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Le complexe du chimpanzé #1
Paradox
In 2035, the US Navy discovers a strange space capsule that has crashed in the Indian Ocean. Helen Friedman is in charge of interrogating the two survivors, who are none other than Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin! Who, then, are the men who came back from the 1969 Apollo XI mission? A lunar expedition is set up to elucidate this mystery. Friedman is involved in a case that will lead her much further than she ever expected as history is rewritten.
56 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 31, 2020
Meistens sage ich ja über Graphic Novels, dass sie schlecht gezeichnet wären.
Hier ist es genau das Gegenteil! Die Zeichnungen UND die Coloration sind unglaublich gut und bestechend! Die Story ist interessant und grenzt an Hard-SF. Mal sehen wie die nächsten Teil ausarten.
Hier ist es genau das Gegenteil! Die Zeichnungen UND die Coloration sind unglaublich gut und bestechend! Die Story ist interessant und grenzt an Hard-SF. Mal sehen wie die nächsten Teil ausarten.
September 7, 2010
I love that this features a woman of color astronaut who wants to go to Mars, and I appreciate the realism of the artwork. But the writing doesn't work. The narrative is unevenly split between Helen and her daughter. Helen is our supposed protagonist, but all the emotional weight is in the daughter's part of the tale; it's hard to care when Helen really takes over the story. It also doesn't help that the daughter isn't a bit convincing as an actual child. I think I'll stick to Twin Spica if I want graphic novels about astronaughts.
June 4, 2022
Very enjoyable but more interesting as a sort of European attempt to take the territory Image comics so often explores and try and reconfigure it to a more traditionally European bandes dessinées format. It doesn’t entirely work but is a fascinating experiment. The art is obviously heavily reliant on photo reference but has none of that uncanny valley tone that ruins so many artists who work in that style
April 12, 2025
The art here is beautiful, but the story is weird. I'm getting a sort of disconnected Twilight Zone-type of vibe from it. Some of it is due to the clunkiness of the translation, I'm sure, but the plot itself is bizarre. That said, it's nice to see a woman of color as the lead in a science fiction story.
September 8, 2017
Haunting. Intriguing. Scary
May 14, 2018
This is a good story. Could have been great, but the writing is clunky. And being set in the near future, there is a bit of suspension-of-disbelief one must engage in with this in order to stay interested.
October 24, 2019
Interesting. Great art.
Sci-Fi to the MAX.
Great example of a story being too hard to rate until a later book or the end.
Sci-Fi to the MAX.
Great example of a story being too hard to rate until a later book or the end.
December 29, 2020
Excellent, je ne connaissais pas cette série de BDs, et l'histoire, les personnages et la science fiction sont passionnants a suivre. A lire!
September 6, 2016
Comics, pardon, 'Graphic Novels' diesen Umfangs - ca. dreimal 50 Seiten - sind ja eigentlich bebilderte Novellen und so ist es unmöglich, nach einem Drittel der Lektüre schon ein abschließendes Urteil zu fällen.
Die Story von Richard Marazano, geschrieben ca. 2006/07, ist interessant und sogar originell, aber nach diesem ersten Band Der Schimpansenkomplex 01 - Paradoxon sind es vornehmlich Rätsel die sich dem Leser präsentieren.
Die gradlinige Geschichte handelt sich von einer NASA-Astronautin, die sich Hoffnungen auf die Teilnahme an einer Marsmission macht und von ihren Vorgesetzten zu einem mysteriösen Ereignis hinzugezogen wird, an dessen Lösung auch andere US-Agenturen arbeiten. Zuhause in Florida lebt ihre ca. 12-jährige Tochter, die es nicht verwinden kann, daß ihre Mutter die Arbeit der Familie vorzieht.
Auf Detail verzichte ich bewusst, um es Interessenten nicht zu verderben.
Ich kann mir gut vorstellen, daß ich die Sternebewertung (drei oder vier) nach den nächsten Bänden (insgesamt drei) überdenken werde.
Die Story von Richard Marazano, geschrieben ca. 2006/07, ist interessant und sogar originell, aber nach diesem ersten Band Der Schimpansenkomplex 01 - Paradoxon sind es vornehmlich Rätsel die sich dem Leser präsentieren.
Die gradlinige Geschichte handelt sich von einer NASA-Astronautin, die sich Hoffnungen auf die Teilnahme an einer Marsmission macht und von ihren Vorgesetzten zu einem mysteriösen Ereignis hinzugezogen wird, an dessen Lösung auch andere US-Agenturen arbeiten. Zuhause in Florida lebt ihre ca. 12-jährige Tochter, die es nicht verwinden kann, daß ihre Mutter die Arbeit der Familie vorzieht.
Auf Detail verzichte ich bewusst, um es Interessenten nicht zu verderben.
Ich kann mir gut vorstellen, daß ich die Sternebewertung (drei oder vier) nach den nächsten Bänden (insgesamt drei) überdenken werde.
November 10, 2015
Review for the trilogy, books 1-3.
Story: The Chimpanzee Complex is about astronauts from the US discovering a human mystery that takes them from the Moon to Mars, told across different timelines. We see the narrative unfold two-ways: the main part is about Helen and her discovery in space, the other about her daughter dealing with the loneliness back on Earth. On a grander scale, it deals with humanity and their place in the universe, and destiny.
Art: photorealistic images with morbid colors, sharp-shadows and often freaky faces. The first time I flipped the pages, I thought I was in for a horror story. Still, it's a unique style that fits the atmosphere.
Verdict:
The trilogy is an intense read--I finished all three books in one go because I couldn't stop. It contains doppelgängers, accidents in space, mind-bending revelations and even futuristic civilizations and renegade ships. I wish the ending would have revealed more, because the story asks more questions than it answers, but it fills me with a sense of wonder that only true sci-fi can.
Highly recommended for any sci-fi fan.
Story: The Chimpanzee Complex is about astronauts from the US discovering a human mystery that takes them from the Moon to Mars, told across different timelines. We see the narrative unfold two-ways: the main part is about Helen and her discovery in space, the other about her daughter dealing with the loneliness back on Earth. On a grander scale, it deals with humanity and their place in the universe, and destiny.
Art: photorealistic images with morbid colors, sharp-shadows and often freaky faces. The first time I flipped the pages, I thought I was in for a horror story. Still, it's a unique style that fits the atmosphere.
Verdict:
The trilogy is an intense read--I finished all three books in one go because I couldn't stop. It contains doppelgängers, accidents in space, mind-bending revelations and even futuristic civilizations and renegade ships. I wish the ending would have revealed more, because the story asks more questions than it answers, but it fills me with a sense of wonder that only true sci-fi can.
Highly recommended for any sci-fi fan.
February 26, 2017
Written by Richard Marazano and drawn by Jean-Michel Ponzio, Paradox is the first album of three in the science fiction series The Chimpanzee Complex, which thus far sets up a fairly straightforward plot concerning astronauts, whose mission to Mars has been cancelled, now being drawn into a mystery of a returning moon lander, with unexpected voyagers. Ponzio's art tells the story well, and Marazano's script is solid, but the album as such is very much an opening to something, which makes it somewhat difficult to adequately judge, without having read what is to follow.
I am, however, quite interested in tracking down the remaining two albums and see what the full story has to offer.
I am, however, quite interested in tracking down the remaining two albums and see what the full story has to offer.
July 5, 2014
What I like about this comic: Space travel, mystery, dark and detailed art, and ethnically diverse main characters. The tone is very serious, but it plays with space travel history. It is mainly about a female astronaut struggling with the balance between motherhood and her dream to explore Mars.
What I don't like about this comic: The writing was lacking. On one hand it came off as appropriately cold, it being about military and NASA investigations. On the other hand it didn't flow well, and the story ended abruptly. The cliffhanger perks my interest, but this whole volume felt more like a prologue. Also, though the child Sofia is very expressive her dialogue is unconvincing.
What I don't like about this comic: The writing was lacking. On one hand it came off as appropriately cold, it being about military and NASA investigations. On the other hand it didn't flow well, and the story ended abruptly. The cliffhanger perks my interest, but this whole volume felt more like a prologue. Also, though the child Sofia is very expressive her dialogue is unconvincing.
April 2, 2012
Very cool start to a series. Makes me want to read more. Decades after the U.S. first had astronauts land on the moon (the year is 2035), a shuttle crashes to earth and is recovered...with 2 men inside. And both men identify themselves as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin! So begins a joint NASA/government attempt to unravel the mystery of who these men really are, who actually came back to earth after the first moon landing, and what might have actually taken place out in space/on the moon.
Cool premise. I'll keep reading for sure...
Cool premise. I'll keep reading for sure...
January 18, 2014
Armstrong and Aldrin come back from the moon... only they already did over 60 years ago. A NASA astronaut, who is having problems with her daughter who feels abandoned, is sent to investigate. This superbly-drawn and intriguing story is the first in a trilogy that draws one in but also leaves many questions hanging in the air.
November 25, 2010
Brilliant French sci-fi tale, very much in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Definitely prime material for a movie adaptation!
July 30, 2011
Un premier tome excellent et très prometteur!
August 25, 2015
Oooooh, I'm intrigued! I want to find out what happens next! Great art and characters.
January 16, 2016
An interesting premise beautifully illustrated. Part one of three
April 2, 2016
Loved this so much I recommended it on SF Signal
April 22, 2016
Excellent art, secret Mars missions and moon complications, and... doppelganger horror! This is an awesome start - might easily rate higher after reading the next volumes.
October 12, 2016
No idea what is going on in this book, but I kinda like it?
December 25, 2016
Complete rubbish. Spastic plot, shitty character motivation average artwork. Don't bother.
May 11, 2013
i really enjoyed the cliff hanger
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews