The Chimpanzee Complex Volume 3 – Civilisation
- Jun 6, 2016
- 2 min read
The Chimpanzee Complex Volume 3 – Civilisation, by Richard Marazano & Jean-Michel Ponzio, Cinebook
IN THIS conclusion to a three volume tale that has had a second Neil Armstrong return to Earth, a man calling himself Yuri Gagarin quoting mad theories in a cave on Mars, and the crew that went out in search of what this mystery all might mean pretty much dying in space, we’re left with a tale of 'Where do we go from here?'
If we can go at all?
Helen awakes from a 70 year long cryogenic sleep, as does Alexsa... Alex (a female) already has, but she’s not on board the spaceship that they are. She’s made the journey to a giant craft floating in space beside them. With everyone else dead, the pair put on spacesuits and make the journey themselves.
The inside front cover of this collection comes with quotes aplenty praising the series. The Birmingham Mail Speech Balloons by myself reads: “It’s a poignant story, both suspense thriller and emotional rollercoaster. Marazano’s story could easily be translated to a quality TV series or the big screen and prove successful, but it’s with Ponzio’s photo-realistic art that it truly becomes compelling.”
Those facts remains pretty much true.
Other reviews had commented that it reminds them of 2001, A Space Odyssey (the film or original book I’m not quite clear), whereas the dark hues and atmospheric cinematic trawling in this final book, more so than even the others, reminds me of Aliens, the films and like a superior version of Dark Horse’s licensed comics.
I can’t give much of the story away, but there are twists, some half-expected, but there is still a slight ambiguity to its conclusion. This volume focuses on mystery, discoveries and further outré scientific theories and so divorces itself from some of the very human deliberations people face on a one to one basis. Most notably in The Chimpanzee Complex Helen’s relationship to her young daughter Sofia, who she left on Earth and who then ran away... For myself as a reader, I was always worried about the child, waiting for her to turn up in some unsuspecting panel or page so I could be sure the fictional character was okay; it seems she was, and there’s the empowering quality to this story. Many of us may have preferred Sofia’s tale to be told in a different way, but perhaps by viewing it in retrospect from Helen's, a mother too pre-occupied by her own potential destiny, we can better appreciate its value. I’m not sure. I guess I’m being too sentimental about lines on paper, but it also shows the story worked.
You will need to have read the previous volumes to appreciate this conclusion.
For more information on The Chimpanzee Complex visit Cinebook.
Sponsored by Target Media.
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