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Jacob Harris
, July 14, 2014
(view all comments by Jacob Harris)
The Incal has been called "the best comic ever made" by a range of comic industry big-names and movie people alike. And while that is a pretty lofty statement (Oesterheld's "el Eternauta" and Mazzuchelli's "Asterios Polyp" are right up there too), it is also close to the truth: The Incal is all the inspired sci-fi weirdness that you would expect from something conceived and written by Alejandro Jodorowsky; if you are familiar with his movies "El Topo" or "Holy Mountain"��"��"or "Jodorowsky's Dune"��"��"then you will feel right at home.
That being said, it is also a beautifully written hero story that would do Joseph Campbell and George Lucas proud: A loser detective must make friends with an unlikely group of freaks, mercenaries and talking animals in order to hide an ancient object called the Incal from following into the hands of a power-hungry cabal. In the interim he traverses worlds and dimensions, and has to achieve spiritual enlightenment in order to protect the Incal.
The Incal is only enhanced by the beautiful minimalism of Jean-Paul "Moebius" Giraud's artwork and colors, which really make the comic seem alive as you read it. I would go over pages just to stare at the chromatic harmony and rich details of his illustration.
So why should you read The Incal? It's not a book that wears its heart on its sleeve to be sure, but it is a piece of graphic story-telling history and a damned good time.
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