Yoko Tsuno Book 7 – The Curious Trio
Yoko Tsuno Book 7 – The Curious Trio, by Roger Leloup, Cinebook
THE THING I find curious about this book is why Cinebook chose until now to publish the original Yoko Tsuno story rather than running the series in chronological order.
It’s possible they were looking to branch off and develop books targeted more towards both younger readers in general and female ones in particular when they began printing it in English and selected isolated tales they thought best suited that, but I honestly think they should have run with The Curious Trio from the get-go.
Those other tales fit the niche market they may have been trying to find, but this one sits more comfortably in the Cinebook house style, as such, being a thriller of sorts (so akin to Lady S) with a sci-fi element (reminiscent of Valerian). Whatever the reason, it appeals to the more grown-up reader on several levels.
Establishing Yoko’s friends Vic and Pol background in television, and their intent to produce more investigative journalist work propels the story forward, for as walking home after work they see a cat burglar and head of in pursuit only for it to be revealed as Yoko testing a construction site’s security.
Discovering her engineering background leads to them inviting her to work them on a freelance production they are about to instigate. This has them donning wetsuits and exploring underground rivers, which is when it all gets weird, coming upon a race of aliens who crash landed on Earth many centuries ago and are now slowly awakening. There’s a good versus evil angle, that goes a bit Kree-Skrull War-ish for old Marvel Comics fans (blink and you may miss that section though), and it’s an adventure and a half with us learning to know and care about the three main characters; groaning at most of Pol’s corny antics, respecting Yoko’s logical and humanistic values and just enjoying it for what it all is – A well crafted book intended for the young (at heart), espousing good morals without preaching overtly and produced with an art style not to dissimilar to classic Hanna Barbera animation series, all concluding with a happy ending.
For more on Yoko Tsuno visit Cinebook.
Sponsored by Target Media.
