Мегалекс

Megalex #1-3

by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Fred Beltran (Illustrator)

Новое путешествие во Вселенную Алехандро Ходоровски и Метабаронов.

Планета Мегалекс. Ее поверхность покрыта гигантским мегаполисом из бетона и стали. Нет деревьев, нет животных. Остался всего один Лес, который никак не удается «благоустроить», — он разумен, и в нем скрываются изгои и диссиденты. Тоталитарный и деспотичный мир. Граждане Мегалекса имеют имплантированный ограничитель срока жизни, размножаются только путем клонирования и под контролем государства. Все клоны генетически соответствуют своим моделям. Каждая аномалия сразу же уничтожается. Так было 4000 лет, до того дня, пока аномальный клон полицейского не сбежал…

Ходоровски писал сценарий для мангаки Отомо, создателя «Акиры», но в результате его видение воплотил молодой художник Фред Бельтран.

Полное издание — омнибус, который включает в себя три выпуска серии.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Bande Dessinée, Comics Manga, Sequential Art, Fantasy

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2009

About the author

Also credited as Alexandro Jodorowsky

Better known for his surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain filmed in the early 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an accomplished writer of graphic novels and a psychotherapist. He developed Psychomagic, a combination of psychotherapy and shamanic magic. His fans have included John Lennon and Marilyn Manson.

Reviews

[XenofoneX · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megalex takes Jodorowsky fans to a new corner of the Jodoverse, adding territory to the star-chart that includes 'The Incal', 'Before the Incal' and 'Final Incal', 'The Metabarons', 'Weapons of the Metabarons', and 'Metabarons Genesis: Castaka', and 'The Technopriests' -- Jodorowsky's first collaboration with the artist Beltran. His work on 'The Technopriests', however, was as a 'colorist' for the line art of Zoran Janjetov; but 'colorist' doesn't really describe his transformation of Janjetov's pencil and ink illustrations, giving them an almost three-dimensional quality with his fully painted layering -- all of it digital.

Beltran is solo this time, creating the computer-generated paintings he's famous for. As one of the artists who pioneered digital comic art, alongside others like Japanese illustrator and 'Monkey King' writer-painter Katsuya Terada and British Judge Dredd/Killing Joke/DC cover artist Brian Bolland, his restless, experimental nature is typical of many 'early adopters' of art-techn. It is evident here, as the smoothly rendered art of the opening chapters abruptly shifts to more traditional line art and hatching (In a way, the artistic metamorphosis mirrors the story. The flawlessly rendered, smoothly-contoured style depicts the gleaming artifice and sterility of the Orwellian regime, while the classic -- but still computer-generated -- ink drawn pages, with their delicate texturing, represents the shifting focus as the Chem Forest rebels attack).



'Megalex' introduces a sterile world whose surface has been almost entirely covered in the rigidly engineered, technologically advanced, and viciously authoritarian global-city-state for which the book is named. With organic procreation banned, the genetically engineered population is divided into classes, the upper class allowed 400 years of life, while the lowest classes are only given 400 days. When an attack on Megalex distracts the drug addicted officials tasked with ensuring quality control among the clones, weeding out even the slightest genetic anomalies, one of the 400-day police clones emerges as an eight-foot tall giant. He manages to escape with the help of Adama, a buxom clone who is a part of the organic resistance movement, based in the last refuge of the natural world, Chem Forest. The resistance has used altered and manipulated tree roots, sliding down their hollow stalks to access the ancient tunnels, constructed by an eccentric billionaire thousands of meters beneath the plastic and metallic street-grids. They are aided by the various animal species they have managed to rescue from extinction, as well as mysterious space-faring life-forms dubbed Malaks, who look like gigantic, transparent manta-rays. They have the ability to breach the city-defenses and launch devastating attacks, making them essential allies of the rebel cause. The Megalex, controlled by the still-living brain of an otherwise mummified corpse named King Yod, with his evil wife and beautiful daughter, must be destroyed if the rebels wish to save Chem Forest from certain annihilation.



This narrative doesn't have the epic scale of The Incal, The Metabarons, or The Technopriests, but it does feature the occasional explosion of mad, brilliant concepts that Jodo is known for, as well as the brutal violence and sexuality typical to his bande dessinee creations. On the down side, there is also plenty of the ridiculous dialogue and cheesy humor that Jodo fans have learned to tolerate. In some respects, his silliness is sort of endearing, and perhaps helps to balance the heavier aspects of his story-telling -- the rape, genital mutilation, and dismemberment-torture, for example... although Megalex doesn't feature any of the above, and is quite tame by Jodorowsky standards. For me, the stupid fucking jokes have gotten pretty annoying, and Jodo's surprising twists aren't that surprising anymore.



While Beltran's digitally-painted art doesn't equal the brilliant work done by Moebius, Ladronn, Das Pastoras, or even Juan Gimenez, he can hardly be faulted for falling short of equalling what are four of the masters of mainstream European comic art. He is still very much a worthy addition to the incredible array of talents that make up Jodorowsky's collaborators. I would like to see him return to the world of pencil, ink and paint, where he began (with stunning results). Megalex is an entertaining effort on the part of both Beltran and Jodorowsky... but it's also flawed, and it seems at times that inspiration was in short supply.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so my exploration of the Jodorverse and the books of the Incal continuing this time with the Megalex. Now I still see myself as both an amateur and rather innocent of the style and stories of Jodorowsky although the accolades and praise that appears to be heaped upon him give a sense of how influential and important his work is.

So I guess I had to find out for myself - and I will admit I did enjoy the work - yes there is a definite style both of the way in which the story is told and how the characters are portrayed not always in the best light (then again is it not the expectation that comics and graphic novels are able to distort and twist our perception - sometimes to the extreme). As a result I felt that where as the Incal was a self contained story arc which I guess spawned other books and characters - this book definitely feels as though it is part of a larger story - now this is not a criticism more a warning that once you finish this book you will want to go looking.

So what do I think of the book- I can see why it has been connected with so many other fantastic works both screen and print but I guess for me its the question of does it stand on its own merits and I think it does - just be prepared to accept that the style may not be for you. However if it is then be ready for a wild ride and be prepared to ask the question - what else has he created.

[Leila Anani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future world Megalex - the laws are simple: mandatory addiction to drugs, prohibition of all human labour and prohibition of any sort of biological conception. Against this insane tyrannical regime, ruled over by mummy king yod, evil queen Marea and their heartless princess Kavatah, there are two opposing forces - Externally the alien threat of the Malak and internally an anti-tech resistance movement, led by the scientists who created the whole mess in the first place.

Jodorowsky's sublime mix of satire, futurism and eastern mysticism is perfectly set off by Beltran's gorgeous art - This looks fantastic and has the story to back it up.

It's a fusion of 2000AD, Logan's Run (the general populace is killed at 40), Incal and things like Requiem Vampire Knight.

If you like Heavy Metal magazine, the work of Jodorowsky and European sci-fi satire (like Enki Bilal) you're in for a real treat with this one. I adored it.

[Martti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fred Beltran artwork is beautiful by any standards, but the story by Jodorowsky continues to under-perform. Yet another high-technological dystopia on a weird planet far away with very simplistic narrative, dialogue and characters. Or maybe I'm just over thinking this boobylicious artwork by expecting some kind of a coherent narrative to accompany it.

Three volume, kinda open ended graphic novel, part of the Humble Bundle - Humanioids Megabundle.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artwork is undoubtedly beautiful. But apart from some deft humorous touches, the story is distinctly underwhelming.
Nevertheless, it is a good graphic novel.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first volume in French, before realizing that my library has the whole collection in English. Being better able to understand it does not improve the story. The characters talk in exposition and the story throws in a simplified version of every dystopian SF cliche. The art, though, is something else. It is an early example of using computer-assisted animation, so the perspectives are exacting. People at the time complained about the coldness of the art, so in volume 3, the artist went back to a traditional art style. That is a shame; he should have stuck to his vision. Anyway, the story is just too dumb for me to recommend it. Enjoyh the art, but ignore the story.

[Mazzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story, like Jodorowsky’s other works, is imaginative, unhinged, spiritual, and perverse. At times, it appears outdated, while at others, it’s progressive.

[Martin K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve read stuff scratched on toilet stool walls that was less dumb and more original and coherent than this.

[C. Varn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art here is extremely strong and the atmosphere created by Jodorowsky here is engrossing; sadly, I don't think the plotting really holds even in Jodorowsky's symbolic/surreal vein. Primarily, the resolution of the comic feels largely unearned and felt like "okay, we need to stop now that we have established a universe in the comic." Furthermore, some of the dialogue does not translate well from French and seems a little more awkward than some of the other translations of Jodorowsky's comic work. I enjoyed it for the art and the innovativeness of its vision, but it does not live up to what I have expected from the creator of "El Topo" and the "The Holy Mountain" as well as "Incal" and "The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart." I would suggest this for fans of Jodorowsky but I would not suggest anyone start with this one.

[Jonathon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some interesting ideas here: a planet where everything is carefully controlled (including lifespans), rebels who are into more natural ways of living, putting aside differences to deal with a greater threat. My favorite part shows how the king/queen/princess became the way they are.

But it felt like there was too much all jammed into a short book. If they'd stuck with the ideas above, this could have been a winner, but they also decided to throw in crazy rituals, a bizarre festival which kills rebel leaders, people melding into weird new shapes when they hug their incestual twin... There are just too many themes to deal with any of them adequately.

[Shahriar Shahrabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Jodorowsky story that does what a Jodorowsky story does for me. Some people are displeased by lack of interesting plot or dialogue, but that has never been the appeal of his works. World building, and a true scifi exploration of "what happens to our values in a post human world" is where this one shines. If you like this aspect in his other works, you will like this too. The art was revolutionary for its time, and ignoring the first volume, the rest still holds up today

[Kris Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all Humanoids books, this is translated from the original French publication. Les Humanoides Associes published “Tomes” ranging from 48-60 pages, sometimes referred to as “Albums”. The floppy/single comic book is not the format of choice in Europe. Like all Humanoids books, this is also extremely well written and drawn.

In the introduction by artist Fred Beltran, he states how he drew the first two books on computer and the third by hand on paper. The results are strikingly different. The first two-thirds of the book are spit-shined to perfection, with every line and nuanced color popping off of the page. It's all almost too well done, too perfect. Flipping through this book is like walking through a museum like the Detroit Institute of Arts, where I gawk and linger at all of the art. It's so good that it's almost too much of a distraction to read. The final third of this book was done by hand, and it has a rich, textured look to it. I have to admit that I prefer this, only because Beltran goes to great effort to provide shading by pencil that casts more shadow than on his computer drawn perfection.

Jodorwosky's tells a cautionary tale about urban sprawl, submitting to technology, the willingness that society has to take care of their problems with drugs, and Government control. These concepts are, unfortunately, not as far fetched as the exaggerations here make them out to be. I am 39, and in my lifetime I have seen the encroachment of technology in every aspect of our lives. Ultimately, we need both nature and technology to survive, and this is the ultimate lesson of Megalex. Maybe I should just embrace SIRI and Skynet and be done with it.

Subterranean rebellions, vampires, talking animals, prophecies...this book seems to cover all of the bases. It's a total trip, I'm not sure if I got everything out of it the first time through. I plan on re-reading it in the future. There's one thing I am sure of, however: I'm not going to be in line to be for a planned expiration date at age 40.

This is my first Humanoids hardcover, and it is beautiful. The cover has the same dustjacket-free, easily scuffable thin coated screen printed image that seems to be so prevalent these days. I handle my books with the utmost care so that they don't get scuffs, but I can't imagine this book holding up well to shelfwear in a comic shop after repeated handling. The paper is a beautiful, thick coated stock, and the book has sewn binding which allows it to lay completely flat from the first page to the last.

[Alexander Lisovsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Карикатурная антиутопия с элементами sexploitation (и разумеется, не обошлось и без гермафродита-спасителя, излюбленного фетиша Ходоровского).

Самую любопытную деталь произведения объясняет во вступлении художник: после массового распространения персональных компьютеров в 90-х с большим энтузиазмом среди одних людей (и резким отпором среди других) началась эпоха компьютерной графики и моделирования. В наши дни уже не верится, но тогда ещё было не ясно, ересь это либо новая веха, которая оставит традиционное рисование от руки в прошлом. Художник "Мегалекса" был одним из тех, кто стремился выжать из нового медиума всё. Сейчас страницы комикса выглядят как кадры из старенькой видеоигры, впрочем большой объём ручной пост-обработки отчасти спасает дело.



Интересно, что третий том, который вышел в 2008-м, автор уже рисовал от руки. На мой взгляд, это пошло комиксу только на пользу (хотя художника явно сковывала необходимость подражать своим ранним 3д-шным фонам и архитектуре). Хорошо, что в наши дни вопрос компьютерного чуда уже закрыт. Впрочем, с развитием моделирования, кто знает, может нейронные сети ещё пыхнут своим жаром.

[Zac · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the introduction, illustrator Fred Beltran explains his development of an art style incorporating computers and 3D design. It's quite interesting and makes it sound like this was an earlyish example of making comics completely digitally, though I really have no idea if that's the case. The 3D-ish art here is pretty good and reminds me of some of Frank Quitely's work. There are probably too many lens flares, and some of the 3D textures look quite dated, but some parts look pretty cool. The final 3rd of the book then switches to purely pen & ink illustration, which is initially quite jarring but it quickly grew on me and it was sometimes reminiscent of Moebius (maybe a similar style of hatching). The intro mentions that Katsuhiro Otomo was originally going to illustrate this, which I think would have been a good match - I could look at Otomo's cityscapes all day.

Anyway, the story was pretty weird and there were a lot of strange characters, which is consistent with the other Jodorowsky narratives I have read/seen. There were some themes I could get behind (the conflicts between the city dwellers and the natural world) and some original sci-fi concepts. But the ending was extremely abrupt and just not good. I don't know what the deal with that was but it probably needed 1 more issue for it to be concluded properly.

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se i Metabaroni erano la quadratura del cerchio fra grandeur fantascientifico e storia con un'anima, pur mantenendo una struttura piena di didascalie e pervasa di un forte impianto umoristico, Megalex (e l'Incal) si rivelano lavori buoni, ma che mancano di qualcosa. Dovendo dire cosa, verrebbe da dire che è proprio l'anima che è venuta meno, nel processo: i personaggi parlano tutti in modo piuttosto aulico o affettato e sembrano costantemente fuori contesto, come se le emozioni non li toccassero veramente. Anche le scene violente o drammatiche ne risultano snaturate e si leggono come se fossero nel banale ordine delle cose. La dinamica della storia, pur interessante come contesto e come risoluzione, è peraltro a tratti troppo velocizzata, come se il ridotto numero di pagine per volume imponesse tagli (cosa che mai si avverte per i Metabaroni). I disegni sono belli (e le donne al solito bellissime), anche se la scelta di una pesante colorazione al computer si rivela piuttosto ambivalente: a tratti è veramente appagante per gli occhi, a tratti è forse troppo sintetica, quasi anch'essa priva di anima. Da questo punto di vista il capitolo finale, meno patinato, dopo un effetto di straniamento, si attesta forse come il migliore dal punto di vista grafico. In ogni caso rimane una buona opera, ma piuttosto prescindibile.

[Pablo Molina Cortés · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este es el segundo título que leo de Jodorowsky (el primero que leí fue El Incal) y creo que ya fue suficiente de él en mi vida cómo lector. Algunos lo amarán como escritor, pero a mí me aburre, me parece que las tramas que propone son repetitivas y suceden tan rápido que da la sensación de tomarse a la ligera el curso de la acción. Eso está bien para una epopeya, pero al raro cansa demasiado. En Megaplex se presenta un futuro distópico donde hay la castas en la que se divide la sociedad son muy marcadas, principalmente por el límite de años que pueden vivir y las propiedades místicas que tienen por mediación mística. Como cualquier novela ciberpunk, hay intentos de revolución por parte de seres anómalos rechazados por el sistema... Pero de ahí no pasa nada más. El arte es rescatable sobretodo en los planos generales y diseños de ambientes distópicos, y me parece que fue totalmente innecesario que las mujeres de la historia tuvieran los senos exageradamente grandes...

[Dimi Balerinas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite disappointed from this one.
The background lore is very interesting but the story and character writting writting is extremelly inconsistent. Reading through this was like watching a movie with a friend and your friend just keep pushing the fast forward button evcery now and then.
You follow a particular character, then before you know it you follow a different character and then events happen with no much climaxing to connect between them and then suddently the climax of the story is gone and the story ends abruptly.
This could had been a great story if it was done in double the number of pages.

But don't let be all negative.
Design is amazing showing some interesting digital graphic techniques and the world the story is set has potential for a lot more to be told.
A whole spin-off could be born out of this that could tell a nother story.
Or maybe we get to see a sequel (although I kind of doubt it).

[ComicSludge · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this technically does not take place in the Incal universe, it may as well. The plot, setting, characters, etc. will be very familiar to anybody who has read any of the Incal books. Similar to other Jodorowsky stories, it is both fun and challenging. Also similar, it kind of falls apart at the very end.

Beltran's art is completely digitally rendered for the first two thirds of the book. It's rigid and lifeless, but also insanely detailed and nicely colored. While art like this would usually be a turn-off, it sort of serves the story of a hi-tech dystopia. He hand draws the final third, which looks much better. Also, he draws the women very beautiful with great big breasts.

[Emil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many Jodorowsky comics, you may note that the writing in this is "bad" and that the characters are "basically ciphers to move the insane plot along." I say that it asks the big questions, such as "what if we turned a supercomputer into a bloodthirsty vampire? Would that be good, for us?" It was not. Plus, I read this right after Anibal 5, so the underlying French horniness was barely detectable in relative terms.

Despite my incredibly high tolerance for Jodorowsky, though. I do have to say the ending was disappointingly weak. It feels like a sequel hook, but the sequel never appeared.

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typický Jodo, tak jak jsem se ho naučil mít rád. Dystopie s morálně zvrácenou tyranií a všeobecnou neúctou k lidskému životu a realitě. A také hledání nového mesiáše, který bude ideálně androgynní bytostí. Tentokrát je to okořeněné špetkou humoru a erotické nálady. Počítačový art Freda Beltrana mi tady sednul a s jeho Adamou a princeznou Kavatah bych se rád setkal v úplně jiném typu komiksu. Ostatně ochutnávku jsme dostali už ve Svůdných schůzkách a touhách.
Problém tohoto komiksu spočívá ve třetím a zároveň posledním albu. Je to tam všechno hrozně rychle vysvětleno a uzavřeno. Úplně to popřelo styl příběhu i atmosféru předchozích dvou alb.

[Your Random lady · Rating 1 out of 5]

Toute la bibliographie de Jorodowsky est un véritable foutage de g***le, et j'en ai lu des trucs à lui, à me forcer encore et encore de lire le GRAND Jorodowsky que tous les darons français adorent tant. Le résultat c'est chaque bouquin bourré de violence gratuite et mesquine, de s*xe sans aucun sens et de tartines de misogynie à chaque instant, le tout avec un rythme qui se veut surement subversif et à contre courant mais n'est que mauvais à en pleurer, et le "tkt c'est fait exprès" n'excuse en rien une narration aussi mal gérée.
Je passerai le reste de ma vie à dire que cet artiste ne fait aucun sens et que la subversion quand on a rien à dire ni à faire passer ne rime à rien.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It hurts to call this book shallow. In some ways it captures the feel of a thriller from the Golden Age of Comics. However, there is also clearly a lot of effort that's gone into building this world (both visually and narratively). As a result, the story races along too quickly to fully appreciate the world. Some of the writing seems overly dramatic, but there are some huge missteps in the final pages. I was not prepared for that ending, either, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Ultimately, it's an entertaining quick read, yet somehow unfulfilling.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 3 out of 5]

average jodorowsky, at best. had fred beltran merely hand-drawn the entire book - which feels like a "greatest hits" rehash of the same stuff jodo has always done (androgyne messiah, techno-dystopia, &c.) - it would've warranted four stars, perhaps even five, but the first half of megalex is so uncanny valley-ish, so offputting, that i almost quit reading it. granted, the work was a massive technical achievement for the time, but we're talking the late 90s-early 00s and this stuff has aged like moldy bread. interesting, i suppose. but not particularly good.

[F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

If they'd paid as much attention to storytelling as they did to detailing breasts, I wouldn't have had to wait till page ~134 before the story finally picked up. This was not as focused or well-told as Incal and the story meanders - often wordlessly - quite a bit in the initial pages before you start caring about anything happening in it.

[Jen Arko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating and unsettling premise, interesting art, endearing characters, sometimes uneven pacing. I cannot say exactly what I think of Megalex. Would I recommend it? I don't know. Will this review be helpful to you? Remains to be seen.

[Viggo Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two parts in this three part series is computer drawn, and the last part is drawn traditionally. I prefer traditional art, but think I would have liked all three parts to have been computer drawn. But both works great.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The shortest of the Jodoverse titles, Megalex still manages to pack an incredible punch. A dystopian machine nightmare world, a mutant who sets out to tear it all down, and a fable on the power of love to change anything, this is classic Jodorowsky to the core.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5

[Rory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is saved by Beltran's switch from the horrific digital art to the hand rendered finale, but the story isn't good enough to overcome the eye torture.

[Jose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh