Aama Vol. 1: The Smell of Warm Dust HCPublisher: Self Made Hero/ Abrams ComicArts
Release Date: March 18, 2014
Price: $19.95
Creator: Frederik Peeters
Format: 88 pgs., Full-Color, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-9068-3873-7
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
Verloc Nim wakes up in the middle of nowhere with no memory, in the company of a robotic ape who smokes cigars and is somehow in possession of an amazingly detailed diary in Nim's own writing. The story that it tells, even with explanation from the ape, often makes little or no sense, and so both the main character and the audience are along for a wild ride.
The artwork is typical of a European graphic album. The artwork matches the strange, surreal nature of the story. Weird creatures and robots in a plot that would work with a Star Trek away team are at the center, and the artwork is a strong point.
The biggest single weakness in this book is that the central character is such a jerk that it is difficult to care about him, even though the story itself is complex and interesting. Because much of the story is a flashback from the main character's own diary, it's the story of an unsympathetic character reading about being an unsympathetic character. Readers who want characters they can like will have little to latch onto in this book.
Partial nudity, sex and violence, along with the nature of the story, aim this at adults.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.
