Yoko Tsuno: The Comic Book Heroine Who Deserves More Attention
Every now and then I find a book or a series of books that I think should get a lot more attention (I mentioned one such series in a previous blog entry). Recently I discovered a series of graphic novels written and illustrated by a Belgium man named Roger Leloup about a young girl named Yoko Tsuno, an engineer who gets involved in a series of adventures throughout the world. So far I've read four of these books, and have enjoyed each adventure.
This is a fun series, and I found Yoko Tsuno to be a very interesting character. She's a young woman originally from Japan who eventually settled in Belgium, and continues to travel the world (and apparently in a few volumes of the series I have yet to read, into space). In addition to being competent in her profession as an electrical engineer, Yoko is also skilled in an insane number of skills, including but not limited to martial arts, swimming, scuba diving, and flying multiple types of aircraft. No matter where she ends up, Yoko inevitably embarks on some unplanned, often life-threatening adventure, and has to use her wits and skills to save the day.
Yoko Tsuno's adventures are the stuff that dreams are made of. They're genre-bending, showcasing elements of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and even a little humor thrown in. For example, in the volume titled "The Time Spiral," while riding an elephant in the middle of Borneo, Yoko bumps into a time traveller from the 39th century who has witnessed the end of the world and is the last human; Yoko ends up attempting to help her change the future, and winds up going back in time to World War II to meet a younger version of her uncle. Later on in the volume "The Prey and the Ghost," while in Scotland filming a documentary with one of her friends, our heroine finds herself in a castle which may or may not be haunted, and there may be someone who wants to murder her in order to keep a secret.
These stories are just the tip of the iceberg of what happens to Yoko.
While the situations Yoko may find herself may be fantastical, the heroine herself seems at least somewhat realistic. Unlike many comic book characters with superpowers, Yoko does not have the ability to magically fly, teleport, control lightening, or anything like that. All of her abilities are at least somewhat grounded in reality, and have to do with her intelligence and physical skills. True, there are not a lot of people who are expert level skilled in as wide a range of fields such as martial arts, scuba diving, flying aircraft, and so on. However, someone with enough intelligence, determination, time on their hands, and resources (unfortunately not everyone can afford to learn how to fly a plane, but in the book "Daughter of the Wind," in which Yoko goes back to Japan and visits her family, she seems to come from a pretty wealthy and privileged background) could probably become skilled in those areas.
I looked up the author and illustrator of the series, Roger Leloup. As I mentioned earlier he is from Belgium, a nation that loves comic books; it's after all, where both Tintin and the Smurfs come from. I didn't find out much more beyond that. Before working on his own series (he's still creating new volumes about Yoko Tsuno at his current age of 84!), he assisted with the illustration of other series such as "The Adventures of Tintin." He also adopted a little girl from Korea.
This is a book series that I think should be getting more attention in my own country, the United States. Apparently it's beloved within the country of its origin (I'm curious about its appeal in Japan, another country known for its love of comics). So far it appears that about ten books of the series have been officially translated into English, while there are a total of twenty-eight. It's a fun, exciting series with a great character (it's illustrated beautifully as well, an important feature in any graphic novel). I imagine that if I had been exposed to this series as a child that I would have loved it. Maybe someday soon more American children (and also American adults) will get to experience the adventures of Yoko Tsuno.
This is a fun series, and I found Yoko Tsuno to be a very interesting character. She's a young woman originally from Japan who eventually settled in Belgium, and continues to travel the world (and apparently in a few volumes of the series I have yet to read, into space). In addition to being competent in her profession as an electrical engineer, Yoko is also skilled in an insane number of skills, including but not limited to martial arts, swimming, scuba diving, and flying multiple types of aircraft. No matter where she ends up, Yoko inevitably embarks on some unplanned, often life-threatening adventure, and has to use her wits and skills to save the day.
Yoko Tsuno's adventures are the stuff that dreams are made of. They're genre-bending, showcasing elements of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and even a little humor thrown in. For example, in the volume titled "The Time Spiral," while riding an elephant in the middle of Borneo, Yoko bumps into a time traveller from the 39th century who has witnessed the end of the world and is the last human; Yoko ends up attempting to help her change the future, and winds up going back in time to World War II to meet a younger version of her uncle. Later on in the volume "The Prey and the Ghost," while in Scotland filming a documentary with one of her friends, our heroine finds herself in a castle which may or may not be haunted, and there may be someone who wants to murder her in order to keep a secret.
These stories are just the tip of the iceberg of what happens to Yoko.
While the situations Yoko may find herself may be fantastical, the heroine herself seems at least somewhat realistic. Unlike many comic book characters with superpowers, Yoko does not have the ability to magically fly, teleport, control lightening, or anything like that. All of her abilities are at least somewhat grounded in reality, and have to do with her intelligence and physical skills. True, there are not a lot of people who are expert level skilled in as wide a range of fields such as martial arts, scuba diving, flying aircraft, and so on. However, someone with enough intelligence, determination, time on their hands, and resources (unfortunately not everyone can afford to learn how to fly a plane, but in the book "Daughter of the Wind," in which Yoko goes back to Japan and visits her family, she seems to come from a pretty wealthy and privileged background) could probably become skilled in those areas.
I looked up the author and illustrator of the series, Roger Leloup. As I mentioned earlier he is from Belgium, a nation that loves comic books; it's after all, where both Tintin and the Smurfs come from. I didn't find out much more beyond that. Before working on his own series (he's still creating new volumes about Yoko Tsuno at his current age of 84!), he assisted with the illustration of other series such as "The Adventures of Tintin." He also adopted a little girl from Korea.
This is a book series that I think should be getting more attention in my own country, the United States. Apparently it's beloved within the country of its origin (I'm curious about its appeal in Japan, another country known for its love of comics). So far it appears that about ten books of the series have been officially translated into English, while there are a total of twenty-eight. It's a fun, exciting series with a great character (it's illustrated beautifully as well, an important feature in any graphic novel). I imagine that if I had been exposed to this series as a child that I would have loved it. Maybe someday soon more American children (and also American adults) will get to experience the adventures of Yoko Tsuno.
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