While they are being hidden in the streets, filmmaker Jan Kounen writes with The Tower his first comic strip about a building that can save the world from an epidemic. But would you like to live there once you read this column?
From TV series to comics
The Tower is originally a series written by Jan Kounen and Omar Ladgham but the project being too expensive and wanting greater freedom, the filmmaker decided to make a comic strip at Glénat. It is logical to find this title in Comix Buro, a collection inspired by cinema. Mr. Fab, stylist and costume designer turned draftsman, was asked to think about the visual identity of the film. Logically, he is responsible for putting this dystopia into image. We feel in its dynamic layout the framing of a feature film but it knows how to play the different medium by alternating on the framing of the pages between panoramic views of the city and tight shots on the faces. The drawing reminiscent of Rochette's beginnings in Transperceneige is not just a beautiful image but Mr Fab understood that the succession of boxes makes a story. 
In 2012, a simple bacterium ravaged our civilization leaving thirty years later only 2746 survivors alive in Brussels in a tower. An artificial intelligence, Newton, is responsible for ensuring their survival. Only hunters are allowed to leave the building for two hours because they are the ones who bring back the meat, crossing a Brussels that has become wild again. With pride, Aatami has just joined this group as the47th member but she hides her true intentions and will need more than two hours outside to act… The Tower is a splendid dive into a world in decay. From the first pages, we are immersed in a ruined city invaded by nature. Hunters have their work cut out for game as they roam the city in cosmonaut uniforms. With no limited supply of oxygen, every second is precious. But, the danger is also present in the Tower. The writers thought about this Tower building an ecological dream. It is self-sufficient in energy by its solar panels. Its windows are indestructible which is essential when a hawk believing he has found human prey threatens to crack the fine protection of humanity. A response team must act quickly to contain the contagion. Plus, it ages and the slightest leak can kill anyone. So Newton controls every human action by a camera in every room. This artificial intelligence has the ability to change shape but it needs sessions with a psychologist because its strong ego becomes invasive. This character is the most successful of this first volume. The other very numerous lack space in this volume of exposition to be subtle.
A social critique
This internal account of a group of survivors confined to a small space evokes Snowpiercer. A new state is born in La Tour, the Federation of the United States of Europe, but citizens are divided between those who have known the world before the epidemic (the "old") and the younger (the "intras"). The latter are increasingly reluctant to tolerate the domination of the elders. They want to change the organization out of the rules they didn't create. How to leave your family when there is no more room? Jan Kounen and Omar Ladgham compose a narrative of anticipation to show the current conflict of generations. This theme appears a little slightly for the moment while we are already a third of the story. In the Tower, we do not flourish but we survive. Hunger is very present because of overpopulation and lack of production. A child denounces her mother who eats too much. At the end of the reading, La Tour is a success because the authors adapt to the medium. The drawing manages to impress while the writers do not overload the narrative with dialogues but, on the contrary, many pages have no text. This first volume of a triptych ends with a powerful cliffhanger at the end of the volume that makes you want to read more. If you were interested in this column, you can find other texts on the titles of the Comix Buro collection: Valhalla Hotel and Amen.
