Written by: Mathieu Bréda
Illustrations: Marc Jailloux
Coloring: Robin Le Gall
Publisher: Casterman
Alex #34 Aan de overkant van de Styx – Comic Book Review
Alex is one of those classic series that is still running on to this day. The series saw the light in the 1940’s, but its first album was only released in 1956 and over the course of the years it has also branched out into several spin-off series, one of which we’ll present to you in a few days. The young Roman boy proves to hold his ground, be it in diplomatic situations or combat. By the grace of Caesar himself, Alex has a lot of resources at his disposal, but he doesn’t seem to shy away from doing the right thing, or making friends with those a lot below his standing. Today Alex finds himself in Utica, a place where he has little allies.
In the absence of Caesar, Marcus Antonius has been governing the city, but sadly he is not one for politics, thus he spends his time entertaining the upper class with fancy parties, where food and women are plentiful. Even though Alex is not one to indulge himself with such trivial matters that often, it’s important to keep Marcus as a friend. Nonetheless, when heading home with his friend, Enak, they hear and notice a lot of rowdy behavior coming from the comfort of their very home and it seems the young Heraklion is the cause of all this. Alex’s young protégé has been acting rather difficult as of late, throwing tantrums, passing out and behaving in an otherwise ill manner. While to some it may seem like a spoiled young man misbehaving, Alex knows there’s more at play than meets the eye.
After tracking Heraklion the next day, it seems he is getting letters from an old friend of his family, which he lost due to the actions of Rome, which get him all riled up and even mentally unstable. When his latest fit causes Heraklion to trespass a sacred temple, Marcus was asked to severely punish the boy, but as a favor for Alex he sends Alex, Enak and Heraklion on a temporary trip overseas to Utica. While Utica is not a very friendly area for Romans, Alex should be able to get into contact with Astyanax, the mercenary who has been writing to Heraklion. Although getting into contact with the hardened warrior will prove to be difficult on its own, the fact that a war is brewing between the Romans and those who oppose Caesar will prove the make the trip even harder.
Overall the story moves at a very pleasant pace, where Mathieu Bréda takes his time to explain things properly, even though some of the events are tied together with older issues of the series. There is a proper amount of footnotes which explain certain terms or explain where cities mentioned in the album can be found in our modern times. All in all, everything is very clear and the story proves to be rather captivating, while it’s never truly that complicated.
While the illustrations by Marc Jailloux usually aren’t very detailed, Alex, as a whole, has a very fun looking appearance. Facial expressions seem to be the most important part of the series, together with a lot of different backdrops, which make everything combined a beautiful album. Robin Le Gall opted for bland colors, which stay true to the rather classical feeling of the series.
Conclusion
Alex #34 Aan de overkant van de Styx shows that the series is still relevant after nearly sixty years. You’ll be treated to a typical adventure story in the well-known Roman setting, with appealing characters and a new environment to gaze upon. The story is all about family, which is simply perfect for this time of the year.
Alex #34 Aan de overkant van de Styx - Comic Book Review,
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