Discovering The Metabarons

by Alejandro Jodorowsky (Writer), Juan Gimenez (Artist)

We all have some series that we try to push to other people. A particular book or line from an author, a company or even a genre that makes you really understand why you love the medium of literature, be it novels, comics and anything in-between. Some would say Watchmen, some Habibi, some Maus among countless other powerful pieces of work and art that certainly deserves to be mentioned in reverence.

Of course, as many readers know, there are always hidden gems in the market, books that people would not necessarily know the existence of. It is with that particular knowledge that I was once referred to a particular French comic, one that has been translated in English in order to make sure its brilliance would be known. The title, in French, is La Caste des Méta-Barons, but the title in the American market is simply The Metabarons.

Released as a spin-off to the generally acclaimed and popular The Incal, The Metabarons tells the very story of the family in which the titular Metabaron is a part of. The character, in itself, had been a successful and certainly intriguing part of the crazy kind of philosophical science-fiction that was The Incal, yet it seemed that Alejandro Jodorowsky had a lot more to tell about the mysterious character. In fact, he had more than 500 pages of material to flesh out the story of the Castaka family that would become the Metabarons, the ultimate warriors in all of the universe.

Told in a way that balance space opera, heavy science-fiction, a certain small dose of fantasy with the airs of epic poesy, this tale is one that does not give any half-measure in terms of scopes, ideas and themes. Never shying away from rather controversial matters in its approach, the tale adds incest, elitism, genocide and many other heavy themes in its story, yet does so always with a purpose, never just for shock.

The narration, told through a dialogue between two serving robots, is presented with the curiosity of one as to who exactly their master is and what he is doing right now. Their exchange, while something annoying, serves a purpose, making sure the story is told in a concise way, as the robots are facsimile for the readers as well as for a larger purpose in the story. With each chapters focusing either on different characters and different themes, the story never stay in the same place too long, moving along with an almost perfect pacing as the mad imagination of Jodorowsky makes itself clear.

Thanks to the writer, there is no shortage of action, amazing concepts and brilliant turns in terms of plot and character development, with spaceship battles, psychic training, politics, the fate of the universe and many other things are thrown in the general plot without any disregard for the cohesion of the whole. While not all of the ideas and addition to this gigantic universe are all fleshed-out, the focus on the Metabarons and their legends more than makes up for it, resulting in a tale that focus on the themes and ideas rather than a certain lack of grandiloquence and a desire to relate to smaller ideas.

It is, of course, the themes that makes all of this story worth it, even more so than the fascinating universe on display. The way each Metabaron has to deal with parenthood, the relationship between fathers and sons, duty, the code of honor that unites the Metabarons, mercy and love makes this story superbly tight in its evolution, delving deeply into each of these aspects as each characters discovers the possibility offered to them. There is a certain air of tragedy and fatality attached to each characters, with the burden of their duty and destiny weighting upon each actions and decisions they take, making everything colossal in terms of importance, putting an emphasis on the epic part of their journey.

In terms of setting, the juxtaposition of technology, nature and the unknown, as represented by the heavy amount of machine, ships amongst the fabricated ecology and the low amount of forests and other such things makes for a hauntingly beautiful and poetic representation of the best and worst of what humanity might give birth to. There is a certain division between realism and high science-fiction that never gets in the way, balanced by the alien-looking creatures, the robots with feelings and the psychic powers put on the page.

Still as it may, the beauty of this book is also due to Juan Gimenez, who puts all of his talents in each and every single page, with the characters, the universe and its colossal scope being represented very well. Putting an emphasis on the characters despite the very large environment they are in, there is a very particular balance in terms of tone and visual effects, making the action count in terms of impact due to their importance in a well-defined environment. Designing a ton of machinery and a ton of spaceships, the space opera part of the book is also impossibly beautiful, with fans of more cosmic stuff and science-fiction having a high potential to be pleased with the way the depths of space and all of its mysteries look.

Still, Gimenez is also able to play very well with the medium most of the time, changing the shape, size and direction of panels in order to make the most of them. The way he is able to simulate some space battles in a certain part of this saga is nothing short of wonderful, using various effects of motion to create speed and acrobatics for the vessels that manage to be brilliant and beautiful in terms of techniques and results. The way he is able to accommodate the size of each panels to make sure each elements can have the right amount of precise details is also quite commendable, with panels of every size, from gigantic to small being present throughout the whole story.

The colorization is also very rich, with Juan Gimenez bringing a lot through a ton of very clear contrasts. The depths of space, the surface of many planets, the fights, the technology and the low amount of nature makes for some very rich elements for other aspects of the many pages to work with, with a lot of preeminent colors in the common backgrounds that make all of the colors memorable. There is a certain balance between rough and subtle in the approach to every little details that makes it rather rich-looking, enhancing the visuals that much more.

In conclusion, while there are many series that are very worthwhile, I believe that The Metabarons is a true gem, one that every amateur of space opera and grand ideas should very much seek. For a work of such quality, there is only one grade possible. It will be my first one and possibly the only time I give such a grade, but this book is worth it. Do yourself a favor and go check it out.

Grade: E (for Epic, the highest grade possible on this site)

-Hugo Robberts Larivière