Cities of the Fantastic: The Invisible Frontier, Volume 1, by Francois Schuiten and Benoit Peeters, (NBM Publishing, 2003)

A tangled bureaucracy. A young cartographer. The encroachment of new technologies and new ideas. A strange woman whose body is marked with lines that may represent a map of some sort. This is the world of Sodrovno-Voldachia, a land which eerily reimagines and resembles what was once Yugoslavia in the real world. This is the world of Roland, new to the profession of cartographer, and caught up in events he doesn’t yet understand.
The Invisible Frontier is part one of a two book set of graphic novels by acclaimed Belgian authors, Benoit Peeters and Francois Schuiten. The story is strangely fascinating, but where this book really shines is in the art. It manages to mix realism and a certain idealized dreamlike quality to produce something straight out of Kafka or Metropolis: all high buildings and retro-technology and an immense dome that houses the Center for Cartography. The colors, however muted, bring out the richness of the lines, and the prevalence of curves, further adding to that unreal quality. Beautiful and intelligent, this is a graphic novel that is sure to fascinate as well as entertain. Due to some nudity and a somewhat complex storyline, this book probably shouldn’t be aimed at younger readers. Also, be aware that this is part one; the conclusion of the story won’t be out for some time. More information may be found at www.nbmpublishing.com.


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