The Incal
Encyclopedia
The Incal is a set of science fiction
comic book
series written in French by Alejandro Jodorowsky
and illustrated by Moebius
and others. The Incal takes place in, and introduced Jodorowsky's "Jodoverse", a fictional universe
in which his science fiction comics take place.
n capital city of an insignificant planet in a human
-dominated galactic empire
. (The Bergs, aliens who resemble featherless birds and reside in a neighboring galaxy
, make up another power bloc.) DiFool receives the Light Incal, a crystal of enormous powers, from a dying Berg. The Incal is then sought by many factions: the Bergs; the corrupt and decadent government of the great pit-city; the rebel group Amok; and the Church of Industrial Saints (commonly referred to as the Techno-Technos or the Technopriests
), a sinister technocratic cult which worships the Dark Incal. Animah (an allusion to anima), the keeper of the Light Incal, seeks it as well.
, metaphysics, and satire; a counterpoint to the grandiosity of the events is always Difool's base, even cowardly nature. Every major character in The Incal is based upon Tarot
cards – for example, John Difool is based upon The Fool
with his name being a pun upon "John, the Fool". (A small friendly companion, like Deepo in The Incal, accompanies the Fool on his journey.) Animah's name is based on the Jungian concept of the anima, the feminine part of every male's psyche.
Universe. The ones translated into English
are John Difool avant l'Incal, a prequel
to The Incal with artwork by Zoran Janjetov
, La Caste des Méta-Barons
(artwork by Juan Giménez
), which relates the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors prior to The Incal leading up to the Metabaron is the metabaron from the Incal stories. Technopriests
with artwork by Zoran Janjetov and Megalex. The later volumes of some of these works have not to date received English translations.
, director of The Fifth Element
, claiming that the film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. In a 2002 interview with Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky actually claimed that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas. Jodorowsky believes that authors do not create the stories they tell as much as they make personal interpretations of mytheme
s shared by the collective unconscious
.
(a division of Marvel Comics
) as a part of their Epic Graphic Novels line, and later by Humanoids Publishing, a division of DC Comics
. The more recent Humanoids Publishing version was recolored in a more modern style and had the nudity censored
. Humanoids also published The Incal prequel Before the Incal in its first English edition, initially as a twelve issue limited series
and later as two graphic novel
s. In December 2010, Humanoids released a limited edition oversized hardcover edition of The Incal. There were only 750 copies of this comic printed. In 2011 more hardcovers were released by Humanoids Publishing in the USA and Self Made Hero
in the UK. Smaller than the oversized hardcover edition they resemble it in that they restore the original colouring and remove the censorship.
To date After the Incal and Final Incal have not appeared in English. They are, however, expected to be released by Humanoids Publishing in 2012.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series written in French by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky, known as Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, comic book writer and spiritual guru...
and illustrated by Moebius
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
and others. The Incal takes place in, and introduced Jodorowsky's "Jodoverse", a fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
in which his science fiction comics take place.
List of main characters
- John DiFool, a P.I.Private investigatorA private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
and occasional bodyguard. DiFool has no interest in being a hero, has mood swingMood swing-Associated disorders:Mood swings are commonly associated with mood disorders including bipolar disorder and depression. In patients with cases of bipolar disorder, the patient experiences serious mood swings that last for days or even weeks...
s and suffers from self-doubt and temper tantrums in which he threatens to walk away and assume a comfortable life, preferably with Animah. He has a fondness for cigars, 'ouiksy'WhiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
and 'homeosluts' (gynoidGynoidA gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
prostitutes). - Deepo, his loyal and good-hearted "concrete seagull", who is generally smarter and more resourceful than John himself. Early in the story, the Light Incal gives him the power of speechTalking animalA talking animal or speaking animal refers to any form of non-human animal which can produce sounds resembling those of a human language. Many species or groups of animals have developed forms of Animal Communication Systems which to some appear to be a non-verbal language...
. - Animah and Tanatah, two sisters charged with guarding the Light and Dark Incals, respectively. Tanatah hired the Metabaron to kill John Difool and bring back his body and with it the Light Incal. Animah, who originally safeguarded the Light Incal, has psychic powers. Tanatah is also the head of the rebel group called the Amok.
- The MetabaronMetabaronsThe Metabarons or The Saga of The Meta-Barons is a science fantasy comic series relating the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors known as the Metabarons. The Metabarons series was written by creator Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Argentinian artist Juan Gimenez...
, the greatest bounty hunterBounty hunterA bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
, mercenaryMercenaryA mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
and fighter aceFighter AceFighter Ace was a massively multiplayer online computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots...
in the known universe and adopted father of Solune. The Metabaron is originally sent to kill John Difool by Tanatah. The Metabaron returned John in a frozen state without killing him, knowing that Tanatah was not going to keep her part of the deal. - The androgynous messiahMessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
Solune, the adopted child of the Metabaron and the biological child of Animah and John DiFool. Like Animah, Solune has immense psychic powers. - Kill Wolfhead, an anthropomorphic wolf mercenary in Tanatah's employ. He holds a grudge against Difool because the latter pierced his ear with a gun.
Plot and setting
The story begins in the dystopiaDystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n capital city of an insignificant planet in a human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
-dominated galactic empire
Galactic empire
Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fiction and science fantasy, particularly in space opera. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background, or written about the growth or decline of such an empire...
. (The Bergs, aliens who resemble featherless birds and reside in a neighboring galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
, make up another power bloc.) DiFool receives the Light Incal, a crystal of enormous powers, from a dying Berg. The Incal is then sought by many factions: the Bergs; the corrupt and decadent government of the great pit-city; the rebel group Amok; and the Church of Industrial Saints (commonly referred to as the Techno-Technos or the Technopriests
Technopriests
The Technopriests is an eight-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, artist Zoran Janjetov, and colorist Fred Beltran.- Story :...
), a sinister technocratic cult which worships the Dark Incal. Animah (an allusion to anima), the keeper of the Light Incal, seeks it as well.
Themes and tone
The series mixes space operaSpace opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
, metaphysics, and satire; a counterpoint to the grandiosity of the events is always Difool's base, even cowardly nature. Every major character in The Incal is based upon Tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
cards – for example, John Difool is based upon The Fool
The Fool (Tarot card)
The Fool or The Jester is one of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck; one of the 22 Trump cards that make up the Major Arcana. The Fool is unnumbered...
with his name being a pun upon "John, the Fool". (A small friendly companion, like Deepo in The Incal, accompanies the Fool on his journey.) Animah's name is based on the Jungian concept of the anima, the feminine part of every male's psyche.
The Jodoverse
The Incal was the first comic set in what became the Jodoverse or MetabaronsMetabarons
The Metabarons or The Saga of The Meta-Barons is a science fantasy comic series relating the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors known as the Metabarons. The Metabarons series was written by creator Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Argentinian artist Juan Gimenez...
Universe. The ones translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
are John Difool avant l'Incal, a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to The Incal with artwork by Zoran Janjetov
Zoran Janjetov
Zoran Janjetov is a Serbian comics artist. He lives in Novi Sad. Janjetov is best known as the illustrator of The Technopriests, written by Alejandro Jodorowsky. In 1986 he was chosen by Moebius to continue his work The Incal.- Biography :At very early age he started to draw with a strong support...
, La Caste des Méta-Barons
Metabarons
The Metabarons or The Saga of The Meta-Barons is a science fantasy comic series relating the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors known as the Metabarons. The Metabarons series was written by creator Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Argentinian artist Juan Gimenez...
(artwork by Juan Giménez
Juan Gimenez
Juan Antonio Giménez López is an Argentine comic book artist.-Biography:Giménez López was born in Mendoza, Argentina...
), which relates the history of a dynasty of perfect warriors prior to The Incal leading up to the Metabaron is the metabaron from the Incal stories. Technopriests
Technopriests
The Technopriests is an eight-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, artist Zoran Janjetov, and colorist Fred Beltran.- Story :...
with artwork by Zoran Janjetov and Megalex. The later volumes of some of these works have not to date received English translations.
Legal issues
Moebius and Jodorowsky sued Luc BessonLuc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
, director of The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
, claiming that the film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. In a 2002 interview with Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky actually claimed that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas. Jodorowsky believes that authors do not create the stories they tell as much as they make personal interpretations of mytheme
Mytheme
In the study of mythology, a mytheme is the essential kernel of a myth—an irreducible, unchanging element, a minimal unit that is always found shared with other, related mythemes and reassembled in various ways—"bundled" was Claude Lévi-Strauss's image— or linked in more...
s shared by the collective unconscious
Collective unconscious
Collective unconscious is a term of analytical psychology, coined by Carl Jung. It is proposed to be a part of the unconscious mind, expressed in humanity and all life forms with nervous systems, and describes how the structure of the psyche autonomously organizes experience...
.
The Incal
- L'Incal Noir ("The Dark Incal") (1981)
- L'Incal Lumière ("The Light Incal") (1982)
- Ce qui est en bas (1984)
- Ce qui est en haut (1985)
- La cinquième essence - Galaxie qui Songe (1988)
- La cinquième essence - La planète Difool (1989)
Before the Incal
- Adieu le père ("Goodbye to father") (1988)
- Détective privé de "Classe R" ("Class R Detective") (1990)
- Croot! (1991)
- Anarchopsychotiques ("Psychoanarchists") (1992)
- Ouisky, SPV et homéoputes ("Ouisky, SPV and homeowhores") (1993)
- Suicide Allée ("Suicide Alley") (1995)
- A prequel series to the first Incal series, published after it.
After the Incal
- Le nouveau reve ("The New Dream") (2000)
- Final Incal ("Final Incal") (2011)
The Incal in English
The Incal was published in three volumes by Epic ComicsEpic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
(a division of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
) as a part of their Epic Graphic Novels line, and later by Humanoids Publishing, a division of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. The more recent Humanoids Publishing version was recolored in a more modern style and had the nudity censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. Humanoids also published The Incal prequel Before the Incal in its first English edition, initially as a twelve issue limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
and later as two graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s. In December 2010, Humanoids released a limited edition oversized hardcover edition of The Incal. There were only 750 copies of this comic printed. In 2011 more hardcovers were released by Humanoids Publishing in the USA and Self Made Hero
Self Made Hero
SelfMadeHero is a British graphic novel and manga publishing company, and imprint of Metro Media Ltd, who specialise in adapting works of literature.They launched with two lines in 2007:...
in the UK. Smaller than the oversized hardcover edition they resemble it in that they restore the original colouring and remove the censorship.
To date After the Incal and Final Incal have not appeared in English. They are, however, expected to be released by Humanoids Publishing in 2012.