Jump to content

Kraken (comics)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kjell Knudde (talk | contribs) at 13:48, 30 August 2015. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Kraken
Cover of the Le roi des égouts album
Created byAntonio Segura
Jordi Bernet
Publication information
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) Metropol and Zona 84.
Original languageSpanish
Genre
Publication date1983
Main character(s)Lieutenant Dante
The GAS patrol
The Kraken
Creative team
Writer(s)Antonio Segura
Artist(s)Jordi Bernet
Reprints
The series has been reprinted, at least in part, in French.
Collected editions
Le monstre sous la villeISBN 2-905146-04-4
Le meilleur flic de la villeISBN 2-7316-0484-0
La patrouille de l'horreurISBN 2-7316-0483-2
L'appel de l'enferISBN 2-7316-0485-9
Le roi des égoutsISBN 2877640582

Kraken is a Spanish comics series, written by Antonio Segura and drawn by Jordi Bernet, first published in the magazine Metropol in 1983. The stories are centered on protagonist Lieutenant Dante, a policeman in a dystopic society patrolling the violent sewers of the fictional city Metropol.

Publication history

As one of the flagship comics series to appear in the Spanish magazine Metropol, founded by an artist group to achieve greater creative freedom, it was staged in a city bearing the magazine's name, similar to other comics native to the publication.[1] As the magazine's run proved short-lived and was forced to shut down, the series continued its run in Zona 84.[2] Initially published in black and white, later album issues were released in colour.

The stories are presented in relatively short episodes, and feature concentrated violence, claustrophobic settings and little sentimentality. There are also occasional appearances of characters who bear resemblance to real-life actors (such as Orson Welles' character in Touch of Evil and Max von Sydow's character in The Exorcist).

Characters

  • Lieutenant Dante leads a sewer patrol unit, in its efforts to hunt down the Kraken and combat the criminal activity that flourishes in the underground maze of tunnels.[3]
  • The GAS patrol, the Subterranean Action Group, who make up Dante's soldiers. A police unit with an extremely high mortality rate.
  • The Kraken, the antagonist monster, is almost a mythical character, by horrific reputation and rare appearances.

French reprints

The series has been reprinted in French in Métal Hurlant and collected into a number of volumes by different companies:

  1. Le monstre sous la ville (1986, Gilou, ISBN 2-905146-04-4)
  2. Le meilleur flic de la ville (1987, Les Humanoïdes Associés, ISBN 2-7316-0484-0)
  3. La patrouille de l'horreur (1988, Les Humanoïdes Associés, ISBN 2-7316-0483-2)
  4. L'appel de l'enfer (1988, Les Humanoïdes Associés, ISBN 2-7316-0485-9)
  5. Le roi des égoûts (1991, Soleil Productions, ISBN 2-87764-058-2)

Notes

  1. ^ Fernandez, Norman (2001). "REPORTAJES: Antonio Segura" (in Spanish). tebeosfera/Comiqueando Press.
  2. ^ Fernandez, Norman. "Jornadas del COMIC, Villa de AVILÉS, Antonio Segura" (in Spanish). Dreamers.com.
  3. ^ Michigan State University Libraries. "Index to the Comic Art Collection-Kraken".

References