5 out of 5

‘Masked’ is one of the most gripping debuts I’ve read in a bit, properly trailing out its concepts and world building in a manner that feels completely natural.  In part this is due to our somewhat new-to-the-world protagonist, Braffort, returning to a drastically advanced Paris after retiring from the world for several years, giving us a POV that justifies some widescreen awe, but this narrative technique nonetheless can fall flat if those in charge of applying it – artist and author – don’t do it effectively.  Serge Lehman, however, knows pacing, and seems to understand space on the page, giving the amazing Stéphane Créty room to impress us when necessary, his meticulously balanced panels given clarity by Julien Hogonnard – Bert’s (?) inks and richness from Gaétan Georges’ colors, all of this gloriously packaged in a tall hardcover from Titan.  The balance mentioned is especially important in a big-scale book like ‘Masked,’ where the temptation to over-stuff cityscapes (cough cough Transmet) can be fun but quickly tiresome to the eye; Lehman shifts between tourism – dialogue, wide-open vantages – and tight, beat-by-beat moments of action, Créty smartly dropping his background detailing when focus simply needs to be on motion.  All of this makes an impression even without reading the story, which starts fascinating from page one and then just gets more and more so with each passing page.

In the world of Masked, ‘Anomalies’ have begun to appear over the last few years – intelligences formed of mechanics; some simple organisms, some advancing to resemble humanoid figures.  No one’s sure of the how or why of these Anomalies, but people have of course formed opinions on different sides of the matter, with Anomalous Phenomena Squad (APS) hoping to police the growths, and the very public and popular Joel Beauregard, Prefect of Greater Paris seemingly supportive of the entities, or at least more fascinated than frightened and hoping to learn more…  Something with which he hopes Brafford can help, for reasons we start to discover in this first volume.

The story hints at tropes and then deftly swerves, every character and beat feeling unique to the world.  The translation (Edward Gauvin) is also aces, zero moments that feel like giveaways that you’re reading a foreign text, including the full in-story text piece in the back that truly compliments the tale and titillates for access to the next book.  Titan Comics gobbling up of these foreign volumes and spitting them out as hardcovers can seem a bit questionable at times in terms of dough to dole out, but ‘Masked’ is the full package, absolutely worth the $15 cover price.