Written by: Valérie Mangin
Illustrations: Thierry Démarez
Coloring: Fabien Alquier
Publisher: Casterman
Alex Senator #4 De Demonen van Sparta – Comic Book Review
It has only been a matter of days since we featured ‘Alex’ on the site in his latest adventure in Utica. While it’s the same Alex that will be featured in this series, he has aged well over his fifties and is currently a senator for the Roman Empire, but he has not slowed down when it comes to his adventures. This time Alex finds himself in Greece, as one of Rome’s envoys has been brutally slaughtered by warriors who claim to be Spartans. If this conflict isn’t resolved swiftly, Greece might once again feel the wrath of Rome.
Alex has been sent on a very important mission in Greece, together with his sons, in order to investigate what happened to one of Rome’s envoys. The envoy was supposed to bring back the scriptures of the oracles in Greece to Rome, but he never made it back. The writings disappeared after the envoy was brutally murdered, by soldiers who claim to be Spartans, and thus openly oppose the Roman Empire. While this murder would be more than enough reason for punishing the Greek populace once more, the entire case feels fishy as the Spartans were pretty much wiped out generations ago, when Rome overtook Greece. Alex stays with Numa, a spokesperson for the Greek population, who does his best to entertain Alex for the time being. Nonetheless, Numa also has a dubious past, but it seems he has changed his ways.
When during the night a burglar is found dead in the middle of Numa’s property, things become even more suspicious. It’s now time for Alex to head out to investigate the matter by travelling to the oracle himself, and he is accompanied by none other than Heraklion, his old protégé. While Heraklion is opposed to the Roman suppression of Greece, he has no choice but to help Alex prove the innocence of his fellow friends and family. Not only does the rest of Greece depend on finding the actual culprit, Heraklion’s family is being kept hostage until he returns with good news. It seems Alex has his work cut out for him, even though he should start taking things slower.
The pace of this album is a lot slower than that of the original Alex series. As Alex is already a lot older and now holds the position of senator, things revolve more around politics than skirmishes. Nonetheless, Alex still gets his share of the action, staying true to the roots of the series. Valérie Mangin does her best to make this series more than a spin-off, and more an actual ‘sequel’ to the experiences of the younger Alex.
Compared to the rather jovial looking main series, Alex Senator has a more serious look and rather dark colors, provided by Fabien Alquier. The illustrations provided by Thierry Démarez are not always consistent, but they are however rather realistic, adding an extra layer of seriousness to this series.
Conclusion
Alex Senator #4 De Demonen van Sparta is an exciting tale, that finds itself slightly more in the detective genre than the adventure scene. While the story is not completely finished at the last page of this issue, things prove to be exciting enough for a standalone story. Alex might have aged over the years, but it seems his share of adventures is still raging on.
Alex Senator #4 De Demonen van Sparta - Comic Book Review,
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