{"id":31032,"date":"2024-12-06T18:00:20","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T18:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=31032"},"modified":"2024-12-06T18:00:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T18:00:20","slug":"yoko-tsuno-volume-16-the-cannon-of-kra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/12\/06\/yoko-tsuno-volume-16-the-cannon-of-kra\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoko Tsuno volume 16: The Cannon of Kra"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Roger Leloup<\/strong>, translated by Jerome Saincantin<\/strong> (Cinebook)
\nISBN: 978-1-80044-019-7 (Album PB)<\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Affirmative, Inclusive & Bursting with Blockbuster Thrills\u2026 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

On 24th<\/sup> September 1970, indomitable intellectual adventurer and \u201celectronics engineer\u201d Yoko Tsuno<\/strong> began her career in Le Journal de Spirou<\/em><\/strong> via a cartoony \u201cMarcinelle style\u201d 8 page short entitled \u2018Hold-up en hi-fi\u2019<\/em>. She is still delighting readers and making new fans to this day in astonishing, action-packed, astoundingly accessible adventures numbering amongst the most intoxicating, absorbing and broad-ranging comics thrillers ever created.<\/p>\n

Her globe-girdling mysteries and space-&-time-spanning epics were devised by multitalented Belgian maestro Roger Leloup who – from 1953 – truly started his own solo career after working as a studio assistant and technical artist on Herg\u00e9\u2019s Adventures of Tintin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Compellingly told, superbly imaginative and – no matter how implausible the premise of any individual yarn may seem – always firmly grounded in hyper-realistic settings underpinned by authentic, unshakably believable technology and scientific principles, Leloup\u2019s illustrated escapades were at the vanguard of a wave of strips revolutionising European comics. Very early in the process, he switched from loose illustration to the mesmerising nigh-photo realistic Ligne Claire style that is a series signature.<\/p>\n

That long-overdue sea-change in gender roles and stereotyping heralded a wave of clever, competent, brave and formidably capable female protagonists taking their rightful places as heroic ideals and not romantic lures; elevating Continental comics in the process. Such endeavours are as engaging and empowering now as they ever were, none more so than the exploits of Miss Tsuno.<\/p>\n

Her first outings (the aforementioned but STILL unavailable Hold-up en hi-fi<\/em><\/strong>, and sequels La belle et la b\u00eate<\/strong><\/em> and Cap 351<\/em><\/strong>) were mere introductory vignettes before epic authenticism took hold in 1971 when the unflappable troubleshooter met valiant but lesser (male) pals Pol Paris<\/em> and Vic Van Steen<\/em>, properly hitting her stride in premier full-length saga Le trio de l\u2019\u00e9trange<\/em><\/strong> starting in LJdS<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s May 13th<\/sup> edition. From that point, Yoko\u2019s cases would include explosive exploits in exotic corners of our world, sinister deep-space sagas and even time-travelling jaunts. There are 31 European bande dessin\u00e9e albums to date, with 19 translated into English thus far, albeit – and ironically – none of them available in digital formats…<\/p>\n

First serialised in LJdS<\/em><\/strong> #2452-2455, Le canon de Kra<\/em><\/strong> was first released in 1985: a gripping war-tinged thriller and sublimely understated espionage epic. Laced with solid hard-science foundations and stark historical and geopolitical overtones, it was the 20th<\/sup> album, reaching us Brits as Cinebook\u2019s 16th<\/sup> outing, exploring a heritage of hate and destruction and forcing the troubleshooter to ponder a recent time of madness in her country\u2019s long and proud history\u2026<\/p>\n

It opens as Miss Tsuno – a supremely gifted aviation and glider pilot – finishes testing super-compact jet the Hummingbird for a mystery millionaire. After regretfully signing off on the nippy craft, she is reintroduced to old friends Colonel Tagashi<\/em> (Daughter of the Wind<\/strong>) and benevolent billionaire\/tech entrepreneur\/German security agent Peter Hertzel<\/em> (Wotan\u2019s Fire<\/strong>)\u00a0 who reveal they have been secretly prepping her for a critical and deadly mission.<\/p>\n

The intelligence men have uncovered a diabolical plot to use a reconstructed rail-mounted super gun to fire 500mm shells into South Asia. In 1942, these mobile artillery pieces were abandoned on the Isthmus of Kra in the Malay Peninsula. Rebuilt, ready, and situated in oil-rich new nation Kampong, the bombardments could reach Indonesia, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand and more.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the former Japanese pilot masterminding the scheme has become the world\u2019s most successful criminal arms dealer since WWII ended. Sakamoto<\/em> plans to enact revenge for the shame of defeat by filling those shells with explosives and stolen radioactive waste in equal measure…<\/p>\n

With a week until their counterattack can begin, Yoko goes undercover as a photojournalist in Kampong, infiltrating warlord Sakamoto\u2019s palatial fortress but bringing devastating retaliation upon herself and Kampong\u2019s vastly overmatched police force. Nevertheless, Tsuno divines the fine detail of Sakamoto\u2019s scheme and, with police captain Onago, heads to where the super-gun and his appalling ammo await the madman\u2019s orders to fire. Revenge is not the villain\u2019s only goal. By backing anti-government rebels, the warlords intend to be Kampong\u2019s king…<\/p>\n

As Pol and Vic move in to assist at an pre-arranged rendezvous point, the grand plan is shot down – literally – and Yoko and Onago find themselves accidentally allied to the anti-government rebels Sakamoto had backed but now betrays. As the villain spirals into madness, the resistance target his rail installation, leading to an epic battle to sabotage the rail cannon and defeat the deranged warlord\u2019s plans of atomic armageddon…<\/p>\n

Drenched in intrigue and packed with breathtaking air-combat and jungle war set pieces, The Cannon of Kra<\/strong> thunders along, inexorably building to a shattering climax and blistering conclusion. This epic again confirms Yoko Tsuno as a multi-faceted adventurer, at home in every manner of scenario, holding her own against the likes of James Bond<\/strong>, Modesty Blaise<\/strong>, Tintin<\/strong> and other genre-busting super-stars, triumphantly facing spies and maniacs as well as aliens, weird science or unchecked forces of nature…<\/p>\n

As always the most effective asset in these breathtaking tales is the astonishingly authentic and staggeringly detailed draughtsmanship and storytelling, which superbly benefits from Leloup\u2019s diligent research and meticulous attention to detail, honed through years of working on Tintin. The Cannon of Kra<\/strong> is a magnificently wide-screen thriller, tense, complex and evocative, appealing to any fan of blockbuster action fantasy or devious derring-do.
\nOriginal edition \u00a9 Dupuis, 1985 by Roger Leloup. All rights reserved. English translation 2021 \u00a9 Cinebook Ltd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Roger Leloup, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook) ISBN: 978-1-80044-019-7 (Album PB) Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Affirmative, Inclusive & Bursting with Blockbuster Thrills\u2026 8\/10 This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. On 24th September 1970, indomitable intellectual adventurer and \u201celectronics engineer\u201d Yoko Tsuno began her career in Le Journal de Spirou via … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Yoko Tsuno volume 16: The Cannon of Kra”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,75,239,255,63,107,169,229,254],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-crime-comics","category-drama","category-environmentalism","category-european-classics","category-science-fiction","category-spy-stories","category-yoko-tsuno","category-young-adult"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-84w","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31034,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31032\/revisions\/31034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}