The Incal: The Black Incal

This is a review of The Incal: The Black Incal, by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius. This is a science fiction comic put out by Humanoids, an European publisher. I haven’t read many Humanoids comics. My first impression was Heavy Metal coupled with Eurotrash, a heady whiff, but that’s not true. They are having a huge Humble Bundle sale, here.

A private eye named John DiFool is hired to escort a beautiful young aristocrat to a brothel, where she mates with a man with a wolf’s head. At midnight she transforms into an old woman. Fleeing an angry WolfHead, DiFool takes refuge in futuristic sewers where he meets an alien with a knife in his back. The dying alien gives him the Incal, which at first glance resembles a glowing cigarette lighter.

With me so far? In American comics, we’d be three issues in, but this graphic novel is just getting started. DiFool escapes getting thrown into an acid lake and then retrieves his bird, who is acting like the Messiah, preaching and healing people (DiFool jammed the Incal down the bird’s throat), before witnessing the clonage of His Supreme Highness and then traveling to a huge necropolis, where robots are made from human parts. And that’s before we meet the Black Incal.

Whew, that’s a lot of plot. Also: great art by Moebius. This is a futuristic dystopia with a healthy dose of anarchy/satire. There’s also some nudity and sex scenes, which aren’t too graphic. I did not know this came out in 1980. If you read it, you’ll see its influence in the aesthetic of movies like Total Recall, The Fifth Element, and Blade Runner. In comics, think of Cynosure in John Ostrander’s Grimjack, Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan, Judge Dredd.

John DiFool is an EveryMan. Well, given his name I guess he’s stupider than that. I don’t know what the Incal is, but it is sentient and can talk. There isn’t much of a plot yet, just lots of spectacle and great art. Everyone wants the MacGuffin – er, I mean the Incal. This is a great science fiction comic and is thus highly recommended!