Fantasy Book Critic: Graphic Novel: Aama by Frederik Peeters

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Frédérik Peeters (born 13 August 1974, in Geneva) is a contemporary Swiss graphic novelist. He received his bachelor of arts degree in visual communication from the École Supérieure d’Arts Appliqués in Geneva in 1995. Peeters currently lives with his partner Cati, her son, and their daughter in Geneva.

Publisher: SelfMadeHero (March 18, 2014) Length: all 4 vols translated into English, around 500 pages

Simply amazing. Verloc Nim wakes up in a molten crater. He remembers nothing about his past and must learn about it from a journal given to him by a cigar-smoking robot gorilla named Churchill. The journal reveals how Verloc’s younger brother, Conrad, found him and took to an isolated experimental colony at the edge of the cosmos. As they reach their destination, Conrad's true intentions and Verloc's role in the unfolding events become clearer.

I’m a huge fan of loss of memory scenarios. You have to know your history to know who you are. Once you lose it, you have to reshape yourself. Also, from a storytelling standpoint, it’s an efficient way to hook the reader at the beginning of the story. It certainly captivated me!

I loved Aama for many reasons - the art is stunning, the writing strong, and the characters likable. The plot gets thrillingly bizarre the further it progresses and the art aligns with evolutionary marvels imagined by Peeters. Verloc’s journey is mixed with dreams and visions, which are fascinating (graphically and thematically).

In Aama, Peeters imagined a scientific society, which had replaced the worship of intangible gods with the worship of technology, networks, and communication. Humans are wirelessly connected through implants, yet Verloc deliberately lives without this connection, adapting better to the solitude on the uninhabited planet Ona(ji).

The main story revolves around Verloc’s uneasy past with his ex-lover and their mute daughter, whom he is now banned from seeing. He shares the near-impossible challenges faced when choosing to have a human baby in a society favoring 'progress' over such ideas.

The art is sensational, and Peeters’ portrayal of the planet and various bioforms awed me with its imagination and rich palette of colors and lights.

If you’re looking for a wonderfully imaginative futurism with strong writing and a focus on familial bonds and (in a way) spirituality, you can’t go wrong with it.

PS: The story is also available in English in four volumes. It seems the collected edition is available only in French.