In an imaginary world, a witch uses a mysterious suitcase to bring opponents of the Shadow regime out of the walled city and join the ranks of the rebellion. A subject certainly hackneyed, but treated in a sufficiently personal way so that the reader does not feel once again the lessons of morality too insistently.
What is above all the strength of La Valise (published by Akileos) is its visual aspect. The aesthetic choices are quite judicious and the graphics have enough to impress the reader with its obvious mastery. We thus evolve in a universe that is both gothic and fantastic, but also in a world that is very reminiscent of the period 1930-1950. The line, quite angular, is straight from some comic books (we think for example of Kyle Baker), even if it does not completely leave aside the Franco-Belgian spirit, and the cartoonists cleverly use color that actively participates in the narrative. But we can nevertheless sometimes regret a reduced readability in many boxes too dark.
The story is quite simple: a dictatorship enslaves a society and rebels want to take power. The originality of this classic plot comes from the intervention of a witch who lives outside the events without taking sides, but who nevertheless finds her account by making the rebels benefit from her powers, thanks to a magical suitcase that allows the protesters to escape in exchange for a few years of life, thus giving the witch the power to extend hers indefinitely. However, she will have to make a choice.
Through this story, it is obvious that the authors wish to draw a parallel between historical dictatorships, whose ears we are told all year round, and the dictatorship that the future society prepares for us, based on all-computing, all-connected. The theme has been flourishing for some time (see recent films like the mediocre The Circle or a series like Black Mirror, more successful but uneven) and will not fail to be perceived by many as a conspiracy plot, while others will see it only as a scripted element and finally there are those who, Already convinced by the possibility of a bleak future, will find a strong message.
The problem with this album, because it is not free of flaws, is its superficiality. Especially concerning the witch. It must certainly be mysterious and disturbing, but from there to make such an empty shell, we can unfortunately not attach ourselves to it. So we are only spectators of the events we discover, and no identification process ever comes into play. Which makes the whole thing finally quite cold. It would have been good to create a minimum of psychology in her to give substance to the character and at the same time, to the whole story.
La Valise is therefore an album that reads too quickly for what it claims to tell. It's a shame, because such an aesthetic and graphic requirement deserved a little more depth.
