Author: Jacques Lob Illustrated by: Phillipe Druillet and Benjamin Legrand Publisher: Titan Comics Hardcover, 72pp, $24.99, £21.99
Lone Sloane is still stuck on the planet aptly named Delirius, one of the strangest places in the galaxy. The lonely traveler is in trouble: he was struck by an erasure arrow by the fanatical monks of the Red Redemption. He is accompanied by Mali, the daughter of his friend Yearl Martian, first in his travels to the destitute underground world of Delirius then to find Yearl and Lance, Mali’s lover and then in the mission to save the inhabitants of Delirius from the spreading madness! Lone Sloane seems ever destined to battle against evil in this world. As the world is called to war, will he be able to stay away? His adventures will force Lone Sloane to accept his destiny and prepare himself for the battle with his enemy, the tyrant Shaan, the Emperor of all the galaxies…
In 2014, Titan Comics released the English translation of the acclaimed French comic Snowpiercer. The graphic novel was a translation of a French series released in 1982. Snowpiercer Vol. 1 The Escape might as well have been released in 2014. It’s even more relevant being re-released in a new softcover edition in 2020. Since that initial release, a praised film has been released and a television show has spun out as well. In comics, the following two volumes and the beginning of a prequel series have also followed. The train really took off. What follows is the original review published on this site back in 2014…
Coursing through an eternal winter, on an icy track wrapped around the frozen planet Earth, there travels Snowpiercer, a train one thousand and one carriages long. From fearsome engine to final car, all surviving human life is here: a complete hierarchy of the society we lost…
The elite, as ever, travel in luxury at the front of the train – but for those in the rear coaches, life is squalid, miserable and short.
Proloff is a refugee from the tail, determined never to go back. In his journey forward through the train, he hopes to reach the mythical engine and, perhaps, find some hope for the future…
This claustrophobic tale hurtles you through this microcosm of life. Class, castes, social and political themes are wrapped up in an apocalyptic story taking place on a train. It’s Speed with thought. The train can never stop and each train section clearly is a statement on social stratification. One can say life is a struggle in every sense, especially for the poor, and here we see that manifested in a battle along the train, a mini-revolution in a small space. First the poor must take on and win over the army, whose leadership is the real issue. Then they all must move on to overthrow the political and religious leadership. On top of all of that social commentary, there’s also a religious aspect of it all, with the train taking place of god.
Even without the much deeper layers, this sci-fi dystopian thriller on a train is entertaining just for its tense action. The writing by Jacques Lob is enhanced by Jean-Marc Rochette‘s art which feels like something from the British heyday of the 80s.
Altogether, Snowpiercer Vol. 1 The Escape is an entertaining action thriller that’s much deeper than you’d expect. I absolutely recommend checking it out. I can’t wait to read the second volume myself.
With Snowpiercer coming to television on May 17, Titan Comics has put together the official Snowpiercer universe timeline. The aid pieces together the original comic series, the prequel comic series, the movie, and the upcoming television show.
Timed for the television show, Titan is releasing the graphic novels in new softcover editions.
The television series stars Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs in this adaptation on class warfare, social injustice, and the politics of survival playing out amongst the remnants of humanity – who inhabit a perpetually moving train with 1001 cars that circles the globe. It’s based on the graphic novel series and film from Oscar Winner Bong Joon Ho.
Check out the timeline and some previews of each series.
SNOWPIERCER THE PREQUEL: EXTINCTION
Written by Matz Illustrated by Jean-Marc Rochette 9781785868832, HC, $19.99 On sale now
The Snowpiercer saga continues with this brand new story by original artist Jean-Marc Rochette and Eisner nominated writer, Matz. Set before the extinction event that caused the new ice age in which the Snowpiercer travels perpetually around the globe, witness the terrifying events that led to the need for and creation of the eponymous train.
Written by Jacques Lob Illustrated by Jean-Marc Rochette 9781787734425, SC, $14.99 On sale 6/2/2020
On a future, frozen Earth, a train that never stops circumnavigates the globe. On board: all of humanity that we could save from the great disaster that wrapped the planet in ice. At the front of the train, the survivors live in comfort and luxury – at the rear, their lives are worse than cattle, trapped in the squalid dark. When one of the occupants of the tail breaks through into the main train – all hell follows in his wake!
Written by Benjamin Legrand Illustrated by Jean-Marc Rochette 9781787734432, SC, $19.99 On sale 6/30/2020
It has long been thought that Snowpiercer was the last bastion of human civilization… but there is another train. Coursing through the endless, wintry night, its occupants live in a constant state of terror that they will collide with the train that went before… From this second train emerges a small group of the passengers who are willing to risk their lives in the deadly cold to explore what’s left of our world.
Written by Olivier Bocquet Illustrated by Jean-Marc Rochette Publisher: Titan Comics 9781787734449, SC, $24.99 On sale 7/21/2020
On a future, frozen Earth, humanity has been packed onto self-sustaining trains, doomed to circumnavigate the globe until the end of the interminable ice age – or until the engines give out.
When a scrap of music piques their interest, the inhabitants of the Icebreaker take the ultimate risk and cross the frozen ocean, a vast expanse with no train tracks… and no way to return to them.
August 2020 will see the Snowpiercer saga continue with Snowpiercer: The Prequel Part 2: Apocalypse HC – the second chapter of Titan’s new prequel trilogy by original artist Jean-Marc Rochette and Eisner nominated writer, Matz.
SNOWPIERCER: THE PREQUEL PART 2: APOCALYPSE
Written by Matz Illustrated by Jean-Marc Rochette 9781787730328, HC, $19.99 On sale 8/25/2020
After the extinction event that caused the new ice age, the train Snowpiercer travels perpetually around the globe, with the last survivors of humanity learning to come to terms with their new reality.
The highly anticipated television adaptation Snowpiercer gets a second trailer. In it, we see the class warfare and fight for survival to come.
Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly and Tony Award winner Daveed Diggs star in this adaptation on class warfare, social injustice, and the politics of survival playing out amongst the remnants of humanity – who inhabit a perpetually moving train with 1001 cars that circles the globe.
This television adaptation is based on the graphic novel series and film from Oscar Winner Bong Joon Ho and premieres May 17.
The original graphic novels were written by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, Olivier Bouquet, and Alexis Nolent with art by Jean-Marc Rochette. The series was created by Lob and Rochette.
Originally published in 1982 by Casterman, the graphic novels received an English translation in 2014 and was published by Titan Comics.
WRITER: JACQUES LOB ARTIST: PHILIPPE DRULLIET PUBLISHER: TITAN COMICS PAGE COUNT: 80PP FORMAT: HARDCOVER PRICE: $19.99 RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 25 ISBN: 9781782761068
The deserted world of Delirius was nothing but a stain on the universe, until it was converted into the debauched Planet of a Hundred Thousand Pleasures by the evil Supreme Overlord, Imperator of all Galaxies. With the populace placated, he can tax them to the hilt and fund his campaign of terror. His opposition comes in the form of the Red Clergy, who attempt to coerce Sloane, the master-less intergalactic vagabond, into doing their bidding. Yet things are not always as they seem, and the piety of the clergy means nothing in a world of licentious chaos. Besides, Sloane always has his own agenda…
Written by giant of the comics world, Jacques Lob, with illustrations by Philippe Druillet at his most fantastical, Delirius is a science fiction epic that leaves readers utterly in awe of the sheer vibrancy of the creator’s imaginations.
This week Titan Comics releases a world-first English translation of the acclaimed French comic Snowpiercer.The first volume out this week will be followed up by the second in February. You’ll be hearing a lot about both as a film based on them will be released soon in the US starring Chris Evans among others and released by The Weinstein Conpany. But what is it about?
Coursing through an eternal winter, on an icy track wrapped around the frozen planet Earth, there travels Snowpiercer, a train one thousand and one carriages long. From fearsome engine to final car, all surviving human life is here: a complete hierarchy of the society we lost…
The elite, as ever, travel in luxury at the front of the train – but for those in the rear coaches, life is squalid, miserable and short.
Proloff is a refugee from the tail, determined never to go back. In his journey forward through the train, he hopes to reach the mythical engine and, perhaps, find some hope for the future…
This claustrophobic tale hurtles you through this microcosm of life. Class, castes, social and political themes are wrapped up in an apocalyptic story taking place on a train. It’s Speed with thought. The train can never stop and each train section clearly is a statement on social stratification. One can say life is a struggle in every sense, especially for the poor, and here we see that manifested in a battle along the train, a mini-revolution in a small space. First the poor must take on and win over the army, whose leadership is the real issue. Then they all must move on to overthrow the political and religious leadership. On top of all of that social commentary there’s also a religious aspect of it all, with the train taking place of god.
Even without the much deeper layers, this sci-fi dystopian thriller on a train is entertaining just for its tense action. The writing by Jacques Lob is enhanced by Jean-Marc Rochette‘s art which feels like something from the British heyday of the 80s.
All together, this is an entertaining action thriller that’s much deeper than you’d expect. I absolutely recommend checking it out. I can’t wait to read the second volume myself.
