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Aldebaran 2: The Group

Léo
Art: Léo

Reviewed by Lorenzo Princi
Aldebaran 2: The Group by Léo
Cover Concept by Lorenzo Princi, 7 July 2017

Mark Sorenson fulfills his lifelong dream of going to Anatolia, unfortunately, he’s in a state prison. It’s been 3 years since the events of The Catastrophe and Mark has no idea how much longer he’ll be inside, never truly being judged or sentenced. Aid however, does come, if from an unlikely, old acquaintance who’ll ensure a prison break is only the beginning of another adventure.

The Group unravels many of the mystery setup in The Catastrophe with one particular shocking revelation and reveals more about the society and why the population don’t seem as technology advanced as we’d expect on a planet colonised by interstellar travelers. The Group also delves deeper into the social political landscape of Aldebaran, discovering how a ruling fascist government subtly maintains order by controlling such things as media and entertainment. Small liberal, activist pockets are spread across Anatolia, and our young protagonist, Mark and Kim have their eyes opened wide by the goings on in the capital, far from the small and safe village where they were sheltered from such wild ideas as underground music bars.

As in The Catastrophe, character development and the complex relationships between ‘the group’ are the elements which keep one scanning through the panels however the imaginative world building, fresh science fiction concepts and action/adventure plot beats don’t let up either. The stakes are certainly raised for Mark and Kim, who learn more about their world and are thrust into dangerous situations due to their loss of innocence.

Much like The Catastrophe, Léo only reveals new information about the Aldebaran universe as it applies to the story, limiting exposition, however at times the narration doesn’t make sense, at least not as we are led to believe that Mark is the narrator of the series, if so, there are sections he could not narrate. I may be missing something, or there is another reveal to come, in any case, I’m very much looking forward to the final chapter in the Aldebaran phase of Léo’s immense series.

Tags: aldebaran
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