Review: ‘Weapons Of The Metabaron’ Takes You To The 8th Dimension And Back

Welcome to the table,

The Incal Universe is unhinged in the most beautiful way.

Humanoids is releasing another offering from the mind of Alejandro Jodorowsky with art from Travis Charest and Zoran Janjetov, and this time the work focuses on how the mightiest warrior in the universe built his arsenal of war.

Weapons of the Metabaron is weird in all the ways I have come to love from The Incal Universe stories. A ruthless mercenary named No Name is working to collect a bunch of ultra-powerful weapons to make him the most powerful and destructive force the galaxy has ever seen.

It is indeed as unhinged as it sounds, and that is the charm of the whole story.

The book kicks off with No Name, a very idyllic super-fit ultra cool badass of a hero man, who shows up to a bunch of space monks, loses his memory, and then goes on a dream quest where he is reminded of just how much of a badass he is.

It’s a power fantasy, and if it was done in anything less than a perfect cinematic style, with nearly flawless art and truly out-of-this-world ideas, it could be seen as boring. The thing is, that is where The Incal universe shines.

You know from the beginning that the protagonist is going to be powerful, and will ultimately overcome everything he faces. At one point, once he is equipped with a mythical sword embedded with souls, he fights an energy hydra and screams…

Your time has come, you evil puddle of puke!

If anyone else said this, Batman or Superman or Ghost Rider (Okay maybe Ghost Rider could get away with it), they would be laughed at for ages. No Name tosses this out there and it’s totally fine. I am not making jokes here, it just sorta works in the context of this weird story set in this weird universe.

When you stop trying to make too much sense of things and just enjoy this weird science fiction for what it is, you may become a fan like me.

There is a samurai fight in this book between No Name and his Father-Mother fight that is dazzling and ritualistic and truly something that sticks with you long after you finish reading the book.

Weapons of the Metabarons is a prime example of everything that makes The Incal Universe a brilliant landscape of multidimensional weird fiction storytelling. The creative trip of Jodorowsky, Janjetov, and Charest weaves a story that transcends all eight dimensions and leaves you excited to have experienced the ride.

The limited edition collects the entire story in one beautiful Deluxe Oversized edition for the first time ever, allowing a closer look at the iconic, cinematic art styles of both Travis Charest and Zoran Janjetov and is limited to its first printing. So if you want a copy you need to act quickly. It will be in bookstores on May 30th and In comic shops May 31st.

Until next time, if you love weird and beautiful stories this is the kind of stuff you should be checking out. Go in with the only expectation being that you will find something unique and cool and you will not be disappointed.