We have a crisis. Democracy is dying a natural death and the world is plunged into anxiety. This is the picture of the future drawn by Enki Bilal in Monster's Theatrology , which consists of four acts: A Monster's Dream , December 32 , Meeting in Paris , The Four?
Enki (Enes) Bilal is an extraordinary artist, one of a kind and irreplaceable. His works are characterized by a sophisticated style and revolutionary form. Listing the most popular works by the cartoonist, one cannot forget about the Nikopol Trilogy (2002-2003), Julia & Roem (2011), Animal (2010), Fins de siècle: Phalanxes of the Black Order (2003) and Hunting (2002) [1] .The artist, having Yugoslav roots, published his works in the early 1980s and over the years spoiled readers all over the world. In Poland, as we can conclude from the above data, Bilal’s albums were released regularly. In recent years, Egmont has focused primarily on re-releases.
Resume, horror?
Monster Theater was published in Poland in 2002-2008. The decision to resume it surprised fans of Bilal’s work. Two questions should be asked: does the publisher expect that the reception of a comic book from several years ago is still the same? Who was selected as the recipient of the newly released album? Importantly, Monster is an album by a mature artist who has already developed his own language and uses unique graphic concepts. Bilal plays with the form of a comic book – he draws with a pencil, reduces the color, and in a moment proposes a fragment filled with colors, awakening all the reader’s senses. The artist’s drawings are evocative and it is not difficult to imagine the feelings of the heroes of the story. Their plasticity allows us to almost smell or taste. Some viewers may not like the stonenessthe faces of the heroes. It seems to me, however, that it is worth treating this artistic manner of Bilal as a characteristic element of his work. Getting to know the cartoonist’s style, we will work on our perception abilities.
Story meanders
Every reader who deals with Monster Theatrology must show great patience. The collective album of the series consists of the following acts (volumes): The Dream of a Monster , December 32 , Meeting in Paris and the Four?. The plot focuses on the break-up of Yugoslavia, Bilal’s home country. Three Sarajevo orphans – Nike, Leyla and Amir – present this story to us from different perspectives. Fighting for their own identity and freedom, the characters try to reconstruct their own lives. Bilal does not shy away from retro-futuristic plot elements – personality transfers, flying taxis, body surgery, replicants. The created world undergoes delusion and disintegration. There are no ideas that would help a person survive. As you read and watch the comic, you will get questions, but not answers.
An unforgettable scenario
Reading the comic, we can see many threads and motifs in Bilal’s work. The more times we reach for this proposal, the more chances we have to go deep into the created reality and analyze elements that we may not have noticed during our first reading. The story draws from the science fiction genre to the fullest – we have a vision of the future that we can treat as a preview of what may happen if we do not remember. It should be noted that Monster is not an album that can be recommended to someone who does not know the artist’s work. In this situation, the perspective that Bilal outlines in the Nikopol Trilogy may prove to be a better choice.
[1] The dates of the Polish edition are given in brackets.
