Afrika Review: Fantastic Art, Poor Plot

Belgian comic artist Hermann’s masterpiece ‘Afrika” has finally hit American shores. With all the hype it has received in Europe, is this comic worth reading at all?

Not exactly.

“Afrika” is about European expatriate Dario Ferrer, who is a protector of sorts to the Tanzanian wildlife. One day a nearby village is attacked by agents of a foreign government and Dario, along with European journalist Charlotte, must expose them.

One thing that can be said about Hermann is that he has great skill with color, nature background and animals. Within the first few pages, the drawings are so lifelike that you think you are in Africa. The animals are some of the best drawn in any form. The humans, though not as impressive as the animals and backgrounds, have a special charm of their own. The use of water color works really well and fits perfectly with the African theme.

Too bad the story isn’t as amazing as the art. The story is meant to be political but it goes a little too political in the first half and that sacrifices the narrative. Dario comes at you like your typical “if you touch my animals I will kill you” activist. That’s all there is to him. The story does pick up somewhat in the second half but it gets dragged down by some plot points that don’t make any sense. The way they wrap up seem forced and come out of nowhere. Hermann may be famous for showing the dark side of humans, but this is just too much.

Not to mention that there isn’t any real resolution to the conflict. It seems Hermann forgot to write an ending in there somewhere.

The chase scene at the second half is one of the best parts of the story and where you hope afterward that Hermann would find a way to recreate somewhere else. You can feel the gravity of situation and the tenseness in the character’s voices. There is even a clever ways the characters fool their pursuers that shed some character development into these characters.

Afrika may have beautiful, with lifelike artwork, but the story falls flat. It relies too much on politics and showing the “dark side of human nature.” If Hermann focused the same amount of energy into his stories as he does his art, Afrika would be worth a read. Instead it’s only worth looking at to see some pretty pictures of Africa’s flora and fauna.