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Description
Alternate history

Block 109: Operation Lead Sun

March 22, 1941, Hitler is murdered with a bullet in the head. In June of the same year, the Nazis invade the island of Malta, then conquer Egypt in November. One foot in Africa, they fight against the Allies for the control of the territory until a nuclear strike which, in 1945, decimates the enemies of the Nazism. Germany alone dominates Africa. Some rebellious groups live here and there, former Allied soldiers and some natives. The possession of the Congo, in particular, is at the heart of all attention because of the richness of its soil. But the terrain is difficult: jungle, mountains, mud, wildlife, rain ... The "green hell" is waiting for the Germans. Heydrich, leader of the SS, sends mercenaries excluded from the regular army, without paper, without ties, without a future. In front of them, rebels disarmed, certainly, but rabid. The war is just beginning.

Operation Sun lead is the third release of a set of one-shots including, in particular, Block 109. All are based on a change in history, an uchronie, taking as a starting point the assassination of the Fuhrer. Each album has to explore a different narrative style, Operation Lead Sun is a real "movie" of war: everything is there, suspense, weapons, action, explosions, muscles and blood. The authors depict mercenaries lost in the jungle, over-armed and strong with the power of a domineering nation, facing men in the shadows, ready for revenge, trained, almost bodybuilded. Using war machines or simple machetes, the fighting is raging. It would be enough to add Wagner to believe in Apocalypse Now.

Admittedly, the scenario is not as whistle-blowing as that of Francis Ford Coppola. This is not the goal. Here, uchrony protects the fantasy of authors who can then turn the story as they please. The highlighting of the Nazis does not make them heroes so far and no judgment is made between the good guys and bad guys, which allows to focus on the action, true heart of the subject. And there, no disappointment, the album is led to hundred an hour, the suspense growing over the pages.

Since Block 109, the style of Ronan Toulhoat has changed, for the sake of the story. The boxes have grown, on average five per page, with funds worked. The staging is even more striking than in the previous albums, an essential point when we approach the genre "warrior". The views vary constantly, diving, low-angle, panorama, close-up, Chinese shadow, ... all cinematographic vocabulary is used here, without the whole being weighed down. The help of the computer in the colors and certain forms, as well as the treatment of the decorations and faces sometimes reduced to the state of draft, is not a nuisance, but more a bias, even if it is sometimes difficult to differentiate some secondary characters. The sense of movement, fighting as well as the obvious aesthetic of the drawing, palliate any clumsiness. Especially since some boxes are reminiscent of the work of Will Eisner on My last day in Viet Nam.

Description
Alternate history

Block 109: Operation Lead Sun

March 22, 1941, Hitler is murdered with a bullet in the head. In June of the same year, the Nazis invade the island of Malta, then conquer Egypt in November. One foot in Africa, they fight against the Allies for the control of the territory until a nuclear strike which, in 1945, decimates the enemies of the Nazism. Germany alone dominates Africa. Some rebellious groups live here and there, former Allied soldiers and some natives. The possession of the Congo, in particular, is at the heart of all attention because of the richness of its soil. But the terrain is difficult: jungle, mountains, mud, wildlife, rain ... The "green hell" is waiting for the Germans. Heydrich, leader of the SS, sends mercenaries excluded from the regular army, without paper, without ties, without a future. In front of them, rebels disarmed, certainly, but rabid. The war is just beginning.

Operation Sun lead is the third release of a set of one-shots including, in particular, Block 109. All are based on a change in history, an uchronie, taking as a starting point the assassination of the Fuhrer. Each album has to explore a different narrative style, Operation Lead Sun is a real "movie" of war: everything is there, suspense, weapons, action, explosions, muscles and blood. The authors depict mercenaries lost in the jungle, over-armed and strong with the power of a domineering nation, facing men in the shadows, ready for revenge, trained, almost bodybuilded. Using war machines or simple machetes, the fighting is raging. It would be enough to add Wagner to believe in Apocalypse Now.

Admittedly, the scenario is not as whistle-blowing as that of Francis Ford Coppola. This is not the goal. Here, uchrony protects the fantasy of authors who can then turn the story as they please. The highlighting of the Nazis does not make them heroes so far and no judgment is made between the good guys and bad guys, which allows to focus on the action, true heart of the subject. And there, no disappointment, the album is led to hundred an hour, the suspense growing over the pages.

Since Block 109, the style of Ronan Toulhoat has changed, for the sake of the story. The boxes have grown, on average five per page, with funds worked. The staging is even more striking than in the previous albums, an essential point when we approach the genre "warrior". The views vary constantly, diving, low-angle, panorama, close-up, Chinese shadow, ... all cinematographic vocabulary is used here, without the whole being weighed down. The help of the computer in the colors and certain forms, as well as the treatment of the decorations and faces sometimes reduced to the state of draft, is not a nuisance, but more a bias, even if it is sometimes difficult to differentiate some secondary characters. The sense of movement, fighting as well as the obvious aesthetic of the drawing, palliate any clumsiness. Especially since some boxes are reminiscent of the work of Will Eisner on My last day in Viet Nam.