Written by: Vehlman
Illustrations: Gazzotti
Coloring: Usagi
Publisher: Dupuis
Alleen #10 De Ontsterfmachine – Comic Book Review
With this tenth issue of Alleen, the comic book series already concludes its second cycle. With a story that appeals to both young and old, the series has already received many good reviews, yet still, it’s anything but a common tale. The five children have discovered that they are actually dead, living in some kind of world that is neither heaven, nor hell. At the same time, they are faced with a new challenge, as they have been separated and will have to find a way to survive, each on their own.
Terry and the Master of the knives have been roaming around in cold, snowy weather for quite some time when suddenly, they see a big warehouse. When they go inside, they realize it is full of toys and stuffed animals, a little bit of heaven for Terry. He enjoys himself for a little while, when all of a sudden, he has a great idea: Why not build an ‘un-die-machine’, to bring them all back to life? His plan isn’t as simple as it sounds though, and when Camille turns up out of nowhere, and offers a strange present to the Master, things go down south quickly, with the Master chasing both him and Camille.
In the meantime, Yvan is wandering around a desolate landscape, trying to find his father’s holiday home to have some shelter. Leila is held in a deep dreamless sleep in a sterile, white lab, while Dodji is being challenged by the mad Master. The five friends clearly still have a lot of hardships to overcome if they ever want to get out of this world.
It seems like this issue focuses mostly on Terry’s story, which looks fun at first, as he end up in a warehouse full of toys, but soon becomes sad and even a bit scary when the Master of the knives turns against him. The title of this issue might suggest a tale revolving around Terry’s ‘un-die-machine’, yet the pace is rather quick, and soon moves to different threats that appear. To be honest, the issue is quite a pleasant read, but raises more questions than answers, providing ample cliffhangers to conclude the second cycle. Nonetheless, we hope that there will be some answers already at the beginning of cycle three.
Bruno Gazzotti’s drawing style reminds us a lot of the comic books of Robbedoes, which can come as no surprise, seeing he was on the team behind the gags of Kleine Robbe, and has always been interested in the Robbedoes comic books. Be as it may, his illustrations look very appealing for young and old.
Conclusion
Alleen #10 De Ontsterfmachine dives even deeper into the story of the five children Terry, Camille,Dodji, Yvan and Leila. There are not that many answers, and even more questions, which makes it clear that the story is far from over. This album feels more like a transition into a new part of the story, thus we are wondering what the next issues will have in store for us. As the story keeps getting more complicated, we do advise to read the previous issues first though, before diving into this one.
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