Humanoids Publications recently made the comics news when their American publication deal with DC Comics was terminated, but that announcement also indicated that at least some of their work would continue to be translated and published in America in some other way. That's good news, because it means that Sebastian X, a collaboration between Italian writer Michelangelo La Neve and Canadian artist Stuart Immonen, will be making its way to American shores eventually. Sebastian X is a story that covers a lot of genres, but its roots are most plainly in futurism, social satire and espionage. La Neve and Immonen craft a world based an over-the-top extrapolation of religious and corporate world domination reminiscent of the futures of works like Judge Dredd and Grendel but drawn from modern political and social forces, and into this world they introduce a deep cover espionage plot that pits a traumatized intelligence agent against free-thinking radicals. Or, at least, that's the simple version, because there are plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Sebastian X opens with an action scene, pitting surfer/eco-terrorist Sebastian X against a military helicopter, and though I had a translation of the dialogue in hand, it's not something I really needed for this and the other action scenes. Sebastian X is in many ways a cerebral comic, exploring the notions of identity and loyalty and all the kinds of questions raised by undercover work, but it by no means skimps in the action department. Immonen and Moulart provide a stunning and unusual confrontation between an extreme sports rebel and a black military style copter that has all kinds of instantly recognizable themes of authority versus rebellion, youth versus tradition and all of the other themes that Sebastian X centers around.
Immonen really is at the top of his game here, with his work on Sebastian X reminiscent in many ways of the work he did in Shockrockets, and surpassed only by the exquisite work that he did on Superman: Secret Identity. His gift for conveying emotion in characters is put to great use when "Sebastian X" goes back undercover and we see how he reacts to his friends and how they react to him, and he also does excellent design work on the book. Terrific nature that is timeless blends with military and communication technology that feels inspired by the cutting-edge of modern-day but pushed forward about 90 years.
The artwork is no surprise, not only because of Immonen's general level of work but because Humanoids has always produced beautiful books. However, I was surprised to be so taken in by the story, which, while a touch on the exaggerated side in terms of its social and political inferences, is very much based on believable and relatable human emotions. The lost and yet driven personality of Agent Zaremba makes for a great centerpiece, and the innocent, youthful personality of Sebastian X's lover is an interesting contrast to the slicker, manipulated version of youth and imagination that drives Adam Reznor, the marketing wizard behind Zaremba's insertion into Sebastian X's old crew. Sebastian X is, at its heart, a war between those in power and those still young and idealistic enough to believe that the power structure can be shaken.
Which is kind of odd, because when you read Sebastian X, the reader is in many ways being asked to identify with the enemy. Sure, Sebastian's friends never seem very threatening, but we're getting most of the story from the point-of-view of an undercover agent whose goal is to bring this rebellious organization down. While Sebastian X is on a larger scale a story of building social upheaval and revolt, though, on a more personal level, it's about the battle for the soul of Agent Zaremba, whose identity and motivation holds a few secrets of its own until the very end. The moral dilemmas of being undercover, the emotional deadening that Zaremba goes through, reminds me pleasantly of the same types of things explored in Wildstorm's Sleeper.
With the DC and Humanoids agreement dissolved, it is uncertain when Sebastian X makes it to American shores, but it is almost a certainty that it will, if not in 2005 than 2006. If you happen to be fluent in French and/or an impatient Immonen fan, you can always pick the book up at Amazon's French site. If you're neither one, but you are a fan of Immonen's work or of imaginative science-fiction and/or espionage stories that focus on the mentality of undercover work, than I'd suggest you keep your eyes peeled for the eventual English translation of Sebastian X. I know I will. 9/10
