In recent years, French artist-writer Mathieu Bablet has been crafting his own sci-fi trilogy. In 2016’s Shangri-La, he used people aboard a “corporate-run space station” to explore ideas of consumerism and environmentalism. Then, in 2020’s Carbon & Silicon, Bablet followed two androids on search across the universe for community and personal meaning. Now, thanks to a recently-launched Kickstarter, fans can access the very first U.S. edition of the finale’s third entry, Silent Jenny.
Released via Oni Press and Magnetic Press, Silent Jenny takes place on a not-too-distant Earth, where humans traverse a ravaged planet on mobile cities called “monads.” We follow the titular Jenny, a shy, reserved researcher who has set upon a mission to “recover bee DNA to clone and re-create pollinating insects.” But, as she finds out rather quickly, the world is irrevocably changed, and she must “make peace with the notion that all things come to an end, no matter how much you may fight the inevitable.”
On the one hand, Silent Jenny is more of the stark, inventive sci-fi that Bablet has cultivated over the years. (The monads depicted here are truly a sight to behold for both their pure imaginative power and technical showmanship.) But it’s also just a deeply human tale, and a profound mediation on not only what we’ve done to the planet, but how we retain our essence when the world finally shifts and how we’ll always be on the search for meaning. Even if there are no more bees to find…
The Silent Jenny Kickstarter is active right now, and runs through Friday, May 1. (The campaign smashed its goal of $7,500 in just 23 minutes, and as of press time has raised well over $32,000.) Aside from various versions of the book, the Silent Jenny Kickstarter promises a plethora of other goodies and incentives, including a codex art book, resin models of a monad, and an exclusive box set of all three books from the trilogy.
Ahead of the campaign, we caught up briefly with Bablet via email. There, we talked about how Silent Jenny fits into the trilogy, his personal design for a monad, and Jenny’s own interest as a hero, among a few other topics and tidbits.
AIPT: Silent Jenny is meant to be the end of a trilogy after Shangri-La and Carbon & Silicon. How does it all connect together, and do folks need to have read those other two books to truly enjoy Silent Jenny?
Mathieu Bablet: Actually, Silent Jenny concludes a thematic trilogy about the apocalypse; it’s not necessary to read Shangri-La or Carbon & Silicon before starting Silent Jenny. Rather, the three graphic novels should be seen as different ways of approaching the science fiction genre (hard science, cyberpunk, and with Silent Jenny, post-apocalypse dystopia). In that sense, these three books continue a broader reflection on my vision of a world on the brink of collapse.
In Silent Jenny, we follow the title character through a barren world as she searches for the last genetic traces of bees. Her hope of restoring this biodiversity drives her to embark on a mission into the bowels of the earth.
Courtesy of Oni Press and Magnetic Press.
AIPT: I love the idea of not only the mobile cities, but that people seem to be set on helping folks out more than ever before. Where did the idea come from, and what’s the interest in this aspect of collaboration and community building?
MB: The idea of monads stems from what I believe is an absolute necessity to build collectives and sharing, to escape the direction the world is heading. It requires resilience against accepting the limited individual impact we can have on the world, and recognizing that the solution lies in creating more egalitarian, more horizontal societal models. After believing that the democratic tools at our disposal (such as voting, demonstrations, etc.) could improve our daily lives, I now believe that we must create, on the margins, new ways of inhabiting the world.
AIPT: If you had to man your own monad, what might it look like and what would be some of the most important customs and traditions of the occupants?
MB: Good question! I think my ideal monad would be very similar to Jenny’s: a horizontal managerial structure, no leader, and a special focus on children and elders. Perhaps larger, to accommodate more people, with a huge greenhouse inside. Art would play a major role in community life.
Courtesy of Oni Press and Magnetic Press.
AIPT: Why is Jenny such an interesting lead/hero? She’s a researcher who mostly sticks to herself and yet feels deeply interesting.
MB: Jenny is a character out of step with the rest of the monad community. In fact, by searching for the last traces of bees, she’s trying to revive the old world, while the other villagers have clearly understood that they must try to move forward and make do with the world they have left. Jenny, therefore, has an inner journey to take to relate to the rest of her community, a journey similar to the one readers will (hopefully) experience while reading the book.
AIPT: This book is about how people survive when all of our tools are gone. Does telling a story in such depressing/harrowing circumstances actually give you hope for the future?
MB: The question of hope is central to the story. I really wanted to show that you should never give up the desire to fight for your future. But at the same time, I didn’t want to write about a world that was too idealized compared to our reality. Hope is important, but it’s even stronger if you’re able to envision it while also being realistic about the world.
Courtesy of Oni Press and Magnetic Press.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite moment or scene/page from the story?
MB: There are many! But I think the introduction remains my favorite part to draw. In fact, I had to present the main character, the universe, the miniaturization concept, and the monads in about ten pages. It was quite a challenge to fit all that into such a short sequence!
AIPT: Is there anything else we should know about Silent Jenny, the future, robots/mobile cities, your work, comics, etc.?
MB: Silent Jenny is a book you can read and reread. I’ve included many current themes: mental health, pollution, end-of-life care, and the healthcare system. It’s a world I’ve tried to make as vivid as possible, so I hope you enjoy immersing yourself in it!
For more on the Silent Jenny Kickstarter, including extra art and behind-the-scenes tidbits, head here.
Courtesy of Oni Press and Magnetic Press.
You must be logged in to post a comment.