Soleil anticipation offers us a new science fiction series in five volumes, Conquests. Humanity has no choice but to leave Earth. What if the future of humanity was in space?
Nazis in space
Conquest is planned in five volumes with two writers and five cartoonists. The screenplay of this volume is by Jean-Luc Istin and the illustrator is Zivorad Radivojevic. Each series is a tale of conquests of a different planet. Even if we learn very little about the future of the Earth at the moment, it is clear that Germany won the Second World War and it went very wrong. In this volume, we do not yet know why they left the earth? It is perceived that it is related to the depletion of resources. The description of the interior of a Nazi army is surprising. Although the author denounces the myth of racial purity, one sometimes gets the impression that the military is too lovable. It is regrettable that the Nazi army is not denounced very much.
Destroy to survive
Islandia, the first volume of the series, proposes to follow an armada of ships set out to conquer this frozen planet. The change of scenery is even stronger because the armada is a Nazi army where the rigid hierarchy imposes an intractable order. As the cover shows, the story is told by a female officer. More human, she is charged with exploration by a colder general whom she hates. The first contacts with the extraterrestrials are very friendly but their real mission is conquest. Oberleutnant Kirsten Konig is remorseful for invading this ice paradise while the rest of the army is desperate to ensure its survival. Sure of his superiority, the admiral wants to quickly crush the natives. Istin gives a pessimistic view of humanity eager for self-destruction.
Science fiction or fantasy?
As the story progresses, the reader is increasingly surprised. We move away from the war narrative to dive into a fantastic investigation. Konig's body has indeed been transformed by cryonics. The story reveals many secrets such as the planet…
The story is told by pretty sets of the interior or exterior of the spaceships. The classic layout is paired with a well-executed realistic graphic style. Each box is quite small but we follow the story pleasantly. Indeed, they are small characters in boxes where the scenery is very present. This choice is perfectly related to the subject of discovering a planet and an indigenous civilization. We recognize at the turn of a box cinematographic influences with a monolith as in 2001, a space odyssey.
By closing this first volume, the reader spent a surprising stay in space. The story of war and conquest is fortunately not at the rendezvous but the fantastic rubs shoulders with an ode to the open to the other. What will the army find on the next planets?
