotesque scenery in instances. It was definitely a bit disturbing, understandably so, but I also thought it was pretty interesting. Though not my style, the art was interesting as well with a limited palette.
I do wish we'd seen more of the recordings filled out in the book as I think it would help fill in the characters and make you care more about them. I also feel like this could even be the beginning of a series the way it left off.
February 24, 2020
A graphic novel starring an android on a future earth, I was obligated to read that, it's definitely relevant to my interest!
I really liked the main character, a nice android trying to do her best despite the madness of her master.
It was awfully violent, more than I thought it would be, but it was a good story nonetheless. The end was maybe too easy to guess.
Read thanks to netgalley
I really liked the main character, a nice android trying to do her best despite the madness of her master.
It was awfully violent, more than I thought it would be, but it was a good story nonetheless. The end was maybe too easy to guess.
Read thanks to netgalley
January 2, 2021
Siempre hay algún científique con esperanza de que después de que les humanes nos hayamos hecho mierda porque no supimos cuidar nuestro planeta, la ciencia y la tecnología nos ayuden a seguir existiendo. En este caso, dentro de 500.000 años, dos científicos intentarán jugar a Adán y Eva, pero se verán frente a la pregunta de si vale la pena que empecemos de cero. Quizás la evolución solo necesite seguir su camino.
Por cierto, la edición de Hotel de Ideas es realmente preciosa.
Por cierto, la edición de Hotel de Ideas es realmente preciosa.
February 28, 2022
No soy muy de cómics pero me lo ha dejado un compañero y la verdad que me ha gustado mucho.
Los dibujos y los colores muy chulos, se lee muy rápido.
La historia es una distopía que sucede después de 500,000 años después de la destrucción de la tierra. Se plantean muchas cosas como los límites del ser humano científicamente y la verdadera naturaleza del ser humano.
Los dibujos y los colores muy chulos, se lee muy rápido.
La historia es una distopía que sucede después de 500,000 años después de la destrucción de la tierra. Se plantean muchas cosas como los límites del ser humano científicamente y la verdadera naturaleza del ser humano.
January 25, 2022
Lucas Varela jest na tyle samowystarczalny, że chyba nie musi korzystać ze scenariuszy innych artystów. Zarówno "Najdłuższy dzień przyszłości" jak i "Pawełek Pinokio" były dla czytelnika bardziej wymagające, bardziej niejednoznaczne i intrygujące. "Człowiek" jest dosyć prostą i niezbyt oryginalną opowieści sci-fi, po której został niedosyt i wrażenie zmarnowanego potencjału świetnego rysownika. Warto dla obrazków
March 17, 2021
3,5 en realidad.
Tiene algunos momentos muy buenos, pero a la trama le falta solidez.
Tiene algunos momentos muy buenos, pero a la trama le falta solidez.
July 11, 2021
Un 2,5 en realidad
June 20, 2022
Tiene todos los elementos ci-fi que me copan: el mundo postapocalíptico, los últimos robots, y un giro en el tema de la utopía/distopía. El arte de Varela me parece encantador.
Pueden criticarla por ser muy ¿standard? en el género; pero por casualidad son unos clichés que me gustan, así que ahí seré demasiado subjetivo.
Me dejó con ganas de una secuela, no porque con este libro solo no alcance; nomás porque es un mundo muy curioso que da ganas de seguir explorando con esos personajes. Me cae bien la prota robot.
Pueden criticarla por ser muy ¿standard? en el género; pero por casualidad son unos clichés que me gustan, así que ahí seré demasiado subjetivo.
Me dejó con ganas de una secuela, no porque con este libro solo no alcance; nomás porque es un mundo muy curioso que da ganas de seguir explorando con esos personajes. Me cae bien la prota robot.
March 20, 2021
Quite good, but the ending left my unsatisfied. Maybe it would be better as a series of books.
April 27, 2023
El Humano contra el futuro, la decepción, la frustración, y su creación.
September 22, 2023
2/5
This Review was first posted on It’s All Anthony. For more reviews, check out the blog here.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is just one of the strangest graphic novel I have ever come across. I went into this thinking of one thing and the plot just went into a whole other direction. I wanted to give this a try to see what it was about. I expected some strange things, but overall, it was even stranger. Since it was so strange, I kind of really confused on what was going on. The storyline itself was confusion but I did like the robot characters overall. There’s some good things, but the cons outweighs the pros in this one.
This Review was first posted on It’s All Anthony. For more reviews, check out the blog here.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is just one of the strangest graphic novel I have ever come across. I went into this thinking of one thing and the plot just went into a whole other direction. I wanted to give this a try to see what it was about. I expected some strange things, but overall, it was even stranger. Since it was so strange, I kind of really confused on what was going on. The storyline itself was confusion but I did like the robot characters overall. There’s some good things, but the cons outweighs the pros in this one.
November 30, 2019
Human ha sido un cómic que me ha sorprendido por la historia (no leí la sinopsis antes de pedirlo en Netgalley), pero de la cual odié a su protagonista, Robert.
Human nos sitúa en un futuro muy lejano, donde los humanos se "han extinguido" y Robert y sus androides llegan con la idea de repoblar el planeta. Pero una vez allí, descubren algo que no esperaban con respecto a lo que ha ocurrido con los humanos.
La historia no ha estado mal, como ya he dicho. El androide Alpha, programado de forma más compleja que los demás es el personaje al que más cariño puedes llegar a cogerle, pero a Robert lo odias prácticamente desde el minuto cero, pues tiene un complejo de Dios que no puede con él.
Ha sido una lectura rápida y entretenida, pero nada del otro mundo.
Human nos sitúa en un futuro muy lejano, donde los humanos se "han extinguido" y Robert y sus androides llegan con la idea de repoblar el planeta. Pero una vez allí, descubren algo que no esperaban con respecto a lo que ha ocurrido con los humanos.
La historia no ha estado mal, como ya he dicho. El androide Alpha, programado de forma más compleja que los demás es el personaje al que más cariño puedes llegar a cogerle, pero a Robert lo odias prácticamente desde el minuto cero, pues tiene un complejo de Dios que no puede con él.
Ha sido una lectura rápida y entretenida, pero nada del otro mundo.
November 9, 2019
What would the Earth look like in 500,000 years? What would we do if there are only 2 of us humans left on the entire planet? What would our science look like? These questions are explored in this graphic novel in a way that reminded me a bit of Lord of the Flies, because of the human nature aspect of the storyline.
I liked the artwork en color scheme in this graphic novel a lot. The "new" world and its creatures were very simple, but combined with the story it worked quite well. This was a very fun read.
I received a free copy of this graphic novel through Netgalley.
I liked the artwork en color scheme in this graphic novel a lot. The "new" world and its creatures were very simple, but combined with the story it worked quite well. This was a very fun read.
I received a free copy of this graphic novel through Netgalley.
March 6, 2022
I read this a while ago, and I can't believe I didn't write a review already because I still think about this graphic novel. The art was beautiful and the questions that this story explores the answers for is great for starting conversations. It was unpredictable, which is nice for a short one-shot comic.
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