4 out of 5

Metal Hurlant’s 2024 series publishers are still figuring out the tone / composition of the series; I’m figuring out how I want to review it.

The previous issue was all about celebrating the past, which was understandable but made the book feel a bit indulgent. The split between old and new tales was purposefully 50 / 50, and while I love classic Hurlant, I also have some personal squabbles with its general tone, which obviously carried over. The team definitely made good on making this issue favor new material – about a 70 / 30 split – and the editing / curation (Jerry Frissen, Fabrice Giger, Amanda Lucido, Jake Thomas) has provided well conceived groupings of stories and articles, introduced once more by compelling summaries from Jake Thomas. However, I think I want just a little more balance in tone, as we’ve swung from a kind of overly chiding “we are the kings of free thought” sci-fi – the classic material – to overly poetic / open-ended tales in the new stuff. I realize this is personal preference, but when we get samples of slightly more linear works, or more classically speculative sci-fi, or funnier stuff, I get the buzz I want: that is, in 200+ pages, I think you can afford to support your theme of challenging forms of expression, and disruptive ideas, but also do a nice range of story types. This might make me less critical of the contents, which I often find favor artfulness over comicness; pages don’t necessarily flow in a way that makes me want to dawdle on each panel.

That criticism stated, this is still an amazing anthology. I’m criticizing the voice, but the voice that’s here is undeniably strong, informed by decades in the business, now with a wealth of creators from whom to choose. And despite my nit about the storytelling, so much of this art is dreamy, as the ideas are compelling, even if / when the execution is lacking. It is, once again, an easy read. I just hope for one that hits me a little harder with more frequency.

Lastly, though, I’ll again highlight designers Frissen and Caroline Melamed for making a gorgeous looking and feeling book. Slight flub on the table of contents with the color highlights mismarking a classic tale as a new one, but mentioning that just makes me an asshole.

Once I feel like this series has settled – and maybe that will be as soon as the next volume – I might go in for story by story reviews. We’ll see!