Stanisław Lem could be proud – review of the comic book “The Invincible”

Have you ever heard of the term adaptation? Certainly yes, but in the context of pop culture we associate this word more with film. It is worth knowing that we can also adapt something to a comic.

A few words about the legend

Stanisław Lem probably does not need to be introduced to anyone, at most a little closer to those who are more interested in fantasy than science fiction. He was undoubtedly an outstanding citizen of Lviv and the creator of Polish science fiction literature, as well as a philosopher and futurologist, whose books have been translated into forty languages, with a total circulation of 30 million copies. He made his debut in 1951, but his famous novel The Invincible was not published until thirteen years later.

The plot of his novel was about the exploitation of other planets. In Invincible , a second-class space cruiser called The Invincible lands on the desert planet Regis III in order to find the Condor – a twin unit with which communication was lost on this planet. This, however, leads them to the dark discovery of the necrosphere.

How is the adaptation?

Rafał Mikołajczyk – the author of this comic adaptation – proved that Lem’s works are immortal and timeless. He showed the content created by the master while being as faithful to the original as possible. Invincible is a novel filled with the tension caused by the unknown and the fear that follows it. This, in turn, is clearly demonstrated by the “captured reaction” on the faces of the main characters, which reflect surprise, confusion or helplessness in the face of an inconceivable force. The drawing is here the clou of the whole, because it gives a new format to the old title.

Also, great fun with chiaroscuro makes us get a stuffy atmosphere bordering on horror. This is exacerbated by the numerous quadrilateral places filled with text that carefully describe what is happening both in the dark depths of the planet and the complex psyche of the crew members. Of course, it was not without changes to the original, but who would pick on it, when you get so much in return?

The adaptation of Lem’s novel is actually not a comic book. It is the same story that we know from the original work, only with the addition of a large number of illustrations, revealing the vivid imagination of Rafał Mikołajczyk. However, I would like to mention that I am pleased that the author stuck to the tendency of the Cold War offensive in science fiction and captured everything with three or four colors. Black and gray decorating the interior, red representing unknown planets and blue monitor screens, where each line is simplified, devoid of the smallest details in a truly socialist realist style (just like Poland in the 1960s).

There can only be one verdict

Invincible is the first Booka title worth having. And although both myself and other reviewers on the Internet may associate the title with a comic book with a certain title of Image Comics, it certainly has nothing to do with it. It is simply a worthy adaptation of a unique, even outstanding and yet difficult novel by Stanisław Lem, which in a simple pictorial way can reach even more recipients than the original.

The edition itself deserves a few words of appreciation – good solid paper, great hard cover like the Invincible ship itself and an additional insert with concept sketches. For a product under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the first title of a new publication – a real good job!