Azimut by Wilfred Lupano
Art by Jean-Baptiste Andreae

(Titan Comics, 2022)

Reviewed by John Dodd

There was a tale of the time snatcher, who had power over all things, and both gave and took time as it suited them to do. Thought by many to be a legend, a story to frighten children, still the dominion of time holds sway over everyone, and many seek to find a way to escape that inevitability.

It begins with La Perue, out at sea for two years, finding himself upon the beaches of the new world that he has sought for so long, only to find that someone has taken away the ability of the world to navigate without him knowing, and he is instead on the very shores that he departed so long ago, to the amusement of many and the multitude of humiliation that he must endure.

Someone has stolen the north, and any form of navigation will be impossible going forwards, but still the search continues, with rich and detailed characters such as Aristide, the boy who lost his father as he chased after a legendary bird; to Manie, who may be any or all of a princess, a thief, and a charlatan; of Flu the rabbit who is far more than he seems, and the mystic beasts they encounter.

The story is told in keeping with the style of artwork, and the vistas shown are wild and imaginative, cities in the clouds, sand elementals that consort with rabbits, the nature of the snatcher and bank of time, and the ongoing mystery that is where navigation and time have both gone and how someone could have stolen them. New elements to the story often come out of nowhere, with no prior warning of what had happened and how things came to be what they are. It lends an air of wonderous mystery to the story, but in some cases, characters that you’ve been led to believe are innocuous are suddenly possessed of phenomenal cosmic power, and there’s nothing in the story prior that hints at it. This makes for magnificent marvels, but it also means that by the end of the book, you’re wondering which will be the next character to manifest abilities well beyond what you thought they had. This slowed the reading of the novel as I found myself looking for hints that may or may not be there as to what will be happening next. It’s not a bad thing to work for the story you’re reading, indeed it makes you appreciate it all the more when you get to the end, but it isn’t a casual read to dip in and out of.

In the way of gods and monsters, there’s an ongoing narrative that things that the world needs have been taken from it. Deals have been made with creatures that have power far beyond that of mortals, creatures that are every bit as covetous of that power and control as any mortal, but exist only for themselves.

This was a wild and vivid story, showing a wide range of imagination and thought, the artwork was consistent throughout, and while the images and ideas often veered into things younger readers would not understand, it was both coherent and intriguing. The only issue I found was that there was a lot of travelling between the set pieces, and while every part of that travel had a purpose and added to the story, there was a lot of it to get through. I would like to know more of the world in which it was set, as its clear that there was far more to it than had been hinted at, which is not to say that there weren’t amazing things in there, just that those amazing things were often brushed past as a matter of scenery.

I did enjoy this, it was both interesting and bold, and although I did find myself wondering at several parts of it, the conclusion was satisfying and well thought through.

Review from BSFA Review 18 - Download your copy here.