Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

L'Incal

L'Incal, Tome 2: L'Incal Lumière

Rate this book
Dans un univers futuriste aux dimensions inimaginables, un médiocre détective privé, John Difool, se retrouve un beau jour à la tête d'une enquête qui ne tardera pas à le dépasser totalement, et à l'entraîner dans un monde étrange mêlant science-fiction et expériences divines, dans une bataille titanesque opposant le bien et le mal.

œuvre majeure de la bande dessinée, première pierre d'un édifice aux nombreux albums et aux multiples filiations, l'Incal marque le début de la fructueuse collaboration entre le bouillonnant et mystique Jodorowsky et le visionnaire et polymorphe Moebius, ouvrant chacun les vannes de leur imagination sans limites, créant un univers parallèle dans lequel des générations entières se sont perdues de leur plein gré et avec délectation. À suivre dans les six albums de L'Incal et à poursuivre dans Avant l'Incal, Après l'Incal, La Caste des Méta-barons et les Technopères. --David Rault

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Loading interface...
Loading interface...

About the author

Alejandro Jodorowsky

586 books1,818 followers
Also credited as Alexandro Jodorowsky

Better known for his surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain filmed in the early 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an accomplished writer of graphic novels and a psychotherapist. He developed Psychomagic, a combination of psychotherapy and shamanic magic. His fans have included John Lennon and Marilyn Manson.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
530 (42%)
4 stars
398 (32%)
3 stars
221 (17%)
2 stars
58 (4%)
1 star
32 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
Profile Image for Cathy .
1,812 reviews275 followers
April 7, 2019
I might have read this volume before, 30 or so years ago. I didn’t think so, but there were some panels that felt very familiar. Also, many of the images ring a bell. Perhaps because many of them have inspired other works...?

Crazy, contrasting colours on the same page. The artwork at times looks dated and then again amazing, flat and then dynamic.

Women are mostly bimbos in this, which is a bit annoying. Definitely not passing the Bechdel test. I am willing to cut it some slack, considering it was first published in 1982.

John DiFool does not make much of an impact. He is in the sidelines for much of it and when he does become involved, he is little more than a hand puppet.

Bottom line I am undecided if I really like it and if I think it‘s meh or genius. 3.75 wishy-washy stars...
Profile Image for Veronique.
1,312 reviews217 followers
April 13, 2019
Quite hard to review...

On one side, this is so grotesque that it is hard to enjoy. John Difool is not a likeable character, none are actually - and it is telling that my favourite turns out to be bird Deepo!

On the other, we have the Art, which is much more interesting.
Profile Image for J.G. Keely.
546 reviews11.6k followers
May 18, 2009
This book would have been more impressive if I had come to it without as much background on Moebius. From the general to the specific, it is culled from other works and collaborations of the artist's. The early style is owed to 'The Long Tomorrow' written by Dan O'Bannon and illustrated by Moebius. That innovative story also marks one of the first forays into cyberpunk, and was a major influence on the film 'Blade Runner'.

The rest of the story is little differentiated from Moebius' various Metal Hurlant works except in terms of length. The length and height of the story soon become a problem for Jodorowsky, who quickly finds a bottom-up character driven plot too difficult to maintain, and settles for a top-down lead-by-the-nose centered on a vague, all-powerful artifact.

The artifact soon solves all the problems, from epic battles to small character conflicts. As the magic expands and overwhelms the story, we are treated to a lot of new age spirituality and moralizing from the author. The stronger the mythological dichotomy of good and evil becomes, the less room remains for humanity and sympathy.

Between the fast-moving storyline and the overweening symbolism, any introduction of character-building begins to feel positively intrusive. Many scifi stories have presented humanity as being unnatural, but very rarely because of an overindulgence in romanticism.

L'Incal sometimes reads like a more mature Star Wars, with violence, sexuality, and satire. At other times it trades away its sophistication for naive grandiloquence, as the author tries to say something profound about 'truth' and 'meaning'. As usual, overconfidence serves the author very well when he attempts something simple, but causes him to be too lackadaisical when attempting the difficult.

My Suggested Reading In Comics
Profile Image for Mariah Drakoulis.
90 reviews21 followers
April 3, 2013
The work of Moebius is just too beautiful to warrant anything less than four stars - and a creative sci-fi plot by Jorodowsky bumps it up to five. A Must read for any sci-fi comic fans, and if you can get your hands on the super limited edition hard cover it is well worth the expense.
Profile Image for Tristan.
1,282 reviews17 followers
April 25, 2019
The second episode is a little less chaotic than the first, with more of a storyline, but it is no less frantic, with an all-in, no-holds-barred civil war providing the heavy metal soundtrack to the protagonist’s latest crazy tribulations. No brain required, this is all wild spectacle.
Profile Image for G.A..
Author 8 books34 followers
October 16, 2019
Leggermente più confusionario del primo numero. I continui cambi di scena non aiutano.
Profile Image for Steve.
247 reviews63 followers
May 20, 2008
Once upon a time, Film Director Alejandro Jodorowsky and French Graphic Artist Moebius were going to make the film version of Dune. Sadly, this incomparable synergy didn't pan out, but thankfully these two geniuses rechanneled their creative effort into this metaphysical comic epic. Esoteric, satirical and action-packed, this may very well be the best Graphic Science Fiction Epic ever. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
October 2, 2016
Not a bad read.

With the incursion of political correctness and social justice ideologies in today's comic books reading past titles is the way to go.
Profile Image for Ed.
721 reviews13 followers
June 18, 2017
This is where Jodorowsky and Mœbius start to get really weird. I'm sure I'm not the first to observe this, but The Incal's influence on Brandon Graham's Prophet is incredibly strong.
Profile Image for William Thomas.
14 reviews
March 17, 2018
Continued greatness

Better and better - great illustrations from Moebius and, as usual, Jodorowsku is spot on. What a story! What a team!
501 reviews
September 30, 2022
Na continuação além de Deepo falar (por ter tido o incal dentro de si) e tentar fugir a um robot que diz que tem de justificar a sua presença naquele setor, atravessa umas pás de um exaustor gigante e vai parar a uma cerimónia liderada de forma fanática pelo tecno papa que se aliou com a treva na construção de um ovo de sombra, Ove Tenebrae, filho do incal negro e da mãe treva, com o objetivo de devorar a luz dos sóis e trazer o reino da sombra . Nesta adoração fanática ao ovo da sombra que acaba por ser lançado para o universo, John Difool está prestes a ser tecno dissecado mas no último momento Deepo racha a mitra do psicólogo abdomen , um ovo negro sob a sua cabeça, e John consegue fugir indo parar ao interior de uma esfera . Aí vai-se encontrar no exterior interno onde vai ter de combater o guardião do incal negro, o terrível Cardiogrif. Mas é aqui que John Difool tem de mostrar a sua humildade total e fé no
Incal luminoso dizendo “piedade! Ajuda-me! Eu sou teu!” , este momento é decisivo para conseguir destruir o Cardiogrif e recuperar o incal negro de dentro de uma flor . Aí dá-se uma explosão onde o tecno papa e a sua aliança com a treva é destruída . E aparece uma linda Animah a quem ele entrega o incal negro, que se vem a saber que tal como a sua irmã , líder da A.M.O.K. eram as guardiãs dos 2 incal. Mas o negro seduziu a outra irmã ao poder absoluto e vendeu-o ao tecno papa. O lado negro tem de ser sempre conjugado com o lado luminoso para existir o equilíbrio.
Mas para John as coisas não correm bem pois o metabarão encontra-o e mata-o levando o seu corpo e de Deepo para a madrinha e líder da A.M.O.K. Mas está a decorrer uma revolta sem precedentes de todas as facões revoltosas ao palácio voador do presidente clone, imagem da arrogância total (analogia com o rei sol de França séc XVIII) . O presidente clone para se salvar pede ajuda à Imperoratriz (um andrógino feminino e masculino ligado entre si dentro de uma bolha ) que o transforma na necrosonda, robot matador da lenda . Mas o império Berg está a caminho para atacar a humanidade, o ove tenebrae está a colocar-se na órbita do sol e a madrinha líder da A.M.O.K. numa tentativa de ganhar poder absoluto tenta matar o metabarão , o seu filho Solune também filho de Animah que tem o incal negro e John Difool, mas ganham vida e força sobrenatural e destroem os guardas dela . Agora sem o incal negro a sua antiga guardiã só pode fugir pois já não tem poder. Então temos um novo grupo. Guardiã, metabarão, Solune, John Difool e Deepo, kill cabeça de cão que vão todos para a meta vedeta do meta barão no lago de ácido pois em baixo desse lago existe o centro do planeta com as grutas de cristais e as pirâmides . E na fuga este grupo de heróis são apanhados por um remoinho no lago de ácido …
Esplendoroso sempre a crescer em qualidade.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mladoria.
1,167 reviews17 followers
June 29, 2019
Ce tome 2 est un enchaînement direct du premier. Mais il ne va pas falloir s'y perdre, c'est que les fils sont nombreux à être tirés dans ce tome, entre John Difool aux prises avec le Techno-Pape, heureusement y'a Deepo, la révolte des mutants bêtes dont on ne rate pas une miette dans les Conapt, sa Majestueuse Ophidité qui commence à sortir de son trip sous acide pour se rendre compte que c'est un peu la m**** excusez le du peu, une maladie champignonesque, une virée sur le lac d'acide et une alliance pour le moins très inattendue... On ne s'ennuie pas une seconde. Les couleurs sont aussi délirantes que le scénar' qui part dans tous les sens mais réussit à rester cohérent, exploit titanesque !!
Je ne sais pas ce qu'on pris les auteurs avant de façonner cette histoire mais c'est de la bonne et j'en reprendrai une autre part avec le tome d'après vu le bon twist des familles sur les dernières planches j'ai très envie de connaître la suite !!! Avis aux amateurs de SF en tout sous-genres parce que ça brasse large : science fantasy, space opera, cyberpunk... et la cerise pour la mystérieuse Animah qui en une planche te retourne le truc comme une crêpe et se taille en mode femme invisible...
Profile Image for Barojiano.
222 reviews
December 19, 2022
Ya no es sólo que al pobre John Difool lo persigan todos los poderosos -legales o ilegales- de la ciudad. Es que además le han atrapado. Lo único que le puede salvar es que una nueva rebelión ha estallado, y esta vez, tiene bastantes posibilidades de triunfar. Quizá en este maremágnum caótico y aprovechando las disputas entre ellos de todos los que le persiguen, Difool pueda encontrar algún sorprendente aliado. En su situación desesperada intentará recurrir al Incal que lleva dentro, pero el problema es que se halla en los dominios de un enemigo que puede plantar cara al misterioso objeto que tiene metido en las tripas...

Está mejor este segundo volumen. La aparición de otros importantes personajes de la saga hace que la trama se haya complicado más, pero la resolución promete ser muy espectacular.

Leído en papel.
Profile Image for Krisz.
Author 22 books35 followers
September 21, 2021
Ugyan az első rész annyira nem tetszett, hogy nem bírtam végigolvasni, csak átlapoztam, ennek a kötetnek is adtam egy esélyt, ha már hazahoztam a könyvtárból. És meglepett azzal, hogy végig tudtam olvasni. Ha nem lett volna ilyen rengeteg szereplő, akik ötletszerűen feltűnnek, ha épp laposodna a dramaturgiai ív, és nem ugrott volna túl nagyokat a sztori előre, akkor még tetszett is volna. A harmadikat inkább nem veszem ki :)
Profile Image for André.
264 reviews80 followers
March 20, 2019
Creative, and captivating, this graphic novel is the second volume of the previous "The Black Incal". In this volume, a rebel coup starts in the dystopian city, meanwhile, DiFool makes a terrible mistake that will complicate coming events.
Bizarre and intriguing, the story goes in the following four volumes.

rating:3.5/5 stars
Profile Image for Shannon Appelcline.
Author 26 books150 followers
September 16, 2020
Whereas the original Incal was mainly a chase-comic, The Luminous Incal adds depth to the story, creating a more fully realized world that starts to hint at what the Incal is and reveals a political worldview that was previously unseen. It also feels by the end of the volume that it's really getting the band together.

Overall, a delightful read, running about 4.5 stars.
Profile Image for Mouse.
1,150 reviews4 followers
October 24, 2020
Absolutely Crazy

This is really dated and doesn't hold up well. Its bats**t crazy and makes no sense. I've read Moebius before and I'm a fan of Metal Hurlant and Heavy Metal. That being said, holy cow this is bad and just really weird and confusing. The writing is like its meant solely for the writer and not meant for us to grasp it, its like some bad French surrealistic movie.
Profile Image for Feirodenn.
140 reviews1 follower
Read
June 16, 2022
Une partie des rouages de l'intrigue du premier tome se résoud dans des champs de bataille aux airs apocyptiques où les explosions et les armées ne laissent qu'un champ de ruines derrière leur passage. On suit une fois encore les aventures de John Difool qui semble plus subir les évènements que de réellement en être l'acteur principal, enlevé, trompé ou aidé car il possède l'incal.
Profile Image for Kevin.
401 reviews1 follower
July 17, 2020
En el segundo volumen las cosas se ponen cada vez más frenéticas. Muchos términos inventados que no significan nada están a la orden del día. Como siempre, los dibujos y colores son de lo mejor. Aunque es ciencia ficción a lo más alocado, las reacciones y motivos son humanos.
Profile Image for Corbin.
50 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2022
Another great installment

It's another quick read by Mobius's worlds are completely transportive. I'm completely sucked in by the satire, characters and sheer creativity. Can't wait for Vol 3
4,400 reviews19 followers
February 25, 2024
Deepo and difool, together again.

Good color artwork from the pages of heavy metal. Deepo the pterodactyl was used by every author in the the heavy metal universe. He is the mount of choice in the movie. The Incal attracts fools like difool.
47 reviews
March 6, 2024
In this very exciting second part the plot thickens! So much so it is almost hard to follow what is going on. All of a sudden there seems to be two incals and the main character faces yet more bizarre and unexpected events and places. Especially memorable is the image of the sphere leading to a new dimension shown towards the end of this part. Though sometimes I am not sure what is the central idea and where the story is going, the tempo and scale of the tale is engaging. For better or worse I am hooked!
641 reviews5 followers
July 9, 2020
Can't stop reading

Plot is intricate, world is crazy and art is marvellous... What not to like? I am fascinated. Will read more :)
Profile Image for Alex Sarll.
6,555 reviews334 followers
Read
February 17, 2021
I read this last night and would already struggle to recall the plot, but my word it's pretty.
194 reviews1 follower
October 8, 2021
The Incal #2

What a bunch of characters!
One is worse than the next.
It's funny, no matter what happens, escape is near.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.