Carthago Review

Man, French people just know how to do comics. If I were to tell you I’m reading a comic about a massive prehistoric beast, a girl with potentially weird powers, evil corporations, and a bathysphere, and that it’s all drawn to be just pure beauty, you’d be interested, right?

Meet Carthago, a book about a pretty big shark from Humanoids that does just about everything right.

Carthago (Humanoids Comics)

Fuck. That.

Picture it: you’re a natural gas company, drilling in a deep part of the very unexplored ocean, when you break through the mantle into a massive underwater cave. I’m taking massive, like size of New York City massive. You decide to investigate, because you are dumb, and have never watched a horror movie before. This turns out to be a very bad idea:

It’s a drawing, but a little pee still came out.

This kicks off a story arc hundreds of pages and five issues long, filled with incredibly beautiful artwork, big scary ass sharks, flashbacks and forwards, all leading towards what is a very interesting ending.

It literally has everything. You want Nazis? How about a U-Boat being attacked by a prehistoric beast?

Mein pants unz full of shiza.

I know what you’re saying: but what about Buddhist monks who love guns?

Namaste this, motherfuckers.

Fine, you’re saying. What about an Abominable Snowman? You got a Yeti back there? Huh?

Sidenote: this might be the coolest depection of a Yeti, ever.

Is It Good?

If you like multi-layered mystery stories that are dripping with the fear of the unknown–think Hellboy, Lovecraft, King–this is your jam.

Also, if you really think about it – how many comics in foreign languages do you think make the cut for translation? This one is one of the tops–and you need to grab it.