The Survivors

The Worlds of Aldebaran (French: Les Mondes d'Aldébaran) is a French science-fiction comic series written and illustrated by Léo and published by Dargaud in French and Cinebook in English. The Aldebaran saga is divided into 3 cycles: Aldebaran and its sequels Betelgeuse and Antares. Each cycle is composed of some five albums, and each corresponds to a different planet. Although it is possible to read the cycles separately, they are chronological to form a coherent whole. Each cycle (and thus planet) introduces new secondary characters, although the central heroes of the story remain constant. In 2011 we saw the release of a new volume, Survivors (French: Survivants), which will introduce a new set of characters and take place concurrently with Antares.

During the early days of the colonisation of Aldebaran, the second colony ship is lost in transit with all hands, prompting Earth to abandon the project and strand the first wave of colonists. And yet, not everyone perished with the ship. A small group of survivors find themselves on a shuttle, headed towards an unexplored planet. Faced with the dangers of their new home as well as dissensions within the group, they soon discover they may not be alone…

Antares

The Worlds of Aldebaran (French: Les Mondes d'Aldébaran) is a French science-fiction comic series written and illustrated by Léo and published by Dargaud in French and Cinebook in English. The Aldebaran saga is divided into 3 cycles: Aldebaran and its sequels Betelgeuse and Antares. Each cycle is composed of some five albums, and each corresponds to a different planet. Although it is possible to read the cycles separately, they are chronological to form a coherent whole. Each cycle (and thus planet) introduces new secondary characters, although the central heroes of the story remain constant. In 2011 we saw the release of a new volume, Survivors (French: Survivants), which will introduce a new set of characters and take place concurrently with Antares.

Humanity migrates to a new planet, the secrets of which Kim Keller will have to unravel.
After the failure of the Betelgeuse colonisation mission, Kim is back on Earth, where she is an increasingly popular figure. Meanwhile, advance scouts on planet Antares have witnessed some distressingly strange events. Worried about the future of this new mission, the sponsors of the Antares project call upon Kim to accompany the first colonists, offering legal amnesty for Alexa and Mark in exchange. It’s the beginning of a new adventure for the young woman and her friends.

Betelgeuse

The Worlds of Aldebaran (French: Les Mondes d'Aldébaran) is a French science-fiction comic series written and illustrated by Léo and published by Dargaud in French and Cinebook in English. The Aldebaran saga is divided into 3 cycles: Aldebaran and its sequels Betelgeuse and Antares. Each cycle is composed of some five albums, and each corresponds to a different planet. Although it is possible to read the cycles separately, they are chronological to form a coherent whole. Each cycle (and thus planet) introduces new secondary characters, although the central heroes of the story remain constant. In 2011 we saw the release of a new volume, Survivors (French: Survivants), which will introduce a new set of characters and take place concurrently with Antares.

Mark and Kim are sent to Betelgeuse to look for survivors of the spacecraft crash that killed 3,000 people seven years earlier. They do find survivors, among them Tazio Menegaz and Colonel Logan, who tell them the colonisers had been divided over whether the Iums (indigenous creatures) are as intelligent as humans. If they are, the humans would have been forced to abandon their colonising enterprise according to UN laws. Kim decides to investigate for herself.

Aldebaran

The Worlds of Aldebaran (French: Les Mondes d'Aldébaran) is a French science-fiction comic series written and illustrated by Léo and published by Dargaud in French and Cinebook in English. The Aldebaran saga is divided into 3 cycles: Aldebaran and its sequels Betelgeuse and Antares. Each cycle is composed of some five albums, and each corresponds to a different planet. Although it is possible to read the cycles separately, they are chronological to form a coherent whole. Each cycle (and thus planet) introduces new secondary characters, although the central heroes of the story remain constant. In 2011 we saw the release of a new volume, Survivors (French: Survivants), which will introduce a new set of characters and take place concurrently with Antares.

Aldebaran was the first planet outside the solar system colonized by humans. However, almost immediately after its 1500 settlers arrived, all contact with Earth was lost. A hundred years later, some Aldebarans (like Kim) are expecting contact to be reestablished any day while others (like Mark) would rather concentrate on “reality”--i.e., chasing girls, getting laid, and moving to the big city. Unfortunately both dreams seem destined to come to nothing as a never-before-seen creature emerges from the ocean depths to destroy their village and families, and sending Kim and Mark on an odyssey across their planet that will entangle them in politics and rebellion.

I love the amount of thought and detail writer and illustrator Leo (just “Leo”) has put into his world building. You can lose yourself in studying the variety of Aldebaran’s flora and fauna. Some of the sea creatures are H.R. Giger-esque in their powerful alienness. Others, like the human-faced Amedea, are frightening because of their unfamiliar familiarity. Then there are the sand octopi, who have a terrifyingly effective adaptation that allows them to trap their prey.