Written by: Roger Leloup
Illustrations: Roger Leloup
Coloring: Studio Leonardo
Publisher: Dupuis
Yoko Tsuno #27 Khany’s Geheim – Comic Book Review
In 1972 the first Yoko Tsuno album was released. The series depicted a young Asian woman, named Yoko, who was essentially a jack-of-all-trades, as she was well versed in different languages, combat and knew her way around different complex machinery and vehicles. Yoko always found herself in adventures, the likes science fiction movies could only be jealous of. After 43 years, Yoko is still exploring the universe, battling alien invaders and saving the world, all in a day’s work. With ‘only’ 27 albums throughout the many years this series has been around, it’s clear that creator Roger Leloup prefers quality, instead of quantity. Today, we are finally able to present you with our opinion of the 27th album, Khany’s Geheim.
Yoko and the other young adventurers, lead a peaceful life on earth, where they live in a luxurious castle ,take care of animals and simply enjoy their lives. This oasis of peace suddenly gets shattered to bits when a so-called ‘spider’ (robot) appears and tries to get into Yoko’s head. Luckily the band of teenagers defeat the evil robot, before any harm has been done. Whilst the attack brings up many questions, these will soon be answered thanks to the appearance of Khany, an extraterrestrial descending from a race called the Vineans. As Khany and Yoko are two peas in a pod, Khany tells Yoko that they were after her, as she is so close to Khany. Whilst information from Khany’s side is quite vague, unclear and fishy, she tells Yoko that some of the Vineans are using a base on Mars, in order to try and wipe out the entire human race.
Of course, Yoko does not hesitate a single moment and decides to come along with Khany, together with the other young explorers, save for two who stay behind to take care of the animals. As they get closer to their destination in outer space, Yoko can’t help but sense that Khany is not telling her the entire truth. It seems their mission is about more than simply saving Earth from destruction.
Overall the story has enough action, but follows a rather slow course, making sure all the information given can be processed. Roger Leloup has done his best to come up with an elaborate plot for the story, as there is a huge amount of information that is being handed to you. Everything gets properly explained, making sure that all the small details will not slip past the reader. It has to be said that this is a comic book that will make you think, rather than completely relax you. This makes for a welcome change of pace, especially seeing the science fiction aspect is well supported by the extra information, making it more convincible and authentic.
The writing feels a bit more like many of the other older, classic comic books. The style feels a bit more personal, a bit more elaborate than what we’re used to, and perhaps a bit cleaner than many of the newer series.
Animations are done by none other than Roger Leloup himself. When taking a look at this latest issue of Yoko Tsuno, the animations feel like a welcome blast from the past. Everything is amazingly detailed, as every panel is worked out extremely well. The coloring adds up to the more old school feeling, as it’s quite bland, but it gets the job done.
Conclusion
Yoko Tsuno #27 Khany’s Geheim is a welcome addition to the Yoko Tsuno series, with a lot of food for thought. The plot is very thick, making this issue a very substantial one. Overall this volume does not feel like a relaxing picnic, but more as an interesting ‘science’ novel. Add up the authentic writing and drawings, and you’ll have yourself a fun but interesting comic book to spend an evening with.
Yoko Tsuno #27 Khany's Geheim - Comic Book Review,
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