Skip to main content

Comic Book Review - The Knights of Heliopolis

Rob reviews The Knights of Heliopolis...



The Knights of Heliopolis is a reinterpretation of Alexander Dumas' Man in the Iron Mask. Alejandro Jodorowsky takes the classic French revolutionary tale and twists it into an alternative dimension filled with some amazing fantasy work. 

"In a monastery in the North of Spain hides the sacred temple of The Knights of Heliopolis: an assembly of immortal alchemists cut off from the world. As disciple Seventeen prepares to complete his training and join the order, his master Fulcanelli reveals to the other knights the terrible secret of his origins - Seventeen is the hidden son of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Will the young heir claim the throne or remain in the shadows, faithful to the millennial precepts of Alchemy?"

The Knights of Heliopolis features quite the cast of characters. Alejandro Jodorowsky brings each character to life and the writer uses these to explore a wealth of human emotions. Through the main character of Asiamar, Jodorowsky explores gender identity, human nature and overall spirituality. It makes for some fantastic reading that expands upon Dumas' original story in a thought-provoking way. 
Of course, the swashbuckling heroes, lustful romances, murder and, treachery are here too, which all comes together to make a compelling period drama - in comic book form. 

I've not touched upon many of Jodorowsky's previous films and comics, but reading Knights of Heliopolis has made my adventure further down the proverbial rabbit hole. Fans of Alejandro Jodorowsky's previous works will no doubt see quite a few similar themes and occurrences throughout.


Jérémy’s artwork is both stunning and expressive. There's great detail on show throughout with some fantastically detailed character expressions and locations. The action is also beautifully designed and Jérémy choreographs some intimate, yet epic fight scenes. The opening fight between "Seventeen" and a sword-wielding Gorilla is both equally bizarre and amazing - and is a sign of what's to come! 

Knights of Heliopolis is Downton Abby, Assassins Creed, and Game of Thrones all thrown together. It's got all the workings of a big-budget HBO television series, with some intimate character portrayals. There's plenty of action, romance, and intrigue, to keep you interested in this masterful display from Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Let's not forget Kanye West's endorsement...

Rating 10/10

The Knights of Heliopolis is available in bookstores and comics shops right now. You can order via Amazon and Forbidden Planet (UK & Europe) or via digital download.

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crafting the Apocalypse with Kek-W

Rob takes a trip to Deadworld with 2000 AD writer Kek-W… ‘ The Fall of Deadworld: Redemption ’ made its return to the 2000 AD Prog this week. While the battle for Sector 13 and the wider city rumbles on, I spoke to curator of chaos, Kek-W about Deadworld past, and more importantly, its future. Looking back, what first attracted you to writing what’s essentially the Dark Judges origin  story? KW - Well, the first four DREAMS OF DEADWORLD stories that Dave and I did were well received,  so rather than just doing more of the same - stories that showcased the individual Dark Judges - I pitched the idea of telling the back-story of how the four of them destroyed an entire world. How did that happen, how might it work? I figured it was a landscape ripe with dramatic story-telling potential. 'Ripe' being the operative word! (laughs) I also thought it might be interesting to focus in on a ordinary family, to see and experience the collapse of civilization  from their point of view and
Post a Comment
Read more

Rogue Trooper - Blighty Valley TPB Announced

Garth Ennis takes a journey back to NU-Earth… Today, August 29th marks a pivotal moment in 2000 AD history. Back in 1981, Gerry Findley-Day and Dave Gibbons introduced GI Rogue Trooper. As a Genetic Infantry, Rogue is bred to survive the harsh war-torn environment of NU-Earth. Soon betrayed by his superiors, Rogue is forced to seek his revenge while traversing the dangerous battlefield that NU-Earth has become. With the bio-chip personalities of his former comrades as his only allies, Rogue spent the next few years tracking down the Traitor General.  Fast-forward to today, and 2000 AD have announced that ‘Blighty Valley’  , Garth Ennis and Patrick Goddard’s recent foray into NU-Earth is being released in a trade paperback collection. ‘ Blighty Valley is Rogue’s first regular appearance in 2000 AD in a number of years – a thirteen-part story set at 'Night’s Horizon', the annual event where Nu Earth’s orbit carries it closest to a nearby black hole. The Norts call it Zvartchvinte
Post a Comment
Read more

Comic Book Review - The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 3

Rob reviews The Best of 2000 AD Vol.3… The ‘Ultimate Mix-Tape’ of 2000 AD’s greatest hits is back for its third volume. Packed with an array of specially curated strips,  The Best of 2000 AD series does its very best in introducing you to the world of Tharg, and his Thrillverse. Much like its predecessors, this volume offers up an enticing mixture of strips and feature that draw across all corners of the wider 2000 AD mythos. While we do get a couple of standard trips to Mega-City 1 with Judge Dredd, series Editor Owen Johnson shows us the anthologies more “Tales of the Unexplained” side as things get a little bizarre.  Personally, this third volume has been my favourite out of the series so far. Not only does it feature a Judge Dredd written by Michael Carroll, we also have the debut of Ian Edginton  and D’Israeli. While you’d think that Johnson would of opted to include the duo’s phenomenal Scarlet Traces, he’s instead swapped the Earth/Mars war for the Atlantic Ocean, as we get a mu
Post a Comment
Read more