The Corsairs of Alcibades - Éric Liberge & Denis-Pierre Filippi
The Corsairs of Alcibiades has all the essential ingredients for a thrilling and successful comic-book adventure series. It has a classic 19th century steampunk setting, where there are mysterious secretive societies developing plans to overthrow or at least completely transform the social order. The revelations of how they plan to do this are gradually revealed through a diverse group of individuals who have been recruited, but who first have to pass a series of dangerous tests to prove their abilities. A cursory glance at the detailed fantastical artwork also makes this a very attractive package indeed. The execution of the plotting however, at least in this first volume of the series, suggests that perhaps it’s even trying to pack too much into a single opening episode. When I say recruited, obviously mysterious underground organisations don’t advertise in the papers, so it’s more a case that the latest potential recruits are abducted and not given much choice in the matter. The si...