Der Fall Alan Turing

by Éric Liberge (Zeichnungen), Arnaud Delalande (Szenario), Bruno Fuligni (Nachwort)

London, 1938. Der britische Geheimdienst rekrutiert einen brillianten jungen Mathematiker: Alan Turing. Seine Aufgabe: die Codes der Enigma zu entschlüsseln, der Maschine, die die Anweisungen von Hitler an seine Truppen übermittelt. Alle Versuche, diese Codes zu entschlüsseln, sind bisher gescheitert. Unter völliger Geheimhaltung macht er sich an diesen Wettlauf gegen die Zeit. Und hat Erfolg. Indem er den Enigma-Code knackt, verschafft Turing den Alliierten einen Vorteil, der den Zweiten Weltkrieg mitentscheidet. Nebenbei legt er den Grundstein für die Entwicklung des Computers.

Der Erfolg hätte ihn auf den Gipfel des Ruhms führen müssen, aber er muss sich verstecken und im Schatten bleiben, denn im puritanischen England wird er wegen seiner Homosexualität verfolgt.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Biography, History, Nonfiction, Science, Comics, Bande Dessinée

95 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2015

About the author

Né en 1965, Éric Liberge déclare avoir toujours dessiné. Depuis 1977, il hantait déjà ses feuilles volantes avec des fresques entières de petits squelettes. En 1996 il se lance dans le projet Monsieur Mardi-Gras Descendres. Ce sont les revues "PLG", "Ogoun" et "Golem" qui, les premières, acceptent de publier quelques courts extraits du Petit monde du Purgatoire. Achevé en 1998, le tome 1, Bienvenue !, est publié par Zone créative. Prix René Goscinny 1999, l'album est réédité chez Pointe Noire. En 2002, après trois albums, il met de côté sa série phare et publie Tonnerre Rampant puis Métal, chez Soleil dans la collection Latitudes. En 2004, les éditions Dupuis rééditent les trois premiers volumes de Monsieur Mardi-Gras Descendres qui sont suivis en 2005 par la sortie du quatrième et dernier volume inédit. Par ailleurs, Éric Liberge démarre en 2003 une collaboration en cinq tomes avec Denis-Pierre Filippi, Les Corsaires d'Alcibiade chez Dupuis dont l'action se situe dans l'Angleterre du XIXe siècle. En 2008, il publie Aux heures Impaires, un album carte-blanche sur le musée du Louvre aux éditions Futuropolis. Son nouveau projet en auteur complet, L'Empire du rêve est un regard sur la violence des hommes en temps de guerre à travers une croisée de destins pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, est prévu chez Dupuis pour le printemps 2011.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the movie is better as it is more in-depth than this story. This graphic novel tells a different story about Alan Turing. Much is the same, but there are some different details. It's interesting. Alan is fascinating. So smart, and I can't believe the way the government treated this hero. He started the computer and basically saved the WWII by breaking Enigma.

The art worked, it was ok.

This was a quick read into a brilliant mathematician. Good stuff.

[George Ilsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting elliptical overview of Turing's life and work, presented in graphic novel format (originally in French). Suitable for those looking for an introduction to Turing or craving more depth than the movie provides.

This book jumped around a lot. With text, there are usually clues for a change of scene. In graphic works, if the clues exist I seem to miss them.

I guess I'm a tiny bit like Turing — for all his smarts he also managed to overlook a lot of clues in life.

Alan Turing is someone who has increasingly been acknowledged for his contributions, decades after his death.

[John of Canada · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a short graphic novel,it was really good.Excellent artwork and gave a fine description of Turing and his work.

[Ruxandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an illustrated book written in French, explaining a bit of the life of Alan Turing and his quest, at Bletchley Park, to solve the Enigma and give us Colossus, the first programmable electronic computer. Apart from being a good reminder about the life of a true genius, a polymath and a humble man, this is also a reminder of the vagaries of our human history: through wars and huge battles, through immense sacrifice and with outher goals in mind, we invent the things that save or better our lives so much, for one. Second, it's what the justice RBG said recently, that the law only has to catch up with society; it cannot lead the way. In the case of Turing, the law of the time was so unjust with people, including those who were ahead of our times.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This astonishing biographical comic introduced me to the father of the computer--despite benefiting from his work on a daily basis, most of us have no idea who he was.

ALAN TURING plunges readers into the white-knuckled world of WW2-era codebreaking and the Allies' attempts to decipher coded German military intelligence. Despite the fact that Turing developed a codebreaking computer that helped save thousands of lives, he was treated shamefully by the English courts when it was discovered that he was gay--which was illegal at the time. His cruel treatment ended up leading to his suicide.

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as an advanced reader copy for Kindle from Edelweiss. This is a translation from the French -- a graphic history of Alan Turing's time spent creating the code-breaking machine that countered the Nazi's Enigma machine and changed the course of the war. Once it was discovered that Turing was gay (illegal in Great Britain at the time), he was convicted and sentenced to chemical castration. He eventually committed suicide. All of this is public record, so no spoilers.

The illustrations are beautifully done and the story is detailed and clear. Although I got lost in some of the math explanation, it was very clear that Turing was a genius who changed the course of history both in the war and after. Turing's emotional turmoil is painfully and sensitively told. Definitely a worthwhile read.

One caution -- this is an adult graphic novel, there are couple of sexually explicit scenes that would not be suitable for teens.

[Larry]

I like the occasional graphic novel - being a long term comic book fan and one who still admires the art from afar (and in movie formats these days) - I do like to pick up a graphic novel now and again. This was on the "librarian's pick" shelf and caught my eye.

It was very enjoyable and obviously a quick and easy read. Telling the story with graphics adds to the power of the subject matter and this writing team did the topic justice.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book, and the art was fantastic. So moving and heartwrenching. Also the end surprised me even though I should have seen the twist...it was perfect. I also appreciated that women were present. There was clearly a deliberate effort to show women doing the jobs they did, which was noticeable in the best way.

[David Allen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a graphic. Took me an hour to read it. Still makes me angry the way men like me were persecuted and tortured in the UK.

[Sassenach · Rating 4 out of 5]

En juin 1954, dans la banlieue de Manchester, Alan Turing se sent très mal. Il n’arrive plus à surmonter son mal-être et ne se reconnaît plus. Ses souvenirs se bousculent : son enfance parfois mal comprise à cause de son intérêt pour les petites choses de la nature, ses observations du détail, son adolescence un peu solitaire mais illuminée par une amitié importante, son don pour les mathématiques et la science et son recrutement en 1938 par les services secrets britanniques, inquiets de la montée d’Hitler en Allemagne. Et quand la guerre est finalement déclarée, le jeune chercheur est affecté au déchiffrage des codes d’Enigma et est mis à la tête d’une petite équipe à Bletchley Park …
On est nombreux à avoir vu le film retraçant la vie d’Alan Turing et j’en fais partie donc cet album ne fut pas vraiment une découverte. Mais comme mes souvenirs commençaient à dater, cela est restée une lecture agréable et qui m’a remis certaines choses en tête. Je n’étais pas très enthousiaste vis à vis du graphisme un peu trop classique à mon goût mais j’ai quand même trouvé certaines vignettes magnifiques (celles qui regroupent plusieurs évènements/souvenirs/actions) et j’ai dans l’ensemble apprécié les couleurs choisies car elles étaient plutôt reposantes. Les auteurs ont décidé de commencer par les derniers jours du chercheur pour ensuite narrer sa vie sous forme d’un long flashback, ce qui permet de ne pas suivre un strict ordre chronologique car les souvenirs n’arrivent pas forcément dans l’ordre. Ils se sont appuyés sur une documentation variée et fouillée pour nous présenter cet homme hors normes et sa façon de raisonner, de décrypter et pour ceux qui ne sont pas trop branchés techniques et sciences, cela peut parfois être un peu rébarbatif mais cela reste quand même abordable et, même si on ne comprend pas tout, on a une vue d’ensemble et on comprend que le travail effectué par Turing et son équipe fut titanesque et brillant. On voit aussi comme sa vie privée a causé sa perte et mon impression d’injustice reste toujours aussi vive quand je pense à la façon dont la société britannique et son système judiciaire l’ont traité (mais c’était une autre époque !). J’aurais aimé que les auteurs montrent mieux comment le travail de Turing a influencé ce qu’on connaît de l’informatique maintenant au lieu de se limiter à une seule page sur la création d’un certain logo ! Un petit dossier sur le codage à travers les âges est très intéressant et complète à merveille l’ensemble. A lire donc, si possible avant de voir le film ou alors à distance de celui-ci pour ne pas avoir la sensation de répétition car Alan Turing était un être d’exception à découvrir absolument ! 

[Arsenic · Rating 3 out of 5]

BD sympathique mais qui ne restera pas beaucoup dans ma mémoire étant donné que ça aborde des sujets que je connaissais déjà. C'est quand même intéressant (et triste) de lire l'histoire de ce grand scientifique.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely awful. This book is full of bizarre pictures (Christopher Morcom as a bee?) and incorrect facts about Alan Turing.

[Paulo Reis · Rating 2 out of 5]

** 1/2

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

"That's where poetry lies! We lift the veil and discover the enigma." "The Case of Alan Turing"
.
.(Warning, this review is surrounded around the topic of suicide)

#alanturing was a man the world didn't deserve. Without him we wouldn't have computers, but most importantly, WW2 would have had a different ending.
I think it's amazing that a gay man had such a prominent roll in history and is remembered today. But as this graphic novel brilliantly shows the reader, Alan suffered his whole life. In a world where you could be imprisoned or forced to undergo chemical castration for being the "indecent practice of homosexuality" (which happened to Alan), many in the LGBT community lived in fear.

Tragically, after going through the Court's punishment, Alan completed suicide. Sure, the Queen rehabilitated Alan eventually, in 2013 decades after his death. Sadly, history is stained with the blood of men and women like Alan who paid the price for being different. I'm thankful that we're at a time where it's not illegal to love someone of the same sex, but that's only in some of the world.

There are many countries that criminalize homosexuality, which means we have a lot of work to do.

I just felt like saying all of that considering what's going on in the world today.

Pick this graphic novel up when you get the chance, it's brilliantly written by #ericliberge and beautifully illustrated by #arnauddelalande
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide please reach out to someone for support. Or even me, talking about what you're going through is a way to stay safe. Also, text Home to 741741 and a crisis counselor at @crisistextline will be there to help.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphic masturbation scene, more adult appeal than youth appeal

[Zephyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately a graphic novel about Alan Turing sounded like a better idea than it actually was. The illustrations were super cool, and I learned a few things I didn't know, like: back in the day people contracted bovine tuberculosis from drinking bad milk. Strange that one of my big takeaways from an Alan Turing bio is "thank God for pasteurization."
But for the most part a quick Google search yielded more interesting and nuanced information. The writing was heavy on jargon to the point that it glossed over the actual story. As a layperson I don't really need a ton of technical detail about computers or cryptography to understand what Turing accomplished. I was more interested in the human side of his story and what happened to him. The dialogue was stilted, but I'm willing to chalk that up to the translation. Still, I'm pretty stoked this is a thing even though it's not great, so three stars.

[John Mihelic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice little biography, focused on the time Turning was working as a code breaker (going deep enough into it that it was beyond my experience). There’s a bit about the childhood, but mostly it is about the work he did for His Majesty’s service in breaking the enigma code. But in the background and never apologized for is Turing’s homosexuality which led the same government to hound him to the point of suicide.

Again, well done, but there is a bit of overplaying Turing’s one youthful attraction as a driver for his sexuality. I’m going to bet it was a bit more complicated than that. Maybe no enigma though. There was also what felt like a tacked-on page at the end about Apple computer - hoping to connect it to something more modern, perhaps.

[William Stanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this graphic novel from the library out of curiosity as I wanted to compare it to the recent movie based on Turing's life, 'The Imitation Game'. They were both quite similar, but also different in the things the focused on. Although they both had focus on how he tragically ended his life, this book seemed to dwell on his internal struggle of keeping his secret life hidden than the movie did. He was definitely a genius who was far ahead of his time, but the way he was treated in the end was so tragic and we are left wondering what could have been.

This is a well-drawn and written book and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the life of Alan Turing.

[Maghily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je suis assez sceptique quant à la manière dont la vie d'Alan Turing a été décrite ici : les parties mathématiques sont trop complexes pour quelqu'un qui n'y connait rien et ont tendance à perdre le lecteur [et visiblement, pour un matheux, ça manque clairement de consistance]. Par contre, on parle assez peu de ses difficultés à s'intégrer au monde, des ses difficultés en tant qu'homosexuel alors que c'est le second sujet de la bande dessinée.

Donc, je suis très déçue par cette lecture.

[Sasha Boersma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read to kick off Pride Month!

If you've read the autobiography or seen the movie, none of the themes nor the story itself are surprising. What's different about this work is the portrayal of Turing's battle with himself, struggling with his homosexuality in an era where it was illegal.

Only 4 mostly because I'm not a huge fan of the art style of French autobiographical graphic novels/comics.

[Étienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le scénario est assez brouillon et se perd parfois dans des états d'âmes à la limite du nombrilisme. Cependant, c'est peut-être un excellent moyen de nous plonger plus efficacement dans la vie pour le moins torturée de l'un des plus grand scientifique du XXe siècle.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

One page. I have to think on this.

[Richard Lehingrat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tad choppy, but also haunting and inspiring. Well illustrated . ***

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think what really stood out to me on this one was the artwork-- it's cold and clinical but also surprisingly beautiful and emotional.

[willowdog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing is new in this work, however it is so much better than the previous work. It doesn’t smooth over his homosexuality at all.

[Woody Curran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully drawn and colored. The story went a bit over my head as far as the specific math concepts but it was an enjoyable read.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully drawn comic book. I couldn't get through it.

[Ethan Aegon · Rating 2 out of 5]

L'histoire d'Alan Turing, déjà racontée (et romancée) dans "Imitation Game" est ici reprise avec des libertés et un certain manque de clarté. Je suis par exemple incapable d'expliquer le fonctionnement d'Enigma ni la façon dont son code a été brisé.

Je ne sais pas pourquoi je m'entête à lire des BD historiques puisque je n'y trouve jamais mon compte. C'est bien simple ma partie préféré sont les 3 pages de notes brutes rédigées en conclusion du récit. Comme toutes les biographies, celle-ci simplifie, hagiographie et surtout héroïse, individualise un exploit, décoder Enigma, qui correspond en fait à un succès collectif, laborieux, constitué par étapes successives auxquelles X personnes ont contribuées. Le support BD manque de profondeur pour restituer la réalité.
Je retiens de la BD le beau passage sur la poésie du positionnement des étoiles où la nécessité qui se cacherait derrière tout hasard ainsi que le calcul de probabilité guidant le choix de laisser couler certains navires afin de cacher aux allemands que leur code a été brisé.

[KaroLin (Fiktion fetzt) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a good recap on Turing's work at Bletchley Park with some excursions to his earlier and later life. I would not recommend it as an introduction, though. Without a certain level of knowledge, for example from reading other books like 'Alan Turing: The Enigma' by Andrew Hodges, I think you would be lost or confused by certain parts. Especially since this book jumps a lot between different years and settings. And then there are also some just plain weird things. (Christopher as a bee!? What was that about?) The story also feels very rushed towards the end and doesn't tie up all the threads it picked up along the way. The artwork is absolutely beautiful though and I enjoyed it immensely.
So all in all: 3 stars.