XIII [Paperback]

William Vance (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics; Direct Ed edition (2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785126538
• ISBN-13: 978-0785126539
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story and art from Europe, May 28, 2007

By 

J. Grubbs "Tintin fan" (Boca Raton, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XIII (Paperback)

I played the game for XIII and it is great to have the opportunity to read the original story from Europe. Very cool artwork and the story is fun and exciting too. I encourage you to check it out. You won't be disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars XIIII, September 15, 2009

By 

Lee Chilcs - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: XIII (Paperback)

This is a great series. The Dabble Brothers did a terrible job of marketing this. I am afraid that other titles in this series will never be translated to English. Still, this one book is lots of fun. Fast paced and well drawn.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Espionage classic, May 13, 2009

By 

Matko Vladanovic (Zagreb, Croatia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: XIII (Paperback)

I remember the game, few years back, with unusual graphics and rather cartoonish feel. Text on the box said that it was immensely popular somewhere, but somehow it didn't sound right. Maybe I don't recall to well, but the game was published during the rise of powerful video-cards in which all of game studios battled for supremacy in visual representation of the world. XIII just couldn't fit into that frame. Years passed and I forgot about game, thrown myself into the murky waters of criticism, and eventually stumbled upon this comic. Something clicked inside the head, and I wanted to see, what was the fuss about back then.

William Vance I knew from his earlier works (Ramiro, Bruce J. Hawker, Bruno Brazil), but somehow I never quite got the chance to read something that became one of the most popular series in France. Rather disappointed with Brazil and Ramiro (tho this wasn't Vance's fault, it was more a matter of script), I was reluctant to take this one into hand. When it finally came in translation, curiosity prevailed, and I found myself drowning into the world of these pages.

It opens quite standard, with a man in the water, with gun wound on the head. Found by the couple of older people in some god-forsaken place in America, soon we learn that he's suffering from amnesia. His long term memory has been damaged, but as soon as bullets starts flying, and first body hit the floor, we learn that his reflexes are just as good as they have been. He has a tattooed mark of XIII on his clavicle and all that interest him (and by that time us) is an answer to a question - who am I?

This is the beginning of a journey that will span numerous albums, towns and locations, journey which will lead XIII and his reader into the world of elaborate plotting, assassinations, espionage and counter-espionage. There will also be a place for sentiment, for yearning, and lost loves - which will make of XIII something other than just another spook-comic.

This first album marks the territory. It's simple enough yet it's intriguing enough. In a way it resembles the Bourne of Robert Ludlum, and Bond of Ian Fleming. Without high-class Bondism, without complicated storyline of Bourne, XIII is easy enough, and compelling enough (if you like these kind of stories of course) for everyone to enjoy. As a standalone it is not a great comic in any way. There are far more better, prettier and more challenging than this one. But, as a member of genre that has it's admirers it stands as one great beacon of light. It's intelligent with just enough dose of naiveté, it's wonderfully drawn (Vance's exteriors are thing of beauty on itself), and, for those of you to whom this is important, it shows a great insight into the world of French comics. Is this translation any good I couldn't tell. But, considering that the language used here is not very challenging (comic is supposed to be read on every level), I suppose that translator had easy time. In any way, if you're into this kind of stories, you shouldn't miss this one. Twenty years has passed since it was published, and status of classic is well deserved indeed.