The Metabarons: Path of the Warrior [Paperback]

Alexandro Jodorowsky (Author), Juan Gimenez (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Humanoids Publishing (March 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193065247X
• ISBN-13: 978-1930652477
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,398,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Space Opera? How About Space Shakespeare?, November 7, 2002

By 

Michael Hall (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Metabarons: Path of the Warrior (Paperback)

Several things I'd read about this prior to buying it called it "space opera." After reading the first volume, I would say it's more like "space Shakespeare." I don't mean Love's Labors Lost. Think Titus Andronicus in all it's rape/mutilation/torture/dismemberment/cannibalism glory.

Our story begins with--and all too frequently returns to--a framing sequence in which one robot spins yarns of the beginnings of the Metabaron clan to another. These bookend pieces are awkward in the extreme. They make far too much use of such non-futuristic terms as "diodes" and "circuits" and "ultra-coolant." It is likely that they are just as awkward in the original French, and not simply a victim of the tyrrany of translation. Fortunately, its well worth fighting through these bits to get to the meat of the tale.

Thats where the payoff comes. We're presented with Othon Von Salza, an average enough crown prince of an average enough planet until the entire galaxy takes an interest in the family's powerful secret. Through a complex series of events--involving love, betrayal, intergalactic politics, space warfare, genital mutilation by laser blaster, mechanical space sharks, more space warfare, and genetically-engineered hermaphroditic fetuses (I'm not making this up)--Othon transforms into the irredeemably nasty patriarch of the ultra-powerful and self-abusive Metabarons.

The most frustrating thing about this story is its sheer density. There are six untold tangent stories hovering between the frames of each page. An obviously rich and complex back-story is sped past like so much roadside scenery, sometimes at the cost of clarity. But what story we get is engrossing and compelling, if perhaps a little gut-wrenching.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New DC Version Available, January 19, 2005

By 

J. Bukalski "comic book scholar" (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Metabarons: Path of the Warrior (Paperback)

This seems to be the first Humanoids volume of the series. DC has taken over English distribution for Humanoids, [...]

The DC version is slightly different. This one collects the first five issues. The DC one goes back to the French original volumes and collects the first two, serialized by Humanoids as the first four issues. In other words, this Humanoids volume has half a book more in it, but that material opens the second DC volume. The DC versions are on cheaper paper but in a wider format that doesn't leave the white space at the top and bottom of the page, which the Humanoids versions (on high-grade paper) have. Also, the Humanoids versions were censored: clothes are added in some scenes.

In response to Avik Kumar Maitra, that 10-page story telling the origin of the clan was reprinted by Humanoids in a slim volume along with other miscellany, including pages cut from Incal showing the Metabaron and a preview of a new Metabarons series. The same 10-page story is included in the back of the first DC volume, the same one linked to above.

-- Julian Darius, Sequart.com (for the sophisticated study of comic books and graphic novels)

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The French Frank Herbert, May 30, 2003

By 

"yogsothoth666" (Saturn VB) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Metabarons: Path of the Warrior (Paperback)

You know it's true. Your inner teenage brat is crying out for something in which the forces of light can clearly trump the forces of darkness, even if they have to be as evil as the the bad guys. Jodorowsky is your man. Because his artists have lots of time to do their art, the art is always stunning. One of the reviewers here complained of cliches in the story. And there are times when the resolution to problems seems too pat. But the plot twists are so durned hilarious that you can completely overlook it.

My sole complaint with this series of books is directed at Humanoids Publishing. I would really prefer to see this whole series collected in a giant edition, like Marvel is doing with Grant Morrison's X-Men (usually also quite amusing) and Bendis's Spider-Man. That way we get the art at the size it was intended to be seen at AND we get the entire story arc.