Aldebaran by Leo

Among a series of graphic novels currently being published in English by Cinebooks is the science fiction saga Aldebaran.

Created by Leo, Aldebaran has been described as "an epic, humanist fantasy tale".

Information, at least in English, on the singularly named comic book writer and artist Leo is sparse.

He was born in Brazil, and - like a number of celebrated comic artists from South America - left during the nineteen-seventies because of political unrest.

Leo had begun his working career as an engineer but turned to art, later moving to France where he would develop graphic novels.

The Aldebaran's Worlds series began publication in France in 1993. Cinebook's Aldebaran Book 1 - The Catastrophe is split into distinct chapters and was most likely published as two shorter comic albums by Dargaud when it first came out.

Recommended for 15 + age readers, it's appropriate for most teenagers but tends to handle topics of a philosophical and political nature that the older ones will be more patient and appreciative of.

To be frank, at the outset I felt as if I'd just opened the pages to a comic book version of some Australian soap opera set on an alien planet. It's set in some sunny coastal area and the young characters start talking as if we were supposed to know their back-story, personal relationships to each other, and wondering who will end up making out with whom at the local dance. But things soon change, albeit subtly, and not predictably.

100 years ago space ships from earth stopped coming to this planet, but they apparently did pretty regularly before that. Even so, the people still retain a western European ethos in their attitudes, social life and general demeanour. In fact it's all very seaside fishing village like apart from the bloated monstrosities that are being washed up on the shore.

When a mysterious drifter called Driss turns up in the village and starts telling those at a bar about a number of strange phenomena that have been appearing on the planet of Aldebaran that could prove dangerous the locals fail to believe him.

Meanwhile, Mark Sorenson, the 17 year-old narrator of this saga, is set on asking Nelly out. Nelly's younger sister Kim teases him that he's one in a growing line of suitors, and has come too late. The next day, reflecting on this with his pals along the beach, a windcar taxies up towards them and drops off another new arrival. She's got long flowing curly hair, a figure that doesn't need a bikini to appreciate it, and a handful of years on her that implicitly tells these boys that's she's woman, young in heart and mature in mind. What's more she claims to be a journalist by the name of Gwendoline who's come in search of Driss.

Mark tells her Driss has already moved onto the next village and offers to take her there in his sailing boat. He's told to hold onto the coast, but like any young kid his impulses tend to put him out of his depth. Or rather, the water begins to solidify into a jellyfish substance and the pair head for land, having to run over the stuff, and not a moment too soon for the boat is sucked down.

Hiking through forestland until they come to a road, fortune smiles as Nelly's family, the Kellers, are driving by on a horseless carriage (how it's powered I've no idea, but accept it) and give them a ride. More weird things happen out at sea and then a small plane lands from out of nowhere. Inside is Driss and he comes bearing grave news, warning them that they cannot return to their village. Mark makes strikes Driss over the back of the head with a log, rendering him unconscious, and head home regardless. They find the jelly substance from the sea has gone inland, decaying all jellifying everything of importance in the village, most notably all life! It takes its final life in the form of a grieving Mr Keller.

Driss, Gwendoline, Mark and the Keller girls have no choice but to head north. Old squabbles and words unspoke cause tension as the journey continues until fate causes Mark to be travelling alone with 13 year-old Kim when they come upon Mr Pad.

Mr Pad is what I like to call the stereotypical European graphic novel's old git, because you often find his sort in them - A character who's got a load of bad habits, has either mad scientist or half-baked alchemist tendencies, can't be trusted, but sometimes does a good deed; a two-dimensional four-colour character symbolising the trickster of so many myths and folkloric stories and so too supposedly making a statement on our psychological being. Yeah, and he's comical relief until the moment he stitches our two young heroes up and steals their carriage.

Walking to a village, they're given shelter in a tavern, only to find their free meal ticket disturbed by the arrival of the military that want to take Mark to meet a priest. It transpires this secular character's place of worship is up in a zeppelin, and he's your typical power-mad business-suited zealot of modern popular culture wanting to know if the lad's seen either Driss or a short-haired blond woman during his travels. Mark denies this, but then the armed guards produce Mr Pad who's gone telling tales. Mark keeps quiet saying Pad's a liar but does relate what happened to his village. This is seemingly enough for now and they are let free. When they meet up with Kim, Pad promises to repay their previous good deeds to him, and tells them he's arranged them safe passage on board a ship. Unsurprisingly when they get on deck they find they've literally been sold into slavery!

In chapter two if this collection, subtitled The Blonde, the youths are seen going about their chores on deck. The characters have grown, matured. But they've still a lot to learn. Mark gets the come-on from the captain's wife and becomes a man in the sense of the sexual act as a rite of passage, but within the next panel finds out just how immature he really is as the captain comes charging at him with a knife. The lad jumps overboard, and Kim drops a plank down into the sea, followed by her self so they can float away safely. The natural presumption is that Kim's becoming besotted with him, but as she pours out her scorn and outrage over his follies we begin to consider which of them is actually the more mature. Of course, just as this as this is turning into some serious soap opera worth of awards what can only be described as a very ugly humpty dumpty head pops its head onto the surface and the pair head for shore fast.

Their journey continues, hugging the coast until they come to a lighthouse. Again symbolic. That they're greeted by gun is probably no surprise, but the fact that it's held by an old woman who's lived there many years, the last few on her own since her husband died, who then turns into a mother hen who feeds and cares for them, reminds us of good old fashioned values such as trust and so she is the antithesis of bad old Mr Pad.

His stomach fed, and feeling good inside, Mark begins to stop bickering with Kim, relating to her better, and appreciating that she was always more mature than her years and time is also changing her. If his affections are changing for her then they are soon put to the test as H.R. Giger-styled little aliens squiggle out of the sand to attack them only for another male youth to appear cavalry style on a bicycle with two mini-pteradons playing the part of hunting falcons, that and a sharp knife wielded by this Jose Cabal save the day.

So enter the cool Mediterranean swagger of a new hero and possible rival to Kim's future affections because he can also play music to sooth her savagely frustrated heart. When Mark sees them kissing and an argument ensues, he claims it's for all the right moral reasons, and I'm tending to believe this fictional character for the moment. Not least because there's a forced interlude as Driss and his plane turn up to witness yet another peculiar experience at sea.

When next we see Mark and Kim they're happy in each other's company again, only for them to spot the blond whose photograph the priest showed Mark being lead gunpoint by the military. More by luck than judgement Mark breaks in and rescues the blond, Alex Komarova, and they escape on a flying Loch Ness monster creature, but she's badly wounded, possibly dying. The fact that she doesn't tell Mark that she's regenerated a bandaged-up decapitated hand adds mystery to the proceedings. But then, the priest and his zeppelin return, capture them and have Kim already. It's not looking good despite the smiles the youths share happy to be in each other's company as the book concludes.

I'm mildly surprised how much I enjoyed the scope of this book, it's dressed up to be labelled as being of the science fiction genre but with only the smallest aspect thrown in to show this in the act of alien landscape or creature with a touch here and there of steam punk to entice the casual reader. It's just enough to make the unbelievable believable and not get in the way of (a) a story about young people, and (b) what's becoming a slow burning metaphor for politics and power that we're being teased into.

Leo, and his English translator do a pretty good job on that score. Visually, Leo's work betrays the draughtsman influence of his engineering background. Things are methodical, worked-out, precise, not caricatured. He uses distant perspectives in the manner of Italian comics superstar Milo Manara, but whereas that creator's all too obvious love of the human form is always perfectly captured (if too stylised by favourite facial and figurative types) Leo appears to use photo reference in some of his more extreme facial expressions that don't always gel. That stated, I'm now looking to find faults in what is generally not the kind of book that appeals to me but I found myself liking.

While the creator himself remains something of an enigma to me, his world of Aldebaran must be incredibly popular on the continent, when you put a search out on the internet you're drawn to Youtube where both Dargaud and fans have produced videos based on the series.

To check out Aldebaran and other books by Leo published by Cinebooks check out: www.cinebook.com