Æon Flux (2006)
Author: Mike Kennedy | Illustrator: Timothy Green II | Page Count: 96
"They found my body, but they never found me."
The backstory of Æon Flux is more complicated than it first appears, but for the purposes of this short review I’ll try to sum up the basics in one paragraph:
Æon is a Monican assassin fighting against a Bregnan government that wants to control the personal freedoms of every citizen living within its walls. The walls provide protection but are also a kind of prison. In the eyes of the Bregnans, she’s a terrorist. She fits the textbook description of that, but in reality she’s fighting to free slaves who don’t know they’re slaves, so that makes her something else too.
In the book there’s an ecological message to the fore, but it’s less important than Æon’s own story and of her role within the mysterious organisation.
You'll get glimpses of both those things, but to understand her true motivations and the deeper workings of the world in which she operates you’ll need to watch the original animated TV series. Doing so will enrich the book's story. However, having watched it you’ll then be in a position to compare the two and you’ll see that the book is weak in comparison. That leaves you with a problem: watch the animation to better appreciate the book’s setting and in so doing enjoy the book’s actual story less. The more you know…
It can be seen as a prequel of sorts to the Hollywood movie starring Charlize Theron, but the character designs are more specifically drawn to reflect Peter Chung’s originals from the TV series. If you’re unfamiliar with it you’ll maybe think that Timothy II’s illustrations are bad. Some of the perspectives are arguably a little wonky, but the elongated limbs and odd facial expressions are purposeful, costumes and architecture are as they ought to be. So too is the odd sexual nature of the lithe Æon. Some people will hate the style, but that’s true of everything.
The book collects together the entire Æon Flux comic, issues 1 - 4.
