Written by: Roger Seiter
Illustrations: Régric
Coloring: Bruno Wesel
Publisher: Casterman
Lefranc #27 De Vogelman – Comic Book Review
Easter Island is an island in the Atlantic that speaks to the imagination of many. The famous Moai statues are interesting just by themselves, but the culture of the natives is even more interesting and important to understand. That’s why a team of scientists, accompanied by Lefranc, heads over there in order to find out more about this fascinating island.
It’s 1959 and Lefranc is on his way to Easter Island on the Arturo Prat, together with a team of archeologists and ethnologists, who will be doing scientific research on the island about the history, as well as the culture of the natives. As the ethnologist Julie is Lefranc’s girlfriend, he joined the team, together with a photographer, to deliver a nice article for the newspaper he works for.
The ship arrives in the waters of Easter Island late in the evening, thus they have to wait to come ashore until the morning. Right when they are getting ready to do so, while they are being welcomed by the local community, one of the team sees a body floating in front of the ship. Lefranc immediately jumps in the water, but unfortunately the young man turns out to be dead, not by drowning, but because of a slit throat. It’s not the best way to get introduced to the locals, definitely given they had strict orders to lay low and do as told, but the authorities are grateful nonetheless and start an investigation. Nonetheless, the team soon find themselves under suspicion causing a lot of tension between them and the locals.
In the meantime a Russian cosmonaut is floating in space when suddenly his gear stops working and he is falling at high speed to the earth. Somewhere else in the Atlantic, there is another ship setting sail for Easter Island, carrying Borg, Lefranc’s worst enemy. What he’s up to is not clear yet, but one thing is for sure: he is definitely up to no good.
The story is quite well thought out, with quite a few storylines intertwining to keep things interesting. At the beginning, it’s not very clear what all storylines have to do with one another, which keeps you wondering. It is a bit farfetched at times but overall it makes for an interesting read.
Even though the album only covers forty-eight pages, the story is quite elaborate, which is mainly due to the fact that there is a lot of information presented to you by a narrator, rather than that you get to know these things through conversations. It’s quicker, which keeps the pace quite high.
When it comes to the illustrations, everything looks good, yet won’t blow your mind. The faces often look a little sharp, and it all looks quite static during otherwise energetic scenes.
Conclusion
Lefranc #27 De Vogelman has an interesting story, with many storylines that will make you wonder more than once, before figuring it all out. Where the story may well intrigue, the illustrations probably won’t, as they look nothing out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, the whole will still provide a fun and interesting read.
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