Filed under: Exquisite Reviews | Tags: Alasdair Stuart, Cinebooks, Design Samorandi, Jerome Saintcantin, Roger Leloup, Yoko Tsuno
Written and drawn by Roger Leloup
Translated by Jerome Saintcantin
Lettering and text layout by Design Samorandi
£6.99
Published by Cinebooks
Yoko Tsuno is a female electrical engineer and adventurer. A modern, notably more badass Tintin, she’s the star of a series of graphic albums by Roger Leloup. Like the Valerian and Laureline books these are usually one shot stories and as a result this is a perfect place to start. Traveling down the Rhine, Yoko and her friends save a young woman from drowning. Deciding to investigate, they discover murder, conspiracy and possible supernatural events, all surrounding the story of the devil’s pipe organ…
Buy this book. Here are three reasons why. Firstly, Yoko is both a brilliant character and a vitally important one. She’s smart, gifted, cool, likable and crucially never once plays like a Mary Sue. She’s clearly the leader of her group of friends (Although one or two may dispute that) but never feels bossy or perfect. Instead she’s a smart, inquisitive, tough young woman who doesn’t let wrongdoing go unpunished. She’s a heroine, and in an industry that’s still working off decades of institutionalized sexism, that’s absolutely vital.
Secondly, LeLoup’s artwork is painstaking but still fluid and fun to read. His location work is astoundingly good and you won’t see a better sense of place in any book this year. There’s immense attention to detail but it never calcifies the book. Instead, it gives it a voice that nothing else on the shelves has.
Thirdly, this is a story about a colossal, weaponized pipe organ. And it’s BRILLIANT. This is exactly the sort of magnificently pulpy, high tech action adventure stuff that covers bookshops. LeLoup has a huge imagination and he continually ties history, science, science fiction and the supernatural together in fun, interesting ways. The result is a book that combines the maniacal historical invention of the best airport blockbusters with some smart characters and beautiful art. This is adventure fiction at its best. Go give it a shot, and say hi to Yoko.
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