‘Irons: Volume 1 ‘The Engineer’.
Written by Tristan Roulot.
Art by Luc Brahy.
57 pages - Full Colour - £3.99 (digital only).
Published by Europe Comics.
Released 21/2/2019.
The Story - ‘Meet Jack Irons. He's a cold son-of-a-bitch, but he's got a gift. He can look at a disaster—a fallen bridge, a collapsed skyscraper—and see everything: the physics, the material stresses, the behind-the-scenes insight into how it all went wrong, claiming lives and property. Makes sense: he's a structural engineer. And when he applies his brilliant, analytical mind to crimefighting, then the truth will out. Because that's what he cares about. Not people. Not feelings. The truth. And the truth is about to turn a little Canadian fishing village upside down...’
The Review - Let’s start with that cover! I posted it on my Twitter feed last night (what would modern life be without posting everything that you do/read/see/think on social media? I digress, many apologies.) and it got quite a few comments. It’s a great image that speaks to a tragedy on a big and bleak canvas. A quick look may have you thinking that you have picked up yet another End of the World comic book. But this is much more than that old and dry cliche.
I have to say that opening sequence, that is in fact a flashback from the antihero’s past, is probably one of the tensest sequences I have ever read in a comic. (I’ll partially spoil this as it does appear on the ComiXology preview pages section.) The Irons family fall into a deep river in their car as the palpable cold of their world hits the reader emotionally. As the water pressure builds up on the closed windows the father remains calm although his family are scared and severely injured from crashing downwards. He tells them what to do when the water invades the car’s interior. You are literally on the edge of your seat. I was breathless at this incredible scene. This frightening scene will also come back to haunt Irons years later in another chilling sequence later.
This book is a mystery in the same way that Watchmen in a mystery. It has that whodunnit element as it’s central conceit but speaks to much bigger and possibly important issues than who broke the bridge. This is a story about a community that is based around the fishing industry. A society that is well past the tipping point of falling into the poverty trap and most of the inhabitants of the town and the port are scrabbling to make ends meet. You get real moments between the people in this town as they fight to preserve their way of life.
Walking into this scene in the aforementioned Jack Irons. I would argue with the above story summary and say that outwardly he seems not to care a jot about others. But his actions through this book tell a different story. Albeit that he is pretty much stranded in the snowy town with the collapse of the bridge and he takes to his duties without a small amount of pushing and financial bartering, help he does and very successfully. He has a deep sadness about his that is combined with a stoic intelligence.
‘You really do your best to come off as an asshole don’t you?’
As this book progresses Irons gets pulled into a complicated conspiracy of big business, local law enforcement, crooked politicians and families struggling to survive. Irons make connections in different ways with these townsfolk including the local female sheriff and an ex fisherman who now drives a cab and becomes something of a sounding board.
The art has character and depth and the scenes of deep slushy snow under foot as more comes down in waves from the heavens are really beautifully realised. You feel the layout and personality of this town and it’s inhabitants at every swipe of the guided view. There really are some breathtaking panels that you could stare at all day. I am genuinely in awe of how how does this. (Can Luc draw all the mysteries please?)
Another Europe Comics release that I recommend without reservation. An intelligently told story with emotional depth and social worth. It’ll also keep you guessing throughout.
Head onto ComiXology for more of the same.
If you listen out for the next episode of The Awesome Comics Podcast we’ll have Irina Polianina from Europe Comics on for a chat about all things BD. Irina is also a fan and a goldmine of information about European Comics and what we might be missing here in Blighty.
Find out more about Europe Comics by visiting their site at http://www.europecomics.com or follow them on Twitter @EuropeComics
Many thanks for reading.
Here are some details of the creators for you (many thanks to Europe Comics for the hook up).
Tristan Roulot is a French journalist and scriptwriter, born in Rennes in 1975. After obtaining a Master’s degree in law, he left the judicial sector to devote himself to comics. He started his scriptwriting career with the humorous series Goblin’s (Soleil), illustrated by Corentin Martinage, which has become a great commercial success, with more than 200,000 copies sold. In Canada he met Patrick Hénaff, with whom he created Le Testament du Capitaine Crown (Soleil), a dark and violent two-part thriller. The pair later joined with Philippe Sabbah for Hedge Fund (Le Lombard), a financial drama at five volumes and counting. Roulot has gone on to create Irons (Le Lombard, with Luc Brahy), set in Canada, as well as Arale (Dargaud, with Denis Rodier), which reimagines a Russia that never was, blending fact and dark fantasy into a spellbinding fable on the price of power. Both titles are available through Europe Comics.
Luc Brahy, born in 1964, has always been fascinated by art and adventure. At only two and a half years old, he gravitated toward comic books, and it wasn't long before he was devouring Hergé and Hugo Pratt, and other novelists including Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allen Poe, and Ernest Hemingway. As an adult, he quickly got a foot in the publishing world through advertising and press illustrations, and it wasn't long before he crossed paths with Frank Giroud, with whom he would go on to publish Zoltan (Vents d’ouest, 1994). He later met author Éric Corbeyran, another important encounter for the young artist, and they teamed up on a number of projects, including Imago Mundi (Dargaud, 2003). Over the ensuing years, Brahy went on to establish a variety of successful collaborations, on such series as Insiders Genesis (Dargaud) and Mission Osirak (Dargaud). His most recent work includes the series Irons (Le Lombard, Europe Comics in English), created with Tristan Roulot, which tells the story of the sarcastic and brilliant engineer Jack Irons.
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