Vuzz

by Philippe Druillet

The next incredible instalment in the library of award winning master comics creator Philippe Druillet!

Vuzz is a warrior. A looter who has simple needs in to fight, to eat and to make love. Vuzz lives in a world where ruined cities are home to zombies, giant rabbits, and salacious wizards. A world where everything is desolation and uncertainties. A world where Vuzz can ultimately only count on himself. Which suits him just fine…

Featured in stunning black and white, this story is deliberately offbeat and almost humorous; utilizing a stripped-down narration and minimalist illustrations. In the works of Philippe Druillet, Vuzz is a character like no other!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Comix

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

see https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp...

Reviews

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 4 out of 5]

Programowo głupie, bo chodziło o to, by przełamać schematy i pokazać jak daleko można przekroczyć obowiązujące w ówczesnym komiksie normy. Chociaż całość sprowadza się do prymitywnego podążania za instynktem każącym zabijać, gwałcić i szukać kolejnych doznań, jest „Vuzz” przede wszystkim historią o pragnieniu ucieczki przed manipulacją i siłami determinującymi nasze życie, a ostatecznym przejawem tego pragnienia okazuje się śmierć na własnych warunkach. Jeśli jesteś odporny na uporczywe stosowane Deus ex machina w fabule i lubisz karykaturalną, pełną okropności grafikę, korespondującą choćby z twórczością Moebiusa, sprawdź koniecznie. Dla mnie dużo ciekawsze niż inne dzieła Druilleta, które do tej pory poznałem

[B.J. Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Druillet's most underrated work. A masterpiece of wild creativity and pure escapism. Nihilistic, amoral, anarchic, gleefully gruesome and perverse, Vuzz explores the adventures of its titular antihero, a hedonistic freebooter, as he butchers, blunders, and sexually assaults his way across a surreal fantasy landscape. Despite being a horrible person objectively, Vuzz emerges as strangely likeable, and his adventures, though in essence carnal and simplistic, engender strange feelings of existential wonder and dread.

Druillet is a master, and his work is transcendental.

[Maria]

My first Druillet and I'm a fan. Excited to keep reading him. I loved the (blue) art, the rendition of the characters/creatures, and the world built. He's a master of world building, clearly. I love reading gratuitous violence and it definitely has that, although sometimes the violence was a bit much. (Spoilers/TW: the main character loves to rape, then he lives the cishet/str8 man "nightmare"/"joke" of being pursued by a gay man as a plot point.) So yeah, that I cannot and will not defend. Read at ur own risk, I guess.

[Clint · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
This early 70s euro comic reads a lot like a notebook that some artistically talented, sexually frustrated stoner kid spent all semester scribbling in instead of paying attention in class. There are definitely charms to that, but there’s way more about it that’s just boringly tasteless and puerile. The art is distinct and promising, but too often looks carelessly scribbled down instead of displaying the care and mastery of similar work by Moebius. I’d still like to read something better by Druillet, though.

[Guillaume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bande dessinée à l'ancienne où l'on pille et viole à l'envi (les besoins primaires sont plus forts que tout dans ce monde-là), le trait y est à la fois fin et détaillé, précis et fluide. Un vrai plaisir de dévorer ces quelques aventures d'une vie sauvage et ravageuse, au présent, toujours imprévisible et mouvante, où l'humour n'est lui aussi pas absent.

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.4 (Digital, édition anglaise). 1.4/5 is only for very interesting drawings and art in parts of this book. The story is 0/5, absolute nonsensical trash.

[Goose · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this is your cup of tea, great for you, however personally I really did not enjoy this. It's filled with sexual assault, phallic imagery, child slaughter, poor representation of a gay character, and other gross imagery such as the main character being shat out of a giant ass. The plot had no context and didn't go anywhere. The only pro of reading this for me was that it only took about 45 minutes and some of the art is quite intricate.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vuzz is alongside Arzak as one of the original comics to push the bounds of silent graphic storytelling, with uncontainable strips and vivid, intricate linework. Vuzz is evil, that's for sure. He's horrible. But the vibe, our impression, is that there is something we should respect or appreciate about this ghastly villain. He tells a story - Vuzz does. He is a multifaceted character study, silent yet so demonstrative. A masterful work by Philippe Druillet.

[Isto R. Eipäs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vuzz is a depraved piece of work, and that is a compliment. It is also very French. Most of all, it is what the parody Cerebus would be if it was more focused and serious: a meditative, self-aware satire of the sword-and-sorcery genre.

The themes play around life, death, violence, earthly desires, honor and metaphysics with comic-tropey meta-gags that subvert the tropes associated with the genre.

[NoID · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vuzz est une sale bête, une charogne sans morale, un guerrier sans armée. Ses plaisirs : tuer, violer, manger…

C’est une horreur absolue et c’en devient drôle… pour qui supporte

Un petit trésor minimaliste, en bleu et blanc aux traits si reconnaissables et à l’histoire bien méchante

https://www.noid.ch/vuzz/

[Oryx · Rating 1 out of 5]

Druillet’s whimsical art style is as fun to look at as ever.

That being said, the story is nonsense and the amount of rape on every page is… well, it’s there.

Not his best work, not even close.

1 star because I wouldn’t read again, and would have given up if it were any longer.

[Luke Stevens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good pictures, however, one of the only Druillet books that I've really been grossed out by. Some of the other books are dodgy, but a good chunk of the scant plot of each vignette is spurred on by either the intent to, or the result of, rape. Yuck man.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t get the point of this but it was interesting and the world looked cool

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lone wanderer travels the wasteland of Vallaor in search of sex and violence, finding both in an escalating series of absurd scenarios.

This was quite the entertaining departure from Druillet's Sloane series, both in terms of narrative and art. The story is a perverted farce, intentional gooner comedy with a dash of sci-fi set dressing that feels like self parody. Sexual escapades that would be corny, self-serious diversions in Sloane are the main event in Vuzz and are taken to the absolute extreme. Lethal orgasms, ejaculating penis boulders, tit-and-ass monsters shitting out the protagonist, and many more vulgar situations await the reader of Vuzz and if (like myself) they find the idea of intricately drawn sexual deviance interesting then they should be satisfied. It's not well written, much like any other Druillet work, and is pretty one-note but the level of shock value combined with the humorous tone makes the narrative content more engaging.

Artistically, Druillet discards his dynamic layouts and diverse color application for a more traditionally panelled approach utilizing solely blue line work. It was a real pleasure reading a work of his where penwork detail is given primary focus, with far more effort put into surface texture and shadowing than most of his pages in Lone Sloane (perhaps outside of "6 Voyages"). I also find the compositions, especially the establishment shots, feel more cinematic and make a great use of perspective and scale. Also, lots of tits and dicks so that's fun.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Druillet's Vuzz stories are accessible and fun, though perhaps misses the elegance of similar comics like Moebius' Arzach. The action can be a little bloating at times, with numerous panels depicting hard to decipher lines. I'm a big fan of Druillet's artwork, but perhaps the minimal contrast with his thin lines can be challenging to interpret without color.

As a character, Vuzz is unlikeable, even quite deplorable - something that did add to my enjoyment of this comic. I think this would feel much more dry with a more conventional protagonist. While I did enjoy this collection overall, I would hesitate to recommend this to anyone who isn't already a fan of Druillet's other works.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comics from a simpler time. Vuzz had few goals in his barren wasteland world. To fight. To eat. To have sex. The comic is that simplistic, with long wordless passages and big, battle scenes. It's about what you'd expect from a sci-fi comic from the 70's.

[Alri Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia de ciencia ficción de los años 70s con un protagonista alienigena en busca de satisfacer sus deseos en medio de un planeta lleno de adversidades. Un arte espectacular pero un guión muy básico y en momentos sin sentido.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wild.
Not my favorite from Druillet. Our anti-hero is bad news and lacks the guilty pleasure charm that other anti heros possess. Still, the wild art and trippy imagination always unique to Druillet is featured.

[Jakub · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.2