XIII x 18 = A Full Set

With our review of The Last Round, downthetubes has now reviewed all 18 of the XIII books published by Cinebook over the last two and a half years - from the beginning of the saga of the amnesiac agent in The Day Of The Black Sun, through two presidential assassinations in America plus an attempted military coup in between them, a Central American revolution and the search for century old Mexican gold coins, right up to its finale.

Written by Jean Van Hamme and translated by Jerome Saincantin, with art by William Vance plus a guest spot by Jean Giraud/Moebius, the series has been, along with Lucky Luke, one of the two mainstays of Cinebook since 2010 with a new XIII title appearing every two months as the company showed its dedication to a series which had never been translated beyond book three before.

Due to the non-graphic novel nature of the 13th French book, The Investigation, and it basically retelling the story up to that point, it was not included in the main Cinebook series although the company have plans to publish it in English later in the year.

Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin spoke to us about the series in 2011 in XIII Questions About XIII while each of the 18 book reviews are listed below.

1 - The Day Of The Black Sun

2 - Where The Indian Walks

3 - All The Tears Of Hell

4 - SPADS

5 - Full Red

6 - The Jason Fly Case

7 - The Night Of August Third

8 - Thirteen To One

9 - For Maria

10 - El Cascador

11 - Three Silver Watches

12 - The Trial

13 - Top Secret

14 - Release The Hounds!

15 - Operation Montecristo

16 - Maximillian's Gold

17 - The Irish Version

18 - The Last Round


• Details of each of the XIII books are available on the Cinebook website along with the first two pages of artwork for each.

• Details of the original French XIII books, and the spin-off series XIII Mysteries, are available of the official XIII website (in French).

• View all the XIII books on amazon.co.uk

In Review: XIII - The Last Round

It has been a long haul, 18 books over almost two and a half years, but Cinebook have stuck with Jean Van Hamme and William Vance's amnesiac tattooed agent XIII and that has lead us all to the final book of the series, The Last Round.

XIII and his friends are still in their safe house in Mexico as they decide what must be done to clear their names in the USA where, unknown to them, two books have been published about the "XIII Mystery" which has made what has been happening public. However before they have a chance to return to the States, their safe house is discovered and attacked.

Pretty much everyone who has survived the last 17 books is in here which is as it should be as the series comes to a conclusion. The last couple of books have tied up the plotlines of the Mexican gold and just exactly who XIII is, although XIII doesn't yet know, which leaves Van Hamme with the problem of clearing the name of a supposed presidential assassin and IRA terrorist in front of a fascinated media which have just read two expose books about the XIII events.

One of these fictional books, The XIII Investigation, is the original 13th French book that Cinebook skipped in their series as it was neither a regular graphic novel nor vital to the ongoing plot due to it retelling what had happened in the series up to that point, while the other fictional book, The Kelly Brian Story, appropriately released by Moebius Publishing, is the equivalent of the XIII series' prequel title The Irish Version illustrated by Jean Giraud.

It is hard to say much about the plot of The Last Round without giving too much away, but Jean Van Hamme gives us an instalment that is both action packed and full of political intrigue as the different factions try to manoeuvre themselves to safety.

As always William Vance's artwork is more than up to the job and, while it was nice to see Jean Giraud's take on the characters' younger selves in the previous title, it is good to see Vance back with his planes, explosions and close-ups of pretty women - and he even manages to squeeze another fight in the rain in there as well.

I first read XIII via CatCom's Code XIII American publication of The Day of The Black Sun, the first book in the series, but I never expected that any English language publisher would ever have the dedication to get deep into the series let alone finish it. It is to Cinebook's credit that they did and, given that it has been such a backbone of their publishing schedule over the last few years, it will be interesting to see what they choose to replace it with.

XIII - The Last Round is a more than satisfying conclusion to a series that has never disappointed over a total of 18 books. If you haven't indulged yet, what are you waiting for?

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII. 

In Review: XIII - Maximilian's Gold

XIII reaches book 16, Maximilian's Gold, in which writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance give readers the conclusion to the golden treasure hunt arc that began in book 11, Three Silver Watches.

XIII, Jones and co have left Costa Verde and are hiding out in Mexico from the US authorities as NSA chief Dick Giordino continues his attempts to capture XIII. In the relative safety of a friendly hotel, they start to unravel the mystery of the numbers and letters that are engraved on the three watches which gives them what they believe may be the location of the 100,000 gold coins that could be worth up to $15 million. However the suggestion that there may be something worth hunting for in the Mexican mountains attracts some unwanted attention.

With only two other books to go after this one in the XIII series, Jean Van Hamme is starting to complete some of the story arcs that he has so carefully plotted in the previous books. Maximilian's Gold is the conclusion to the buried treasure arc as XIII, Jones and others finally decipher the information on the watches and set out to find the gold that Sean Mulligan, who may or may not be XIII's father, has been searching for much of years. However as that goes on, the political machinations in Washington over the presidential assassination and power play that began way back in the first book in the series also begin to reach a climax as NSA chief Giordino shows that he is prepared to do anything to preserve his power base.

The last quarter of this book gives artist William Vance scope to provide some quite unearthly vistas and locations in the mountains where the gold may be hidden to go along with his much more familiar planes, boats and rainfall at the beginning of the book.

We are so close to the end of the XIII saga and Maximilian's Gold gives me hope that after all the plotting and side tracks that Van Hamme and Vance have taken readers down over the last 750+ pages of this ongoing story that the final conclusion will be just as interesting as the trip we have  taken to get there.

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

In Review: XIII - Operation Montecristo

With Operation Montecristo, XIII the series reaches the 15th book of the 18 that Cinebook are releasing and, after a run of solo adventures, writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance get XIII the man back with his friends - albeit not in the most friendly of  situations.

XIII, Major Jones, Colonel Amos, General Carrington, and the Marquis De Preseau and his wife, and ex-SPAD, Betty, have all taken refuge in the central American country of Costa Verde, the president of which is XIII’s former wife Maria De Los Santos. Under pressure from the US, Maria is forced to imprison XIII while the US authorities attempt to extradite him for his “terrorist” activities.

However Maria organises a jail break to free XIII and his friends and get them to a safe house in the country. Whilst there Sean Mullway, who claims to be XIII's father, tells them that he believes he knows the location of the third silver watch which in turn will reveal the location of the gold that XIII’s ancestors hid. He believes that the watch is in the old church of Montecristo which, unfortunately, is now 150 feet below the surface of a dammed reservoir.

After the solo adventures that XIII had in the last two books, which harked back to the style of the earliest books in the series, it is good to get the gang back together again and off on a what is basically a secretive treasure hunt with little of the political machinations that the series has had recently. While it does feel that writer Jean Van Hamme has added a story that doesn’t really need to be there, there must have been a quicker way for XIII to find that third silver watch, this story is great fun with American agents trying to locate XIII and his friends, while they try to find the final clue to the treasure haul.

With XIII and Jones diving into the reservoir in scuba gear, artist William Vance gives readers five consecutive pages of silent underwater panels as our heroes search for the submerged church and then battle the US agents sent to kill them. With only two speech bubbles with question marks in them, those five pages tell the story of the search and battle remarkably well and are a highlight of the book.

As we get close to the conclusion to the XIII series, Operation Montecristo provides a breather to the heavier aspects of the on-going saga and gives readers a fun, action adventure.

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII. 

From all at downthetubes, we wish Cinebook’s sales table maestro Aldous Russell a speedy recovery and hope to see him fit and well at comics events later in the year.

In Review: XIII - Release The Hounds

Just when we thought that we were on top of who exactly XIII is, writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance are out to turn more than just the two cover characters on their heads in the latest book in Cinebook's XIII saga, Release The Hounds!

XIII remains on the run from America's National Security Agency, the NSA, and their double agent Jessica Martin who also works for the illegal Executor organisation run by former KGB agent Irina Svetlanova. Jessica and three other NSA agents are prepared at all costs to stop XIII escaping from them while they are all on a sleeper train in California but, inevitably, he does with a reluctant Jessica in tow and after the high speed action in and around the train, they make their escape in, of all things, a hot air balloon. But can XIII trust a double agent who has tried so hard to kill him?

After the James Bond shenanigans in the second half of the previous book, Top Secret, the train fight on a stormy night at the start of this one comes as no surprise, especially since fights in the rain are such a XIII staple. Yet the aerial escape in a hot air balloon proves to be a short lived quiet interlude as XIII continues to make his way back to his friends in San Miguel via Mexico with a multitude of killers after him.

Jean Van Hamme almost pushes a little too far with this one. Partially I think it is to give William Vance a chance to show off his accurate aviation art as a selection of aircraft (Bell 206L Long Ranger, OV-10 Bronco, and a Cessna Skymaster) put in appearances as XIII heads south from the USA towards his friends in the Caribbean in a succession of different modes of transport. Partially it is also because Jessica's apparent change of heart over killing XIII early on seems a little too convenient to the plot and, given that we already know that she is a double agent, why does XIII suddenly trust her quite so much? However by the end we have an explanation and another twist that leaves XIII in yet another awkward position.

As for that awkward position on the cover, with both XIII and Jessica upside down with Jessica's hair seeming unaffected by gravity, you'll understand it when you read the book.

XIII - Release The Hounds! is not the best chapter in the ongoing XIII story but it remains an enjoyably entertaining one and, with Cinebook skipping the retrospective book in the series, The Investigation, that means there are now only four books to go before the conclusion of the saga when, hopefully, all will be explained. 

There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

In Review: XIII - Top Secret

Who is XIII? Writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance's renegade agent/spy has reached a section of his story arc when we as readers know a lot more about him and the machinations that were going on in the previous books in the series. With major characters from previous stories now dead, XIII is in no less trouble than before in the XIIIth book in the XIII series, Top Secret. 

The events of the previous book, The Trial, despite being in the national interest have left XIII himself on trial for crimes against the United States. The secret trial, orchestrated by the American intelligence community, was never going to be easy for XIII amd while he escapes custody, he ends up captured by former KGB agent Irina Svetlanova who, having lost an eye to XIII in a previous encounter, is in no mood to given him any help.

With the Mongoose dead, writer Jean Van Hamme has to introduce another lurking dangerous killer into the series and so brings the glamorous Irina, who readers have seen in previous books, to the fore. He also adds another American traitor to the cast in the form of NSA agent Jessica Martin and cannot resist the temptation for lesbian undertones in the relationship between the two women. Van Hamme gives this section of the story a James Bond feel, unusual for a XIII plot, by placing Irina in charge of a secret international killing organisation headquartered in a ocean-going ship. Yet for all the Bond styling for the middle of the book the last section of the book gets us back to what the series is best at with XIII on the run for his life.

The Irina/Jessica section of the story gives artist William Vance a brief chance to inject some of the female glamour that would be more common in Van Hamme's Largo Winch books into XIII before getting back to the grim and gritty action that he has shown that he is so good in previous books in the series.

There is a minor trip up in the story when a Provisional IRA terrorist with the unlikely name of Angus Brannigan is brought to the trial to give evidence against XIII and who claims to be  fighting for "the independence of Ulster". That is not something either side has fought for in Ireland over the last century, indeed the concept would be an anathema to the Provisional IRA, and it does seem to suggest that Van Hamme did not have a strong understanding of the conflict was about when he wrote this in 2000. This misstep does concern me a little as to what the penultimate book in the XIII series, The Irish Version, will be like when it is published in English in 2013 but, given that the original French versions were published five years apart, I can hope that Van Hamme would have researched the situation better for that later book.

XIII - Top Secret is a book of two halves with the trial section somewhat exposition heavy and action light while the second half heads off into James Bond/Largo Winch action territory against a somewhat over-the-top villain, yet it remains a XIII book and XIII books are always worth reading.

There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII. 

Cinebook will be selling their range of books including XIII at the Comica Comiket Fall 2012 Independent Comics Fair in the City Of London on Saturday 10 November 2012 and at Thought Bubble's Royal Armouries Hall in Leeds on the weekend of 17-18 November 2012.

In Review: XIII - The Trial

Who is XIII?

For the last two years of these reviews I have listed the current pseudonyms that XIII the man was using over the course of the many books in this series - a list that has grown rather long. However over the last couple of books writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance have revealed the man and his family background so that readers have a much better understanding of who he is and what had happened to him prior to his amnesia shown in the first book. XIII - The Trial, while furthering the main thrust of the XIII story, uses much of that back story as the basis for its plot.

The XIII saga began with the assassination of American President William Sheridan and, over the course of many books, readers discovered that his brother, Wally, was the instigator of that assassination and much of what happened afterwards which finally resulted in Wally becoming the new president of the United States Of America. At his retirement ceremony, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Ben Carrington, whose daughter Kim had been used as part of the greater assassination plot, uses his access to President Sheridan to kidnap him and hold him hostage in a disused underground missile silo. With the American public unaware of the kidnapping, and the US military unable to recapture the silo without the President being killed, Carrington advises that XIII and Major Jones must recapture the dangerous assassin known as The Mongoose and bring him to the silo. With both the President and the Mongoose under his control, General Carrington intends to put President Sheridan on trial for his crimes and broadcast the proceedings for all the nation to see.

The Trial sounds like the rather credulity-stretching plots of one of those cheap TV movies that clutter the evening schedules of the less well known satellite channels. However Van Hamme is such a good writer that he can take the so-so bare bones of the story and weave his XIII tapestry around it resulting in a book that harks back to much of what has gone before and reuses many characters familiar to long time readers, yet remains surprisingly accessible to new readers due to the format of the trial explaining the whole assassination plot. The book is effectively split into three - the initial kidnapping and official reaction to it, XIII and Jones capturing The Mongoose, and finally the trial in the underground silo, and with this episodic timeline it is perhaps not as satisfying as other titles in the series but the ending does establish the characters for the books to come.

Vance's artwork, while dealing with a lot of closed rooms and talking heads during the first and last sections of the story, gets to shine during the middle as XIII and Jones plot to retrieve The Mongoose from his luxurious Caribbean hideaway. While the Pentagon building, Caribbean island and underground silo locales leave Vance little chance for his rapidly-becoming-a-XIII-trademark of a fight in the rain, Jones adds yet another accurately illustrated military jet to the rather long list of Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft that this US Army officer is able to fly (and in this case crash... and walk away from... in the rain).

Twelve books into the series, and with such an overarching plotline, it can be difficult to recommend a jumping on point for this series other than the first book. XIII - The Trial, despite being deeply embedded within the main XIII assassination storyline, is just such a jumping on point as it provides a taster of what has gone before along with the promise of more intrigue to come.

There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

 

In Review: XIII - Three Silver Watches

Who is XIII?

Book 1 - Mr Alan Smith?
Books 2 and 3 - Captain Steve Rowland?
Book 4 - Corporal Ross Tanner?
Book 5 - Agent Jason Fly?
Books 6 and 7 - Writer John Fleming?
Book 8 - Agent Jason McLane?
Book 9 - Arms Dealer Karl Meredith?
Book 10 - Revolutionary El Cascador?

XIII - Three Silver Watches is about to tell us, at least from the point of view of his family history.

The revolution in Costa Verde is over and XIII's wife from his previous life, Maria, is now in charge just in time to discover that the former regime's military commander is planning to attack the capital with the remainder of his troops to take back the country. Maria orders XIII on a suicidal mission to blow-up the one bridge that the tanks must cross over to reach the city. American Sean Mullway goes with him and, as they travel towards the bridge, he uses the time to give XIII the history of his family beginning with three Irish friends who travelled to America to find their fortunes, married three sisters and who were each given a silver watch by their father-in-law.

From the first XIII book showed us all the covers and English titles for the 19 books in the XIII series, this particular book has always intrigued me - just what does the F-15 Eagle air-superiority fighter launching a Sparrow air-to-air missile on its cover have to do with three silver watches? The quick answer is - nothing.

This is a book of two parts, the part in which XIII must lead a small team to destroy a bridge in Costa Verde that will prevent a column of tanks starting a counter revolution, and the part in which Mullway tells XIII a century's worth of his family history. It is the family history that is the most intriguing since the bridge plot, which by the characters' own admission sounds like a war film, only serves to give XIII something to do as he listens to the story of his family.

Indeed this sequence in the book is not helped by the F-15 being the wrong aircraft for the job firing a Sidewinder missile that, as well as being a different missile to the one on the cover, couldn't do what the plot needs it to do. It is the first time in 11 books that writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance have made such a major mis-step in the technical hardware of the series. Vance's art is as accurate a depiction as reader's have come to expect of him which, ironically, is why I can say that the missile is the wrong type. While Van Hamme throws in a couple of the staples of the XIII series - Major Jones being able to fly any aircraft that is put in front of her as well as proving once again to be seemingly indestructible, Vance is able to add one of his own as yet another fight takes place in the rain.

However for all the talk of bridges, planes and missiles, it is the family history that is the main part of this book and a major data dump as regards XIII the man. It begins slowly, almost like the "begats" at the beginning of the New Testament, where we were are inundated with names, marriages and children in a way that does make the reader wonder just where it is heading and if it might actually get interesting at some point. Then all of a sudden the three brothers are fighting for first one side and then the other in the Mexican civil war and the surnames of characters from earlier XIII books are introduced and previously unknown family relationships between them and XIII are established.

XIII the strip first appeared in issue 2408 of the weekly Spirou comic magazine in 1984, while this book was first published in French over ten years later. Had Van Hamme worked out the family relationships of his on-going plot at the beginning or, as the titles in the series sold well enough that the series was bound to continue, did he construct at least part of this family history around what he had already written? In all probability is the latter of these and this book, for all its flaws, just goes to show how skillful a writer he can be.

XIII - Three Silver Watches brings a new depth to the XIII saga and, with its new links to many of the series already established characters, presumably sets the scene for encounters yet to come. While the XIII books always leave me wanting to read the next in the series, this one leaves me wanting to reread it again to make sure that I have all this background information straight in my mind before I move on to those next books.

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

In Review: XIII - El Cascador

Who is XIII?

Book 1 - Mr Alan Smith?
Books 2 and 3 - Captain Steve Rowland?
Book 4 - Corporal Ross Tanner?
Book 5 - Agent Jason Fly?
Books 6 and 7 - Writer John Fleming?
Book 8 - Agent Jason McLane?
Book 9 - Arms Dealer Karl Meredith?

While holidaying with Jones at the Caribbean home of Marquis Armand Preseau and Sgt Betty Barnowsky, XIII has become involved with the Santosista rebels on the neighbouring island of Costa Verde. XIII goes to Costa Verde undercover to help free the imprisoned Maria, sister of Angel, the rebel leader, and just possibly the amnesiac XIII's wife, but he is exposed and imprisoned. Jones, Betty and the Marquis lead a rebel attack on the prison island to free XIII at the same time that the main rebel force launches their revolution but, in the aftermath, XIII is accused by Angel of conspiracy with the old regime and put on trial by a revolutionary court.

Leading on immediately from the previous book, For Maria, El Cascador is very much a book of two halves - the fast moving and vicious battle for the prison island leading to the freedom of both XIII and Maria, which is then followed by the considerably slower and more static explanation of the complex motives of the various characters and XIII's trial in a kangaroo court. Indeed after the action of the beginning of this book, the talking heads of the trial could have been something of a let down, yet writer Jean Van Hamme maintains the intrigue as the various factions in the story vie for supremacy in the courtroom. It gives away nothing of the Costa Verde story to say that the book ends on a revelation that sets the scene for a continuation of the "Who is XIII?" story arc into the next book.

William Vance's artwork as always remains impressive, maintaining his usual level of accuracy from the Bo 105 helicopter to the mixture of Kalashnikovs and Armalites that the rebels use in their struggle against the regime. As we have seen from earlier stories, Vance seems to enjoy drawing his characters in rainstorms and this book is no exception with the prison attack taking place in a deluge while the subsequent hunt through the swamp also throws up a lot more water into the panels.

Prior to Cinebook releasing their first XIII book, I had read some of Van Hamme and Vance's stories via the American ComCat Code XIII publication but that, along with the Marvel US version, never got past the third French album yet, with El Cascador, Cinebook have reached the halfway point in the original 19 album series. When they published the first XIII book less than two years ago, they included English language versions of the covers of all 19 books in the series in colour on the inside covers of the book. They have continued to print these in all their subsequent XIII books and with El Cascador they have now completed all the books on the inside front cover and the next book, Three Silver Watches, will take them onto the inside back cover. Cinebook's dedication to XIII is impressive and they have taken English language readers far beyond where any other publishing house got to with the series. As a reviewer I am wary of getting used to how good each XIII title is as it arrives every other month. Having read the first book in the series the writing and art left me wanting to read the second and now, another nine books later, I'm still just as eager to read the next book.

El Cascador, in conjunction with the previous XIII book For Maria, provide something of a jumping on point for new readers. These two books could be read and followed without the need to have read the preceding eight XIII titles whilst giving the reader a revelation that will draw them back for the next instalment.

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.
• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

In Review: XIII - For Maria

Who is XIII?

Book 1 - Mr Alan Smith?
Books 2&3 - Captain Steve Rowland?
Book 4 - Corporal Ross Tanner?
Book 5 - Agent Jason Fly?
Books 6&7 - Writer John Fleming?
Book 8 - Agent Jason McLane?

With the ending of the eighth book, Thirteen To One, which seems to have settled the idea that XIII is US agent Jason McLane and who number 1 was, For Maria the ninth book in writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance's spy series takes the plot off in a whole new direction.

After saving her life in the previous book, XIII's relationship with Jones is now closer than ever as they relax in the luxury of Marquis Armand Preseau and former SPADS Sergeant Betty Barnowsky's home in sunny San Miguel. However XIII receives a phone call from a mysterious, and not entirely wholesome, priest who, when they eventually meet, claims that XIII is married to Maria Santos but, since nothing is ever uncomplicated in XIII's life, she is the leader of the revolutionaries in neighbouring Costa Verde and is currently in prison awaiting execution.

While XIII does not remember Maria, he believes that she may be a link to his forgotten past. Therefore disguised as Karl Meredith, an arms dealer, XIII travels to Costa Verde to make contact with the rebels and to try to free Maria. However he doesn't bargain on running into Felicidad Moreno, the mistress of Costa Verde's General-President, who XIII already knows as the scheming Felicity Rowland and who recognises him through his disguise.

This is definitely one for the fans with returning characters Felicity Rowland from book 2, Sgt Betty (she of the flimsy underwear) from book 4 and the Marquis who took such a shine to Betty in book 5. Van Hamme sets the tone of the ongoing story as he bookends this episode with a mysterious cabal discussing XIII and how they could use him. However before that can happen there is the small matter of a central American revolution, an unknown wife facing a death sentence and XIII going undercover as an international arms dealer. There are times that Van Hamme doesn't do things by halves and this is certainly one of them.

It also gives Vance a chance to get down and dirty with his artwork of the back alleys and dodgy dealings of the rebels while spotlighting the wealth and glamour of both the Marquis' home and the presidential palace. Indeed the only misstep of the entire book seems to be on the cover which, strangely, depicts an event that isn't actually in the story. Perhaps the next book will explain it.

XIII - For Maria takes the tale of the amnesiac agent off in an interesting new direction while also leaving it on a cliffhanger which hopefully will be resolved with the tenth book, El Cascador, when it is published in November.

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

In Review: XIII - Thirteen To One

Who is XIII?

Book 1 - Mr Alan Smith?
Books 2&3 - Captain Steve Rowland?
Book 4 - Corporal Ross Tanner?
Book 5 - Agent Jason Fly?
Books 6&7 - Writer John Fleming?

After the linked stories of the first five books and the two part Jason Fly story of the sixth and seventh books, in the eighth XIII book, Thirteen To One, writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance return to a theme familiar to fans of The Prisoner, who is Number One?

It has been two months since the events of The Night Of August Third, and two years since the beginning of the series, and number XIII turns his attention back to finding out just who number I is. With Major Jones angered that he wants to find Captain Steve Rowland's wife, Kim, who is also number XVII, XIII uses his ultimate contact, the President of the United States, to get the authority and information that he needs. In the meantime the Mongoose, the assassin who has been trying to kill XIII, escapes from prison and continues his hunt.

For all the fact that this is a single book story, it requires so much knowledge of the XIII back story that it would make no sense to anyone jumping into the series at this point. That said Van Hamme rewards the readers that have stuck with the series by giving them an intriguing plot with Presidential and Secret Service involvement along with an illegitimate child that the series must surely return to at some point in the future. Meanwhile Jones, despite all her apparent huffiness at the beginning, has to depend on XIII as he makes the ultimate choice between her and Kim Rowland.

On the art front Vance is obviously enjoying himself as both the Secret Service agent and Jones herself get red sports cars to drive around in, while the climactic sequences along America's north eastern coast give him plenty of scope for beaches, islands and luxury yachts.

XIII - Thirteen To One almost reads like a thank-you from its creators to the French readers who, when it was originally published in 1991, had stuck with the series for seven years. Fortunately for us it has only taken Cinebook just over one year to get this far and they continue to forge ahead with XIII at one book every other month. Despite this schedule, and the possibility of getting complacent with it, XIII continues to be a series that doesn't disappoint.

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

In Review: XIII - The Night Of August Third

Who is XIII?

Book 1 - Mr Alan Smith?
Book 2 - Captain Steve Rowland?
Book 3 - Prisoner Steve Rowland?
Book 4 - Corporal Ross Tanner?
Book 5 - Agent Jason Fly?
Book 6 - Writer John Fleming?

The seventh book in the XIII series, The Night Of August Third, continues the story begun in the previous book The Jason Fly Case.

XIII is trapped in the small town of Green Falls by an avalanche that has also trapped and injured his friend and ally, Major Jones. Still maintaining his cover of writer John Fleming, he is trying to track down what happened to the young Jason Fly, the person he now believes himself to be, and Fly's father on the third of August twenty years beforehand. Having made enemies of Sheriff Quinn and local bigwig Dwight Rigby, instigated partially by XIII's hitman enemy known as the Mongoose, XIII is now on the run with the town conducting a manhunt for him as he returns to the home of Zeke Hathaway. There he finds a hidden notebook that gives him much more information on his background.

In the meanwhile the Mongoose has tracked down Jones to the house of XIII's friend Judith Warner leading to a scantily clad Jones attempting to escape through the snow before she is imprisoned in the town's police station. This proves to be no safer for her as some of the locals break in with the intention of taking revenge on her for the death of their friend.

The Jason Fly Case and The Night Of August Third are two parts of the one story although, as ever, this book provides a detailed full page catch-up at the beginning. The relative peacefulness of the first book is thoroughly shattered in this conclusion with the series moving back into full blown action adventure mode as the plot twists back and forth from danger to intrigue to explanation.

Two sections standout: the book changes from colour to black and white art as XIII reads the notebook that details the two decade old back story of Jason Fly giving a true flashback feel to the panels, while the normally indefatigable Jones finally gets into a situation in the jail cell that she cannot save herself from. This jail scene, with its racial and sexual overtones, takes the series to a place that it has not previously been to and places Jones into a situation of implied peril that is perhaps more effective, and unnerving, than the multitude of fist fights and shoot-outs that we have seen her in before.

Just when you thought that XIII was giving you a relatively quiet small town mystery with The Jason Fly Case, The Night Of August Third turns the tables and reminds you just how much of an adrenaline rush Van Hamme's writing coupled with Vance's artwork can be.

• Buy XIII Vol.7: The Night of August Third from amazon.co.uk 

• Buy The Night of August Third: XIII Vol. 7 from amazon.com

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• The downthetubes review of the previous XIII book, The Jason Fly Case is here.

• You can read an interview with Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin on downthetubes at XIII Questions About XIII.

In Review: XIII - The Jason Fly Case

Who is XIII?
Book 1 - Alan Smith?
Book 2 - Captain Steve Rowland?
Book 3 - Prisoner Steve Rowland?
Book 4 - Corporal Ross Tanner
Book 5 - Jason Fly?
The sixth book in the XIII series begins a new story arc within XIII's ongoing quest to discover who he is in The Jason Fly Case.

After all his name changes in the previous books it seems that XIII may be a US undercover agent called Jason Fly. Leaving the recuperating Major Jones behind, who isn't convinced XIII is Fly anyway, XIII heads for the hills and the snowy hamlet of Green Falls. This is where the case notes tell him Jason Fly lived as a child and he hopes that the place may spark some memories. In the near snowbound town he tries to piece together the death of Fly's father helped by the local newspaper proprietor and distracted by the dishy local pharmacist. However when he tries to speak to the first person he meets who actually knew Jason Fly, the local sheriff intervenes and events take a turn for the deadly with the reappearance of the man known as The Mongoose, who targets first Jones and then XIII himself.

After the international events of Full Red, writer Jean Van Hamme takes XIII back to small town America and the series initial concept of finding out who the character really is while avoiding the deadly Mongoose. The Jason Fly Case is altogether quieter that the last couple of books giving both XIII and the reader a breather from the non-stop action as well as a small town mystery to ponder over. Of course it doesn't stop the body count rising or for that matter XIII's sidekick Jones ending up in yet another hospital bed.

Originally published in 1989, William Vance's artwork does show a little of the cusp of the 1990s with Judith Warner's big hair and XIII driving a Volvo 480, but it really does not distract from the detailed scenery, and the action sequences, when they come, are his usual dynamic and violent best.

XIII - The Jason Fly Case is a change of pace for the series after the last few books but, if anything, it actually returns the series to is roots as XIII attempts to discover who he really is and that, after all, is what made the series interesting in the first place. With the book ending on a cliffhanger, nothing about Jason Fly is resolved and we will all be back in May 2011 for Book 7 - The Night Of August Third.


• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

In Review: XIII - Full Red

Who is XIII?
Book 1 - presidential assassin?
Book 2 - special forces soldier?
Book 3 - psychotic murderer?
Book 4 - undercover spy?

In the fifth XIII book, Full Red, writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance take readers back to that presidential assassination from the first book and the repercussions of exactly why it happened.

Leading on directly from the fourth book SPADS, Full Red sees XIII returning to the US with his ally the mysterious Lieutenant Jones and SPAD Sergeant Betty Barnowsky only to discover that the people behind the Presidential assassination are moving to take over the United States by tricking the new President and instigating a coup during a massive military exercise codenamed Full Red.

The previous book, SPADS, gave a lot of information about the character of XIII and just who he might be and was rather exposition heavy because of it. Full Red takes this one step further being virtually a book of two halves, both halves being violent and bloody. The first half is more languid and explanation heavy as the characters return to the US and discover that the military exercise is about to happen more quickly than expected, while the second half moves into 24 TV series mode as they have to quickly infiltrate the US military's Supreme Strategic Headquarters in an attempt to prevent the coup taking place.

While the book does feel uneven due to this spilt in how the narrative moves, this is a Jean Van Hamme story and he is more than capable of leaving the reader both satisfied with the conclusion but with enough threads hanging to want to get on with reading the next book. Indeed this fifth book brings the presidential assassination plot of XIII to a conclusion and provides a pause in the ongoing story of who XIII is, why he has a roman numeral tattoo and just who or what the organisation that uses tattooed agents is.

Cinebook have taken the XIII books beyond both the previously published CatCom and Marvel translations and will continue the series into the next batch of stories at their ongoing rate of one book every other month. XIII is one of my favourite Cinebook series and Full Red shows that while the initial story of XIII is complete, there is a lot more to be discovered about the man and, fortunately, there are plenty more books in the series to enjoy those discoveries.

• There are more details of the English language XIII books on Cinebook's newly redesigned web site: www.cinebook.co.uk

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

• The entire 48 page XIII Book 1, The Day Of The Black Sun (reviewed here), is available free with issue 5 of Comic Heroes magazine which is currently available in newsagents.

In Review: XIII - SPADS

Who is XIII? Book 1 - presidential assassin? Book 2 - special forces soldier? Book 3 - psychotic murderer? In the fourth XIII book, SPADS, writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance take XIII back to the Special Assault and Destruction Squads of the US Army that were mentioned fleetingly in the second book in the ongoing attempt to discover just who he is.

XIII looks so like Captain Rowland of the SPADS that Roland's own family believed that he was. In an attempt to discover the truth, and to keep him safe from the shadowy figures trying to kill him, General Carrington assigns XIII to a SPADS team under the new name of Corporal Ross Tanner. There he is told in no uncertain terms by his commanding officer that he is no soldier but it is where he meets a sergeant who was in the Women's Army Corps when she knew Captain Rowland. Meanwhile at the Pentagon, CIA agent Colonel Amos, who has been tasked to bring the President's assassin to justice, confronts General Carrington as to why he is helping XIII while, inm the background, the election for a new President moves into full swing.

SPADS is the first of Cinebook’s XIII books that hasn't previously been released in English by another publisher yet it is the first title in the series that starts to lift the veil on just who XIII is and why he apparently assassinated the President of the United States. In it Van Hamme gives the reader, but not necessarily XIII himself, a virtual avalanche of information about who this mystery man is and just what is going on with the story. It also raises even more questions about Carrington's assistant, the trusted, capable, seemingly indestructible but ultimately mysterious, Lt Jones.

Vance's art continues to impress with much of the army side of the plot taking place at night or in rain which allows him to experiment with how much he can obscure the contents of some panels while still making them understandable. His military equipment is detailed and accurate and since the US military still uses the same helicopters today they don't give the book a dated look despite it having originally been published in France in 1987.

The only time the book seems to wrong foot itself is with the character of the freckled Sergeant Betty Barnowsky who comes across as far too cute and petite to be a special forces soldier who can kill a man with her bare hands. We know exactly how petite she is as she spends most of her time wearing only the scantiest of underwear, including at the point in the story when she has to parachute out of a helicopter (and if that doesn't make you want to at least look at the book, nothing will).

The three previous XIII books were so different to each other story wise that it was difficult to see just were Jean Van Hamme was heading with the overall plot arc although that is partially what made them so interesting. With SPADS Van Hamme pulls together the various plot points from the previous books and explains enough of them to leave the reader both satisfied with where the overall arc has got to as well as wanting more.


• There are more details of the English language XIII books on the Cinebook website.

• There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

In Review: XIII - All The Tears Of Hell

Who is XIII? Presidential assassin? Special forces soldier? Psychotic killer? The questions continue in the third part of the XIII saga, All The Tears Of Hell, written by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by William Vance.

Amnesiac XIII spent the previous book being told by everyone that he was soldier Steve Rowlands before being framed for the murder of two of Rowlands' family. All The Tears Of Hell sees XIII imprisoned in a high security mental prison for the crime while the American establishment try to discover exactly who he is and why he assassinated the President. However prison may not be the safest place for XIII as the prison doctor attempts to break him with electro-convulsive therapy while the man known as the Mongoose, who XIII believes is out to kill him, threatens him with death by someone on the inside. In the meantime the mysterious Lt Jones has infiltrated the prison hospital...

Only three books into the nineteen book series and the plot threads are already getting convoluted with many of the characters from the previous two books making fleeting reappearances here. After a book as Steve Rowlands, XIII's identity is back to being a mystery to both himself and virtually everyone else while the main plot element, a jail break, could so easily have let the book down it is to Van Hamme's credit that it does not. While the ending to the jail break make be just a little too convenient, it sets the scene for yet another change of identity with, finally, potential allies for XIII to work with.

This is the last of the XIII series that had been translated into English by other publishers previous to Cinebook getting the rights to the books. From now on Cinebook are pushing into uncharted territory with XIII, in English at least. All The Tears Of Hell shows that the XIII story continues to be both thrilling and fascinating and that those 'new' stories really can't come quickly enough.


There are more details of the English language XIII books on the Cinebook website.

There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the official XIII website (in French).

In Review: XIII - Where The Indian Walks

Who is XIII? Presidential assassin? Special forces soldier? Husband? The questions continue in the second part of the XIII saga Where The Indian Walks written by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by William Vance.

Amidst the chaos and unanswered questions of the first book, XIII had discovered a photograph of himself standing beside a pretty blonde called Kim Rowland, the widow of Captain Steve Rowland, who is waiting for him "where the Indian walks". Trying to find out more about Kim at the army base Rowland had been posted at, XIII is taken into military custody and interviewed by General Ben Carrington who knew Rowland when he was in a specials forces outfit called SPADS. The General tells him that he, XIII, is Rowland and therefore he is actually looking for his own wife. Since XIII does not really believe this, the General arranges for him to go to Rowland's family home where everyone recognises him and he gets caught up in their various attempts at securing the family inheritance whilst continuing to track down Kim.

This second book in the story of XIII dates from 1985 and while Vance's artwork reflects the clothing styles of the period, it remains detailed and dynamic with much the military hardware in the book still in use today. What does date it is the use of a school databank via a home computer terminal - it may raise a smile today but it was the height of internet technology at the time and full marks to Van Hamme for using it a quarter of a century ago. While Van Hamme tells two different stories in parallel, about the soldier's wife as well as about the inheritance, one inevitably proves more interesting that the other. For me the Kim Rowland story is more intriguing and does lead the storyline on into the third book but I do wonder if the ongoing plot will return to the family in the future.

Is XIII really Steve Rowland? Everyone else in Where The Indian Walks seems to think so but XIII remains unconvinced and as a reader you are drawn to XIII's view of things which then leaves an incredible question mark over every other character. It is the strength of Van Hamme's writing that instead of ending up frustrated at this, you are left wanting more.


There are more details of the English language XIII books on the Cinebook website.

There are more details of the original French XIII albums on the Dargaud website.