Die Lagune auf Fortuna

Carthago Single Issues #1

by Christophe Bec

Zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts löst die Verknappung der Öl- und Erdgasressourcen eine weltweite Krise aus, die einen Wettlauf zur Entdeckung der letzten Vorkommen in Gang setzt. Die Menschen beginnen, die letzten unbekannten Gebiete des Planeten zu erforschen, die Meerestiefen. Bei der Bohrung in einer Unterwasserhöhle werden die Taucher von einem lebenden Fossil angegriffen, einem Maglodon, dem prähistorischen Vorfahr des weißen Hais und dem größten Meeresraubtier, das jemals auf Erden lebte. Und dies ist nicht die letzte ausgestorbene Spezies, die der Ozeanograph Kim Melville entdeckt! Es ist eine wissenschaftliche Sensation. Und eine Entdeckung, die das ökologische Gleichgewicht des Planeten und das Überleben der Menschheit in Frage stellen könnte.

Genres: Comics, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, France

56 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2010

About the author

Christophe Bec is the writer of over fifty graphic novels. His flagship series as a writer, Shrine, has sold several hundred thousand copies worldwide. He is also the author of the comics Prometheus, Carthago, Darkness, Bunker, and Aéropostale.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Billed as a hunt for a Megalodon, the story morphs away from the search for prehistoric sharks to the search for Atlantis. There's still the occasional giant shark attack but they seem to serve no purpose than an excuse so they can put a shark on the cover. For what's billed as a complete story in 5 parts, this has a very unsatisfactory ending. The whole story to this point feels like prologue. The storytelling is really frustrating with tons of random asides and flashbacks. It's almost like stream of consciousness storytelling. There's an intriguing story buried in this that kept me searching for more. A movie in the hands of a better writer could streamline this and turn it into something pretty great.

[Kristijan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kada sam video da će "Stripoteka" da objavi "Kartago" za oko mi je zapao intrigantan cover. Naravno, prva stvar koju sam uradio jeste da potražim taj strip ovde na sajtu i ono što sam našao mi je dalo dovoljno razloga da strpljivo sačekam da se "Stripoteka" pojavi na kioscima. I apsolutno se nisam pokajao! Vernici "Stripoteke" bi mogli da mi stave kao greh na dušu moju sumnju u nepogrešivost odabira ove strip-institucije, ali složićete se da uvek postoji šansa da se čovek razočara...
Ali da pređem na stvar...
Šta je "Kartago"? Ako bih morao da smestim ovaj strip u neku žanrovsku nišu, onda bi on definitivno morao da se sortira pod "eko-triler", kako su ga već neki žanrovski definisali.
U ovom stripu pratimo okeanologa Kim Melvil (hm, interesantan odabir prezimena :D) na njenom putu otkrića bića za koje se misli da je davno izumrlo. Naravno, postoje mnogi koji bi takvo otkriće da zataškaju, korporacije koje ne žele da izgube svoj novac, bogataši koji žele sve za sebe,... A čovek lagano prestaje da bude najjača karika u lancu ishrane...
Dakle, priča je intrigantna, a artwork odličan. Jedino je šteta što je ovo B/W varijanta stripa, a na netu sam video kolor varijantu koja odlično izgleda (doduše na francuskom jeziku koji nažalost ne govorim). Iskreno se nadam da će Darkwood-u da padne na pamet da objavi ovaj strip u hardcover izdanju u full koloru. Takvo izdanje bih voleo da imam!
Posebno preporučujem ovaj strip svima koji vole M. Crichton-a :D
p.s. Jedva čekam nastavak :D

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pits an environmental organization versus an evil worldwide conglomerate with the prize being prehistoric sharks. While the art was quite good, there were way too many infodumps. Some pages had so much text they had to make the font so small that I'd have to switch to guided view so I could blow up the panels just to read all the text. I don't know which came first but this has a lot of the same concepts as The Meg.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vrlo lep artwork, i interesantna prica o praistorijskim ribicima koje mozda i nisu tako izumrele. Na to dodamo malo pokvarene kapitaliste, misterije i imamo odlican mix.

Jedino sto mi smeta je gomila info dump-ova na par mesta.

U svakom slucaju jedva cekam dalje.

I pohvale za stripoteku na finom prevodu mada bi stampa mogla biti malo bolja posto ima par bledjih mesta. Ali volim veliki format stranice.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was a lot to take it. I picked it because it looked like a nautical adventure and had sharks. And it was a nautical adventure, and there were sharks, yet it wasn't what I expected.

I had challenges with a few things in this one. The back and forth during different times was quite confusing, and it happened so many times for a 60ish page comic. Also, I don't remember if the "current" time was stated, so I didn't know how far pack in time any of the flashbacks were. The second challenge was it was very, very wordy. I wanted to look at all the action in the panels, but ...there was so much text to get though. And even after reading it I wasn't clear on what it was about (part of that could be me - I read this during COVID19 and retention levels are subpar at best).

I will say that I did really enjoy the art, especially the underwater scenes. And the characters, especially when depicted from odd angle (in particular from below), where really great! Especially the faces. I noticed it every time.

I think I will continue the series, and hopefully things will start to get clearer. And more menacing. And more sharks!!

[Bogdan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was kind of meh! I`m not interested to go further!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because it looked to be set underwater and I got a whiff of Megalodon. Unfortunately that fish is mostly in the off at first and then disappears all together for a good while.

And it’s a very wordy graphic novel. Much too wordy. I don‘t mind the occasional info dump or longer explanation, but this never stops. Somewhere in the middle I started to skim a little. On top of that there was this glacially slow build-up.

It eventually got going — a little. And by the time it did get more interesting, it also immediately finished with two cliffhangers.

The artwork was ok. It‘s unlikely that I will continue.

[Carlex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this marine adventure. However, even though it ends in a cliffhanger, I don't know if I will continue with this series.

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 4 out of 5]

As any other comic written by Bec, it begins interesting and keeps readers attention due to its cinematic storytelling. Story jumps through time and space, following several characters centered around stunning discovery of not only megalodon, but a plethora of marine species thought extinct. I wonder if Bec will screw up somewhere along the way as he tends to do that as he gets lost in his own ambition.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is amazingly detailed, emotional, and exciting. And the plot is interesting enough, pitting an evil corporation against a radical ecologist organization with newly discovered megalodons as the prize. Unfortunately, the English translation of the dialogue is unnaturally formal so that I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I don't think I'll be picking up another volume.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

And so I start another graphic novel series this time about strange lagoon, a prehistoric shark and a very very shady petrochemical company. if you are confused by all of that then I am pleased to say that you are not the only one.

These short books (less than 60 pages) are a real rollercoaster of a ride switching between several narratives (I am sure they will all start to converge as the series goes on) often using classic thriller techniques of switching just as things get interesting (and dangerous).

There are also a number of hints of other storylines not yet explored (I wont spoil anything) but I find it interesting that not all the mysteries are set out right away

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start of Carthago has promise, if what you are looking for is just Hollywood-style entertainment about a great big honkin' shark. So there's a great big honkin' shark, but an evil oil and natural gas corporation called Carthago hides its existence because some environmentalists would probably declare it an "endangered species" just because it's supposed to have been extinct for a million years or so, and then how're they gonna drill?

So Carthago keeps the shark a secret, and a few people get eaten, and there's a marine biologist with a daughter who's some kinda mutant aquagirl.



And from there, it gets progressively stranger, but while I was feeling a bit annoyed by the end of the first arc (five volumes of about 60 pages each), I was hooked enough to keep reading the next installment, until I finished the 10-volume series. I liked it, but the story went all over the place, which was not helped by the frequent jumping around in time. First we'd see the present day, then we'd get a scene from ten years in the future, then back to the present, then a flashback to ten years earlier, then a flashback to WWII, and so on. It was sometimes hard to tell where we actually were in the story.

Like all the graphic novels I've seen from Humanoids, Carthago is gorgeously illustrated.



The megalodons run amok for the first half, and continue to bite things in every volume, but eventually the scope of the story expands to all sorts of cryptozoics, threatened apocalypses, and a search for Atlantis. There is an awkward mother-daughter arc that's never fully resolved, a billionaire monster hunter who's part evil genius supervillain, part benevolent sponsor of our hardy League of Adventurers, and several other characters who make the heel-face turn by the end.

Much of Carthago has the feel of an updated version of the old Tintin comics: a multinational group of oddball adventurers trekking from the Australian Outback to the Arctic to the Carpathian Mountains to the Kamchatka Trench, searching for monsters and ancient civilizations. Carthago has a lot more sex and violence than Tintin, though.

Loved the art, the story was a wild big budget SFX romp, but the writing wasn't quite up to par. Still, it's worth wasting a few hours if you like big honkin' sharks.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty original comic, and sense it seems shark comics are rare (there is Hookjaw) I thought Id try this one out. The first volume is interesting. I think this was originally published in French, and the translation is a bit wordy, but the art is good and so is the story.

A deep sea fracking operation cracks into an underground cavern that includes prehistoric life, most importantly, a Megalodon, the giant great white shark. The company decides to keep the existence of the creature secret so as not to interfere with its multi-billion dollar fracking business. But word gets out and a group of scientists goes to investigate and things go wrong from there. There's also some type of mutant/hybrid child who can breath water and presumably communicate with sea creatures, but that hasn't been explained yet.

If the description sounds like something you'd enjoy, then you should check this out. Very original and not something you see much in American comics. I will be continuing the series.

[ThomyZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is good for the most part and one recognizes the work that went into this comic book, but the creators need a serious lesson in "show don't tell." Comics are a visual medium, when I read a comic, I want to experience the story visually, not get one infodump after the other in boring dialogue scenes that span over several pages. They even do the "As you, the characters I'm telling this, already know" trope several times.

Also, there are some logical inconsistencies, including a preposterous line of reasoning by a character who seriously thinks that revealing the existence of a larger type of great white shark will elicit a more extreme response from the global public than footage of a living, breathing dinosaur! (and yes, I know a liopleurodon isn't technically a dinosaur, shut up.)

I'll likely check out the next part from my local library, but this first album has some serious problems.

[Cass · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Mykhailo Gasyuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Сага про повернення мегалодону та інших велетенських морських тварин. Глобальні "Щелепи" на фоні корпоративної жадібності та бажання отримати надприбутки. Або можете сприймати цю історію простіше - підводні монстри нападають!

Починається все з глибоководних робіт, бо нафта та газ самі себе не видобудуть. І так чомусь стається, що при бурінні відкривається підводна печера, яку сміливі бурильники одразу вирішують дослідити. А їм назустріч...

Компанія дайверів біля дамби десь у Франції, власне, дайвить, тобто, занурюється на глибину, аби побачити прісноводне життя на дні озера. Дочка головної героїні аж занадто довго пробула під водою, та все гаразд - нас знайомлять з її надприродними здібностями. Сюжету про акул-велетнів це потрібно. Аж тут на горизонті з'являється нова діюча фракція і робить компанії дайверів певну пропозицію...

Корпоративні бонзи нарешті допетрують, що натрапили на щось аномальне. Але головний корпоративний бос, у балаклаві (лол що?!), каже, що про відкриття ніхто не має дізнатися. Бо ж вони звірину, по суті, випустили, яка здатна робити значний медійний кусь (страшно когост зжере, хтось це зніме на камеру, і почнеться всіляке у фейсбуках).

Замало персонажів! А ось і майор Бертран, відомий океанограф, який полює невідомо на яку тварюку десь у районі Червоного моря. Після того, як клітку з мертвим верблюдом оте невідомо що трощить, Бертран сміливо занурюється у воду, а по повернені каже, що те, що він там побачив, не можна відкривати світу, тому що аж надто воно важливе... Вміють автори нагнати інтригу.

Біля острова Фортуна планується занурення знайомої нам компанії дайверів, а десь у високому замку людина в системі автономного життєзабезпечення хоче зробити свій хід, бо мегалодон - то топчик...

Локації постійно змінюються, в героїв є чітка мотивація, узагальнено це як хороший пригодницький фільм 80-90. Намальовано в реалістичному стилі. Діалоги не ведуть у пустоту. Так, автор використовує популярну сучасну байку про те, що десь серед морів-океанів зачаїлися давні тварини, а не бачать їх тому, що погано шукають. Іхтіозаври, інші підводні ящери, акули-гіганти - де їм ще ховатися, як не під водою у віддалених куточках Землі?! Для Крістофа Бека це дуже характерна історія, майже сигнатурна. Якщо на сучасний міф ніхто не заявив свої права, то чому б його не використати як основу сюжету, ага. Чи поганою вийшла затравка через це? Ні. Не шедевр, але й не прохідняк, вище середнього як мінімум.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu li em francês, uma língua que eu não tenho muita intimidade, então eu achei o texto meio chato, acho que mais por minha culpa do que do autor.
A história envolve uma corporação multinacional, presumivelmente, maligna; uma organização natureba, levemente, terrorista; o ancião dos Cárpatos, eu tô bem desconfiado de quem esse cara deve ser; e tubarões gigantes pré-históricos.
Em linhas gerais, porque foi o que deu pra entender, descobrem uma caverna submarina vulcânica escondida na ilha da Fortuna, dentro da caverna, monstros pré-históricos - megalodontes.
E meio que termina por aí, com os cientistas discutindo o que fazer com essa informações, mas parece que um dos tubarões gigantes já tá dando um rolê pelo oceano, porém ninguém fez essa ligação ainda.
Como falei, o texto é meio exagerado, com milhares de informações científicas sobre pedras, águas, tubarões e sei lá eu o que mais - parece gibi do Hickmann -, mas a arte é linda, especialmente nas cenas subaquáticas, o artista consegue captar a imensidão e a escuridão do mar apostando em azuis profundos e pequenas faixas de luz para criar algumas imagens espetaculares.
Honestamente, falta vocabulário, mas tá sobrando boa vontade com essa sériezinha.

[Tammie Painter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this may have been the worst thing I've read, or will read, this year. I mean, Megaladon are the one of the best bits of cryptozoology ever. How on earth do you make it uninteresting?

The art is lackluster, and the story bounces between so many different places and times, I never knew if I was coming or going. And I use the term "story" very loosely...it's more just a series of scenes that just barely tie together. But I did learn some new French vocab, so there's that.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like seeing giant sharks eat people and ships, as I do, then this is for you. I quite enjoyed this so I looked up the rest of the series. Turns out there are 13 volumes!!! That's kind of a big commitment. Not sure if I'll continue and for how long. I can't imagine why this story needs so long and I predict I will never see resolution.

[Davorin Horak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malo previše razvikano. Čitljivo, ali ne više od toga. Crtež solidan. Čitam dalje ipak jer ajkule su ajkule.

[Rev Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read English version

[La Porte sous la Colline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A l'occasion de la sortie du seizième et dernier tome de cette série, les éditions Les Humanoïdes Associés ont proposé de redécouvrir le premier dans le cadre d'un service de presse, et c'est avec grand plaisir que j'ai replongé dans cet univers phare de la bande-dessinée. Avec Carthago : le Lagon de Fortuna, Christophe Bec inaugure une série de science-fiction devenue incontournable. Dès ce premier tome, le lecteur est entraîné dans une intrigue où la fascination pour l'inconnu et le mystère des profondeurs abyssales, se teinte d'une inquiétude sourde, celle des conséquences de ce que l'humanité à réveiller...

L'histoire s'ouvre sur une découverte vertigineuse au large des côtes du Pacifique Sud, dans les abysses d'Arunkulta. Lors d'une mission d'exploration sous-marine pour du forage pétrolier, des ouvriers plongeurs de la société Carthago mettent au jour une forme de vie gigantesque, supposée disparue depuis des millions d'années, le mégalodon, ancêtre préhistorique du requin blanc. Très vite, la révélation scientifique que pourrait susciter cette découverte se transforme en enjeu stratégique, financier et politique. le récit alterne entre différentes époques, plusieurs lieux et personnages afin de dérouler les intérêts scientifiques de cette découverte qui se heurtent à des nécessités de contrôle dans un contexte d'exploitation pétrolière. Ce premier tome pose ainsi les fondations d'un univers dense, où la menace ne vient pas seulement de la créature maritime elle-même, mais de ce qu'elle révèle de la nature humaine, de l'hubris.

Christophe Bec est un auteur, dessinateur et scénariste majeur de bande-dessinée reconnu, récompensé par différents prix. Son écriture, efficace et documentée, s'inscrit dans un certain réalisme, nourrie par les sciences, comme la biologie et une conscience aiguë des problématiques de notre monde notamment concernant la préservation de l'environnement. Les dessins d'Éric Henninot confèrent à Carthago une force visuelle immédiate, particulièrement immersive. Son trait précis, réaliste et dynamique, donne corps aux univers sous-marins comme à l'expression des visages des personnages. Les scènes dans les abysses impressionnent par leur ampleur et leur lisibilité, renforçant le sentiment de la petitesse de la nature humaine face à l'immensité océanique. le travail de coloriste de Delphine Rieu participe grandement à cette immersion : les bleus profonds, les contrastes sombres et les éclairages artificiels dans les obscurs abysses participent pleinement à l'atmosphère particulière du récit. L'image n'est jamais une simple illustration du texte ; elle devient un vecteur de tension à part entière, participant à l'intrigue et suffisant parfois à elles seules à instiller ce silence propre aux profondeurs abyssales.

Impossible de lire Carthago sans penser à certaines œuvres majeures de la science-fiction. Les parallèles avec The Thing de John W. Campbell, adapté par John Carpenter sont particulièrement frappants : même sentiment de menace latente née d'une découverte scientifique devenue incontrôlable. La référence à Alien s'impose également, notamment dans la manière dont l'exploration d'un milieu hostile, ici les profondeurs marines plutôt que l'espace, devient le théâtre d'une confrontation entre l'humanité et la bestialité, interrogeant les ressorts psychologiques à l'oeuvre lorsque que nous sommes confrontés à l'inconnu : se taire, connaître, contrôler. J'évoquerais aussi Abysses de James Cameron, pour son rapport empreint de fascination à l'égard des fonds marins, ou encore Sphère de Michael Crichton dont l'intrigue se déroule aussi dans le Pacifique Sud, et pour cette idée que la science, dans sa dimension exploratoire, questionne autant sa nécessité, son besoin de savoir, que ses limites, ses potentielles dérives. En bande dessinée, Sanctuaire également scénarisé par Christophe Bec, prolonge cette fascination pour les mondes engloutis.

La série Carthago s'impose comme un classique du genre de la science-fiction en bande-dessinée, porté par une narration solide et un univers graphique impressionnant. Ce premier tome séduit par son efficacité, sa capacité à à éveiller une curiosité presque anxieuse à chaque page tournée, et à installer un climat de suspense durable -en témoigne la parution du seizième tome !-. L'intrigue repose sur des motifs connus de la science-fiction : la découverte interdite, la créature ancestrale et mythique, la récupération par des organisations pourvues d'objectifs contradictoires, ici Carthago et ses enjeux financiers et le groupe Adome et son intérêt scientifique empreint d'un souci écologique; certes, mais le lecteur ressent la maîtrise tant dans le texte que les images, ce qui en fait une oeuvre marquante, incontournable, où le plaisir de lecture est immédiat et la fascination pour les abysses se ressent !

[Charles-Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je pense que j’ai fait le tour de l’offre « Christophe Bec ». Espèce de thriller corporato-environnementaliste aux grosses ficelles. Beaucoup, beaucoup de dialogues explicatifs, mais pourtant on ne comprend pas trop en quoi la découverte d’un mégalodon est un secret qui pourrait changer le cours de l’humanité… La formule de Bec reste la même : quelques miettes de pain pour accrocher le lecteur à une intrigue d’apparence mégalodonnienne, mais au final, assez peu de révélations et pas de payoff. Sans doute que l’histoire se dévoile tranquillement dans les 15 tomes qui suivent, mais qui a vraiment la patience, l’intérêt et l’argent pour investir autant dans une prémisse si cheap ?
On sent, dans le dessin très influencé par William Vance, tout l’amour que les auteurs portent aux grands prédateurs marins, mais… n’est-ce pas aussi un peu trop adolescent, de tripper sur les requins ?

[Clin · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK j'ai bien accroché. l'auteur a su attiser ma curiosité sur les fonds marins. le dessin est correct c'est pas waouh mais ça reste sympa. j'attends de lire la suite voir si la tournure de l'intrigue me tient en haleine jusqu'au bout. Pour l'instant, c'est intéressant !

[Hubert Ricard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Voir tome 5.

[Luke Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall thoughts for the whole series: deeply stupid but in an endearing 90s blockbuster way. The artwork is stunning and it's about big prehistoric monsters and underwater adventures. It's not much more than eye candy but I enjoyed it on that level.

[PinkAnemone · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Seit Urzeiten fasziniert die Menschen das, was in den Tiefen der Ozeane liegt...
Das Meer ist groß, viel zu groß für uns kleine Menschen.
Selbst wenn ihm einer sein ganzes Leben weiht, wird er nur einen winzigen Bruchteil davon zu sehen bekommen.
Und wie im oberirdischen Dschungel sind die existierenden Lebensformen noch überraschender als die kühnsten Fantasien von Science Fiction-Autoren.."
(S. 29)

Dieser Comic verläuft in mehreren Handlungssträngen, inklusive Rückblenden in die Vergangenheit.
Es beginnt im Jahr 1993 im südlichen Pazifik, auf einer Bohrinsel des Konzerns "Carthago". Während einer Bohrung wird eine Unterwasserhöhle geöffnet und dadurch prähistorische Meeresbewohner befreit. Allen voran Megalodon, der Vorfahre des Weißen Hais und dieser ist mächtig hungrig. Um die Bohrungen jedoch nicht zu gefährden, wird die Entdeckung, inklusive der Opfer, vertuscht und geheim gehalten.

In der Gegenwart treffen wir auf Kim Melville, eine Ozeanologin. Sie wird von einer Gruppe namens "Adome" angeheuert. "Adome" sind dem Konzern Carthago und der Vertuschungsaktion auf die Schliche gekommen und nun soll Kim mit einem Team Megalodon finden. Mit von der Partie sind ihr Freund Martin und ihre Tochter Lou. Lou ist irgendwie anders - sie benötigt mit ihren 10-12 Jahren keinerlei Taucherausrüstung, um in die Tiefe hinab zu tauchen.

Und dann hätten wir noch den Österreicher Mr. Feiersinger, auch "Der hundertjährige Karpate" genannt. Niemand weiß wie alt er wirklich ist und er frönt einer ganz besonderen Leidenschaft - dem Sammeln von prähistorischen Lebewesen. Natürlich hat auch er erfahren, dass sich Megalodon nun in den Meeren herumtreibt und diesen möchte er haben...um jeden Preis.

Es tauchen noch mehr Handlungsstränge und Zwischensequenzen aus der Vergangenheit auf, die vermuten lassen, dass Megalodon nicht erst seit dem Vorfall im Jahr 1993 sein Unwesen in den Meeren treibt.
Die Jagd ist eröffnet....auf allen Seiten.

">>Wahrscheinlich ist das Sedna, die sich an den Menschen rächt.
Manchmal drückt sie ihre Abneigung gegen uns in schweren Stürmen aus.<<
>>Das kenne ich, macht meine Frau zu Hause genauso.<<"
(S. 46)

Da dieser Comic gerade einmal 56 Seiten hat, wäre jedes Wort zur Handlung zu viel.

Hier erwartet einem auf jeden Fall eine spannende Story mit witzigen und auch derben Sprüchen. In Szene gesetzt wird diese von Zeichnungen im Old-School-Style, welche die Atmosphäre gekonnt einfangen und hervorragend zu diesem Comic passen. Manchmal benötigt es keinerlei Dialoge da die Bilder ganz für sich alleine sprechen.

Der 1. Teil endet natürlich mit einem unglaublichen Clilffhanger und ließ mich sofort zum 2. Teil "Die Challenger Tiefe" greifen.

[jedioffsidetrap · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll just rate the whole series here, with issue-specific comments if necessary. But I can’t see my opinion changing. I really like the art, and giant sharks and the mystery aspects. But the series is frustrating.

It’s uneven and handles poorly the interweaving plots and characters. I just stopped trying to piece it together after vol 3 and just stuck with it for the giant sharks. And huge aquatic dinosaurs.

It opens with a montage of Megalodon 25m years ago, then jumps to a cave man chased by a Sabre tooth tiger in 3,200 BCE, then to today and divers working on an offshore drilling project. That’s just the first 12 pages. Giant sharks appear. Then jumps again to a dam lake in France. Where a nine year old goes for a swim, saying “you know I can’t drown, mommy!” Uh, what? Then guys show up on snowmobiles & recruit the oceanographer hero, Dr. Kim Melville. And then back to oil platform. The oil corp chairman in a ski mask? Then to 1991 in the Gulf and some other characters. A gothic castle in Romania with an old man in a space wheelchair! An island near but not at the location where the oil corp is drilling & found the sharks? Aborigines in the outback! Boys on a beach in France!

It goes on & on like this. Hanging all kinds of stuff on a thread. It’s just not good at pacing or plot building. Seems erratic & disjointed at times.

So I keep reading for art & giant sharks & pleisosaurs. That’s enough for me...

A liopleurodon bites the mini sub! Then a Megalodon the next day!

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the US edition of a French graphic novel series. It’s the first chapter in a continuing story, so not a self-contained story.

The writing and artwork are both good, but the concept is so far a little underwhelming. It’s an environmental story, pitting a nasty petrol multinational against militant environmentalists allied with a maverick scientist who has a tragic past and a mysteriously superpowered daughter. So far so usual.

The conflict centres on the discovery of a megalodon in sub-oceanic caves. The bad guys want to keep the beast a secret to protect their oilfield whilst the good guys want to disseminate evidence of its existence to galvanise their movement. But the plausibility wavers when the environmentalists prove more excited about the giant shark … than a full-on dinosaur they also uncover. What? Would the public really be more excited by a relatively recently extinct shark than by a bloody dinosaur?

Come on.

That, and the wildly unprepared and illogical conduct of supposed scientists on a quest to find a really big, really dangerous beastie, make this story fall a bit flat.

Nevertheless, I’ll read on as long as the episodes are carried on Kindle Unlimited.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This “shark big” eurocomic looked like it would be beyond silly to me, but it was a free rental on Hoopla and turns out it’s a pretty neat slow burn eco-thriller that I now want to read more of. It shares its initial premise of “what if huge prehistoric sea creatures still secretly existed” with a few much dumber American blockbusters, but this is a more sophisticated take on that idea. The science experts speak in fittingly precise scientific language and the plot pits a nefarious multinational corporation with financial interest in covering up the big shark against an eco-activist group looking to reveal it. The art looks great in a clean realistic style nicely colored in the muted pastels I think of as typical for a lot of pulp-y eurocomics. The dialogue can be a bit verbose and awkwardly translated at times, but it’s not a major issue.