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Hypnos
Jusqu'où est-on prêt à se compromettre pour une vie de luxe et de volupté ? Voilà une décennie que la planète océane, Hypnos, a été transformée en station balnéaire très prisée pour l'élite terrienne. Les ultra-riches commencent même à s'y installer pour de bon, anticipant la crise climatique qui se profile sur Terre. Alors, quand l'opportunité d'y travailler pour un an est offerte à Jo Sparta, une jeune artiste branchée américaine, c'est la chance de sa vie. Sa mission : concevoir une oeuvre d'art spectaculaire qui sera présentée lors du lancement du premier sommet mondial à Hypnos, où se réuniront les hommes politiques et les businessmen les plus puissants de la Terre. En arrivant sur l'exoplanète, Jo est fascinée par tout ce qu'elle y voit : l'océan à perte de vue, l'architecture, mais aussi l'énigmatique et séduisant Ian Watts, un artiste qui vit là, luxueusement, depuis quelques années. Mais à mesure que le projet avance, Jo va peu à peu découvrir la face sombre et la vocation véritable de ce paradis pour riches, la conduisant à un dilemme éthique terrible...
192 pages, Hardcover
First published November 2, 2021
7 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
January 10, 2022
This is a very mumblecore approach to science fiction. It mostly consists of youngish artistic people having meandering conversations and going about their day-to-day lives – their lives just happen to involve moving to a luxurious colony on an oceanic alien planet. If you think this sounds like a strong premise (and I do), then you'll most probably enjoy Lure. The artwork is gorgeous, especially the stunning underwater world. The pacing and general approach to storytelling remind me of Nick Drnaso, while the visual language, the subject matter and the overall tone bring to mind Linnea Sterte.
Despite the futuristic, extraterrestrial setting, Lure focuses on decidedly earthly themes: young adults trying to find their place in the world, navigating romantic and sexual relationships, and balancing idealism and artistic self-expression against the need to make a living. That said, in the final act things get more dramatic and the emphasis shifts to more typical sci-fi concerns (namely the politics and socio-economics of colonizing space).
This comic isn't perfect – some of the dialogue is a bit wooden, there's a romance that doesn't feel very believable, and the ending is quite abrupt – but overall it's a really interesting work that marks Lane Milburn as a talent worth following.
Despite the futuristic, extraterrestrial setting, Lure focuses on decidedly earthly themes: young adults trying to find their place in the world, navigating romantic and sexual relationships, and balancing idealism and artistic self-expression against the need to make a living. That said, in the final act things get more dramatic and the emphasis shifts to more typical sci-fi concerns (namely the politics and socio-economics of colonizing space).
This comic isn't perfect – some of the dialogue is a bit wooden, there's a romance that doesn't feel very believable, and the ending is quite abrupt – but overall it's a really interesting work that marks Lane Milburn as a talent worth following.
July 3, 2021
This is kinda trippy, with a sometimes psychedelic style. It's hard to follow what's going on-- most characters are all colored the same monochrome, even though full and separate color palettes are used for flash backs and alien vistas. There's no narration, only dialogue, with numerous pages of illustration-only. I just found it hard to tell what was happening, and what was important. It's not clear if the story is finished with an ambiguous ending, or if there will be a follow-up volume.
November 27, 2021
3.5 stars
Trippy sci-fi story about artists on a futuristic corporate controlled “ocean planet”, where humanity must escape to avoid extreme climate disasters on Earth.
Good stuff, gorgeous coloring, abrupt ending.
Trippy sci-fi story about artists on a futuristic corporate controlled “ocean planet”, where humanity must escape to avoid extreme climate disasters on Earth.
Good stuff, gorgeous coloring, abrupt ending.
January 23, 2022
I felt like I was trapped at a never ending party full of all the post art grads I try to avoid in my own life. Illustrations are beautiful though.
Read
May 15, 2023A look at the mundane, day-to-day lives of artists living inside of a fantastic scifi-corporate setting. Reads like an indie scifi film and evokes in new way
As I write this, the Goodreads score is a 3.2, which critically is too low.
2023
As I write this, the Goodreads score is a 3.2, which critically is too low.
2023
January 8, 2022
This book was awful. If you want to watch a bunch of hipsters talk (see "complain") about bands and art and their ill-conceived relationships and their graphic design jobs while in space, here you go. The art was cool, but these extremely boring, shallow, selfish, and not diverse at all characters went nowhere. The near future setting was wasted on these lame people.
November 5, 2021
Lane Milburn takes graphic novel lovers on a satirical sci-fi journey that finds the sweet spot between Dan Clowes, William Gibson, Steve Ditko and Philip K. Dick. The cosmic/psychedelic artwork takes themes of class dystopia, climate decline, and virtual life to a whole other dimension!
February 5, 2023
Found this on the library shelves and it quite literally stood out. The color palette and page size were great and used to show time changes. The story was just OK, a little under-baked, and the ending was abrupt.
July 27, 2022
Lure completely captures the dilemma of the modern artist, struggling to survive and create while navigating a Capitalist structure that wants what they have but will still abandon them and all other non-elites in an instant.
All this is layered within the social comings and goings of its main characters, and set on a fantastic ocean world that Milburn brings to life in gorgeous splashes and double-page spreads.
This is a voice that needs to be heard in this moment.
All this is layered within the social comings and goings of its main characters, and set on a fantastic ocean world that Milburn brings to life in gorgeous splashes and double-page spreads.
This is a voice that needs to be heard in this moment.
May 17, 2022
I think there is a lot of potential in fairly quotidian stories that happen to take place in fantastic settings, like a fantasy world that isn't about defeating the dark lord, or even going on dangerous adventures to slay monsters. The concept works best in a visual medium, like graphic novels, and indeed there are a number of slice-of-life manga in fantasy or sci-fi settings that do this. I was hoping this book was of that sort, but sadly it was not. Much of the book is about the daily lives of the main characters, but they are annoying, vapid characters with boring lives. And the author believes they have profound and important things to say, but I feel like most of the messaging of the book falls flat.
Firstly, my understanding of the setting is this: it is basically our world, except instead of the moon, there is a planet called Lure. I assume that this world is slightly larger than the moon (lighter gravity is never brought up) and orbits further out to make the gravity work. Lure is covered in a mostly shallow ocean, is warmer than Earth and has life, mostly some sort of coral, and some strange things which could be a type of fish, some marine worm, or something stranger. Somehow Lure was only visited by humans recently, though the setting otherwise resembles modern times, namely the late 2010s. This is all inference, but to me makes the most sense of how things are presented. It is always possible parts are wrong; like, the fact that the moon isn't shown doesn't mean there isn't one (and if Lure really is the moon replacement, why isn't it called the moon?). My knowledge of orbital mechanics suggest that the only possible stable arrangement is for Lure and Earth to form a two-body system orbiting a common center. But then, I don't think the author actually gave that much consideration, and since there is the ambiguous curve-ball suggestion that Lure was created by some sort of goddess, which might be seen as justification to obviate concerns about physics.
As noted before, the characters are not, in my opinion, very interesting. And the whole presentation of the world has this myopic feel to it, like some art school graduate just wrote about their disappointing experience with finding work, and featuring the sorts of people that move in similar circles: other art graduates, and the people who can afford art (or work for those who can) but maybe aren't steeped in it. But in this setting there is a world close to earth that have life on it! This would have had major ramifications on society and philosophy. And what about the history of space exploration? If Lure really replaced the moon, and was only visited in the 21st century, this would have been a major difference in 20th century history, rippling out in all sorts of ways.
The author seems to both think too highly of art, the "Artist" as an influential creative force, and the impact that the sort of high, studio art can meaningfully have on society, but also on a practical scale to be utterly dismissive of the work that goes in to art. The characters are commissioned to create an animated, holographic display. There are three people on the team: one artist, mostly working in traditional media (oil?); one animator; and one musician who dropped out of art school (and their work is overseen by some incompetent dude-bro; I feel like he is a type, drawn from the travails of a modern artist dealing with creative oversight, but does he really make sense in the setting?). Shouldn't this endeavor have a whole team of animators? has the author ever watched the credits of an animated movie, even a short one? And when the display is 3-D and to be seen from multiple angles, isn't this more a matter for a choreographer than traditional painting artists?
And the whole drama that animates the end of the comic also misses the point. The problem with environmental degradation is that it occurs slowly and involves changes that could be dismissed as part of normal fluctuations of the norm, except for the trends over time. It is nonsensical to imagine that a definite end could be predicted. And an attempt to mass relocate people to another planet would require such logistical planning that it would have leaked long ago. The character's rebellion is also pointless: why not leak the documents online, rather than attempt to include them in an art display that was being presented to the very people set to benefit from (and probably aware or behind) the sinister plan?
Firstly, my understanding of the setting is this: it is basically our world, except instead of the moon, there is a planet called Lure. I assume that this world is slightly larger than the moon (lighter gravity is never brought up) and orbits further out to make the gravity work. Lure is covered in a mostly shallow ocean, is warmer than Earth and has life, mostly some sort of coral, and some strange things which could be a type of fish, some marine worm, or something stranger. Somehow Lure was only visited by humans recently, though the setting otherwise resembles modern times, namely the late 2010s. This is all inference, but to me makes the most sense of how things are presented. It is always possible parts are wrong; like, the fact that the moon isn't shown doesn't mean there isn't one (and if Lure really is the moon replacement, why isn't it called the moon?). My knowledge of orbital mechanics suggest that the only possible stable arrangement is for Lure and Earth to form a two-body system orbiting a common center. But then, I don't think the author actually gave that much consideration, and since there is the ambiguous curve-ball suggestion that Lure was created by some sort of goddess, which might be seen as justification to obviate concerns about physics.
As noted before, the characters are not, in my opinion, very interesting. And the whole presentation of the world has this myopic feel to it, like some art school graduate just wrote about their disappointing experience with finding work, and featuring the sorts of people that move in similar circles: other art graduates, and the people who can afford art (or work for those who can) but maybe aren't steeped in it. But in this setting there is a world close to earth that have life on it! This would have had major ramifications on society and philosophy. And what about the history of space exploration? If Lure really replaced the moon, and was only visited in the 21st century, this would have been a major difference in 20th century history, rippling out in all sorts of ways.
The author seems to both think too highly of art, the "Artist" as an influential creative force, and the impact that the sort of high, studio art can meaningfully have on society, but also on a practical scale to be utterly dismissive of the work that goes in to art. The characters are commissioned to create an animated, holographic display. There are three people on the team: one artist, mostly working in traditional media (oil?); one animator; and one musician who dropped out of art school (and their work is overseen by some incompetent dude-bro; I feel like he is a type, drawn from the travails of a modern artist dealing with creative oversight, but does he really make sense in the setting?). Shouldn't this endeavor have a whole team of animators? has the author ever watched the credits of an animated movie, even a short one? And when the display is 3-D and to be seen from multiple angles, isn't this more a matter for a choreographer than traditional painting artists?
And the whole drama that animates the end of the comic also misses the point. The problem with environmental degradation is that it occurs slowly and involves changes that could be dismissed as part of normal fluctuations of the norm, except for the trends over time. It is nonsensical to imagine that a definite end could be predicted. And an attempt to mass relocate people to another planet would require such logistical planning that it would have leaked long ago. The character's rebellion is also pointless: why not leak the documents online, rather than attempt to include them in an art display that was being presented to the very people set to benefit from (and probably aware or behind) the sinister plan?
January 27, 2023
Mysterious and not entirely explained, but I like that. A comic that follows a young woman named Jo and her friends and co workers on Planet Earth and then on Lure, an artificial new planet.
I don't want to give away a lot more than this. It's a short story with social commentary. The illustration style is really really interesting and feels inspired by Tillie Walden!
I don't want to give away a lot more than this. It's a short story with social commentary. The illustration style is really really interesting and feels inspired by Tillie Walden!
June 3, 2022
maybe like a 2.5 but i bumped it up bc the art is so good.
i was really enjoying this and then it ended in the most abrupt way i have ever seen anything end. i usually love ambiguous endings but this one was not good. there are too many threads left hanging and i have way too many questions.
the characters make dumb decisions, including the decision that leads to the climax, which is obviously a problem, because the entire story hinges on it. also, the artists' big idea for a holo display is representations of the different companies holding pieces of a globe and coming together to "build" a new world??? i could have come up with that idea. these people are supposed to be creative.
all that aside......there were some good ideas in this book, i'm just frustrated because not much was done with them, so it feels like a missed opportunity. this could have been so much more.
i was really enjoying this and then it ended in the most abrupt way i have ever seen anything end. i usually love ambiguous endings but this one was not good. there are too many threads left hanging and i have way too many questions.
the characters make dumb decisions, including the decision that leads to the climax, which is obviously a problem, because the entire story hinges on it. also, the artists' big idea for a holo display is representations of the different companies holding pieces of a globe and coming together to "build" a new world??? i could have come up with that idea. these people are supposed to be creative.
all that aside......there were some good ideas in this book, i'm just frustrated because not much was done with them, so it feels like a missed opportunity. this could have been so much more.
May 8, 2022
Je n’ai pas été convaincue par Hypnos. Si graphiquement la bande-dessinée fait des propositions intéressantes entre paysages grandioses et style psychédélique, l’intrigue déçoit par son côté un peu superficiel et sa fin brutale frustrante. Dommage parce que l’univers et l’aspect lutte sociale et anticipation me semblaient très prometteurs.
Critique complète sur yuyine.be!
Critique complète sur yuyine.be!
October 3, 2022
2.5 stars. Tough one - it felt like it was just scratching the surface with some deep critiques of modern day society, but never got anywhere near deep enough to have an impact and the ending felt as if I should suspect a volume 2, but I don't believe that's the plan. I say it's a tough one because while I enjoyed the art, especially the coloring and tones, I don't think I can really recommend it to anyone.
January 8, 2022
The art is beautiful and the concept is compelling, I just think the storytelling left a lot to be desired. I didn’t particularly care about the characters despite how much the author fleshed put random details about them.
December 17, 2021
Full disclosure: I know the author. We used to work together, and would talk comics while facing the cereal aisle. So to what degree does my knowing Lane Milburn & thinking of him as a good dude inform my opinion of Lure? Here's a storyboard for a minicomic review I could draw about it:
Me, picking up Lure from the comics shelf at City Lit. My expression is quizzical but pleased, and a thought bubble over my head says, "Hey, I know that dude!"
Me, reading Lure on my living room couch. I'm curled up around the book, pitched slightly forward with my hands curled around the top ridge of each cover, and my expression is rapt.
Me, walking around the city with Lure held out in front of me, a slightly crazed expression on my face, accosting strangers to point at the cover and say, "Hey! I KNOW this dude!"
Which is all to say, I really really liked it. The artwork is gorgeous, and the sprawling beauty of the imagery combined with the pace of the storytelling reminded me some of Tillie Walden's books. It's atmospheric and meditative, and the questions it asks about the roles of art and the individual in culture, commerce, and the world at large are interesting, particularly when it comes to the concept of complicity. It does end pretty abruptly, but that's okay - it leaves you in a state of anticipation. Lure doesn't want you to put it down with a sense of closure; it wants you to feel unresolved. It wants you to ask what next, and to have to look beyond the pages of the book for the answer. Sure, closure feels good, but nothing encourages action quite so effectively as frustration. I absolutely loved it.
TL;DR: Dang, Lane! Nice job!
Me, picking up Lure from the comics shelf at City Lit. My expression is quizzical but pleased, and a thought bubble over my head says, "Hey, I know that dude!"
Me, reading Lure on my living room couch. I'm curled up around the book, pitched slightly forward with my hands curled around the top ridge of each cover, and my expression is rapt.
Me, walking around the city with Lure held out in front of me, a slightly crazed expression on my face, accosting strangers to point at the cover and say, "Hey! I KNOW this dude!"
Which is all to say, I really really liked it. The artwork is gorgeous, and the sprawling beauty of the imagery combined with the pace of the storytelling reminded me some of Tillie Walden's books. It's atmospheric and meditative, and the questions it asks about the roles of art and the individual in culture, commerce, and the world at large are interesting, particularly when it comes to the concept of complicity. It does end pretty abruptly, but that's okay - it leaves you in a state of anticipation. Lure doesn't want you to put it down with a sense of closure; it wants you to feel unresolved. It wants you to ask what next, and to have to look beyond the pages of the book for the answer. Sure, closure feels good, but nothing encourages action quite so effectively as frustration. I absolutely loved it.
TL;DR: Dang, Lane! Nice job!
September 15, 2022
3.5 but rounding up!!
there was a lot i liked about this - the art style was sick and the concept of the rich inhabiting this idyllic new planet while earth weeps n burns is v real & dystopian in a way that i love. contrary to a lot of other reviews i also loved the central characters even if they were a little daft millennial hipster at times (so many characters in comics are and also like, who cares lmao). wasn't crazy about the ending, i can appreciate ending on an open-ended note but this one felt a little too rushed and i think it could've ended on that note a little better. all in all i enjoyed this one tho !
there was a lot i liked about this - the art style was sick and the concept of the rich inhabiting this idyllic new planet while earth weeps n burns is v real & dystopian in a way that i love. contrary to a lot of other reviews i also loved the central characters even if they were a little daft millennial hipster at times (so many characters in comics are and also like, who cares lmao). wasn't crazy about the ending, i can appreciate ending on an open-ended note but this one felt a little too rushed and i think it could've ended on that note a little better. all in all i enjoyed this one tho !
December 27, 2025
Dreamy and haunting, very original. The artwork is gorgeously odd, completely worth lingering over, and the dialog is some of the most plausibly human and mundane I've ever read in a comic format. The set-up starts out in pretty familiar territory - humans are building a new settlement off Earth, and the wealthy are the first ones prioritized. But the story curls into unexpected territory pretty quickly, and then it tightens and gets more particular, until the ending throws you out into space without oxygen. It's weird. I loved it.
June 14, 2022
The art is amazing, a detailed colorful sci-fi artificial corporate world where the rich have gone to avert climate disaster and other impending pressures on Earth, they ship up artists to create elaborate AI and holographic design, but everything feels a little nefarious. The artists have very typical young post-grad lives of relationship drama and instability, but create a political statement about the corporate off-world.
June 6, 2022
This is two comics in a row in which I have been disappointed. I was away for the weekend, so felt I had to finish since this is all I had in the way of physical books, but had I been at home, I would have DNF'd at the 10 - 20% mark. Perhaps its unfair to the book to rate it since I did not want to finish, but I put in the time, so I get to have my (small) say.
The illustrations were not good. They were far too simple, the palette was muted for the subject, and the story was one we have heard hundreds of times, and it was not relayed in a clever, or even semi-fresh framework. I was surprised by nothing, left with questions I don't really care to answer, and hungry for this story told in a more entertaining manner.
*sigh*
The illustrations were not good. They were far too simple, the palette was muted for the subject, and the story was one we have heard hundreds of times, and it was not relayed in a clever, or even semi-fresh framework. I was surprised by nothing, left with questions I don't really care to answer, and hungry for this story told in a more entertaining manner.
*sigh*
November 4, 2024
wish this was a part one of two, as I think there's so much left to do with these characters and so much in the world(s) to play with. love the visuals and the underlying message about capitalist escapism.
June 9, 2022
Beautiful illustrated sci-fi graphic novel. The story was a little weak but still enjoyable.
March 25, 2023
Lane Milburn’s art style and colors are absolutely fantastic. The story left me wanting more in a way that was kind of unsatisfying, but it’s themes and the illustration kept me engaged most of the time. I really love the thoughtful ideas this book provokes about corporate art and climate change.
November 22, 2024
Picked this up off the library shelf because the concept drew me in, and it continued to intrigue me...right up until the open-ended conclusion. After all the build up it felt a little disappointing to me! I enjoyed the characters, the setting was so interesting, the art felt perfectly on the nose for a story so seeped in creativity...So it might be a good book for others who enjoy the post-read skepticism, but it wasn't the story for me.
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October 24, 2021Great colors, engaging illustrations, a half-formed plot with some ambiguities I couldn't really parse through. Overall, a quick read with some really engaging art.
May 26, 2022
Kind of baffling, definitely beautiful.
April 9, 2023
Heavy on the dialogue and ideas, but lacking in plot to keep me interested. I am fine with stories that aren't highly plot driven, but usually they require interesting characters to keep me invested. Despite the highly sci-fi setting of the story, most of it revolves around a bunch of young artists who navigate rather regular situations in a rather dry way. The third act does try to ramp things up, but after 100+ pages of uninteresting dialogue, my interest had signficantly waned.
This book had some great landscapes and wide angle compositions throughout, and fantastic use of colors. It's vibrant from start to finish. The establishing shots are all excellent. But the artwork for the more mundane segments were not as appealing, and unfortunately there were a lot of those moments. Characters seem static and stilted in every scene they appear in, which matches the energy of the dialogue I suppose. Some of these scenes do remind me of Nick Drnaso's works - whose works I have greatly enjoyed. But the juxtaposition of the more fantastical futuristic setting works against it more than it helps. Perhaps Milburn was intending for the contrast to feel deliberate, but it comes off as more clumsy to me. I wasn't the biggest fan of Lure, though I do see the artistic strength in putting this kind of book together. I'll probably still read whatever Milburn releases next since the artwork appealed to me greatly.
This book had some great landscapes and wide angle compositions throughout, and fantastic use of colors. It's vibrant from start to finish. The establishing shots are all excellent. But the artwork for the more mundane segments were not as appealing, and unfortunately there were a lot of those moments. Characters seem static and stilted in every scene they appear in, which matches the energy of the dialogue I suppose. Some of these scenes do remind me of Nick Drnaso's works - whose works I have greatly enjoyed. But the juxtaposition of the more fantastical futuristic setting works against it more than it helps. Perhaps Milburn was intending for the contrast to feel deliberate, but it comes off as more clumsy to me. I wasn't the biggest fan of Lure, though I do see the artistic strength in putting this kind of book together. I'll probably still read whatever Milburn releases next since the artwork appealed to me greatly.
January 18, 2023
B. Apart from the people, the art is often terrific. There are some gorgeously rendered alien landscapes and sea creatures and plants and holograms and more. But the figures look stiff, and the faces are blank -- sometimes literally, because Milburn will draw a person like a mannequin, with no eyes or nose or ears or mouth. (He also often colors an entire person the same shade of beige, including their clothing. This is bizarre.)
The story, too, is inconsistent. A lot of what Milburn tries to do is capture natural dialogue about nothing in particular. He's aiming for a Wet Moon vibe, and I love Wet Moon. But I don't think he quite gets it. There are little snippets of conversation that feel pretty real, but I don't feel like they *matter* in any particular way. And then there's the ending, which is abrupt and completely unsatisfying. I know there's *something* Milburn must have been going for, but I have no idea what it was.
But I appreciate the sheer bizarreness of things, and how that's juxtaposed with familiar elements from contemporary life.
The story, too, is inconsistent. A lot of what Milburn tries to do is capture natural dialogue about nothing in particular. He's aiming for a Wet Moon vibe, and I love Wet Moon. But I don't think he quite gets it. There are little snippets of conversation that feel pretty real, but I don't feel like they *matter* in any particular way. And then there's the ending, which is abrupt and completely unsatisfying. I know there's *something* Milburn must have been going for, but I have no idea what it was.
But I appreciate the sheer bizarreness of things, and how that's juxtaposed with familiar elements from contemporary life.
July 2, 2024
A few 20 something artists are invited to a planet quite similar to Earth. They have fun, make hologram art, get suspicious, and the story ends.
I grabbed this really quick off of a library shelf because I enjoyed the color palette. The story was fairly boring, just a slice of life but scifi-esque [it's in a parallel universe, but not much scifi otherwise]. The landscape and visuals were lovely, the people, however, were not well done. When the MC has makeup on her face is more visible, otherwise it's just a simple outline. The guy with the hat?? made me want to punch him--is he wearing a hat? what is on his head? throat punch. Then the story ends with a betrayal of sorts... I think the author's note says she worked on it from 2016-2021, and while the details in the foliage and landscape were detailed and wonderful, the story overall was rather mundane and the abrupt ending left me even more disappointed.
I grabbed this really quick off of a library shelf because I enjoyed the color palette. The story was fairly boring, just a slice of life but scifi-esque [it's in a parallel universe, but not much scifi otherwise]. The landscape and visuals were lovely, the people, however, were not well done. When the MC has makeup on her face is more visible, otherwise it's just a simple outline. The guy with the hat?? made me want to punch him--is he wearing a hat? what is on his head? throat punch. Then the story ends with a betrayal of sorts... I think the author's note says she worked on it from 2016-2021, and while the details in the foliage and landscape were detailed and wonderful, the story overall was rather mundane and the abrupt ending left me even more disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews