The Knights Of Heliopolis by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jérémy (graphic novel review)
‘The Knights Of Heliopolis’ is a historical fantasy drama by Alejandro Jodorowsky with colourful and stylish art by Jérémy. The original work was in French, has a French background with sexy French scenes and has been translated by Marc Bourbon-Crook. Apart from one odd buddy reference, ‘me and the big guy’, which doesn’t fit in the 18th century, he seems to have done well.
In northeast Spain lies the hidden secret temple of the Knights of Heliopolis, an order of immortal warrior wise men that includes Lao Tzu, the prophet Ezekiel, the apostle John and Nostradamus, among others. As the story begins, an apprentice known only as Seventeen faces trial by combatting a talking gorilla to join the knights. He wins, startling the gorilla by whipping off his clothes to reveal breasts and two sets of genitalia, for Seventeen is a hermaphrodite! He is also Louis XVII, the rightful king of France, saved from death by a Knight of Heliopolis.
Having passed his trial, Louis’ first job is to steal an ancient gold crown from Louis XVIII, his uncle who now sits on the throne of France. He needs old gold to transmute into an immortal and become a full Knight of Heliopolis. After that, he gets involved in a complex affair involving Napoleon Bonaparte, also seeking eternal life. The timeline goes awry here as Louis XVIII took over after Napoleon’s defeat unless I missed something.
After each new quest, Louis has to undergo another ritual as part of his spiritual growth, putting him into a coma state for years. This handy device means he can skip forward to London in 1888 to chase Jack the Ripper and then go on to London 1941 for his next step. In the final adventure, Louis learns more about the true nature of the Knights of Heliopolis. He falls in love with the errant daughter of the order’s mysterious leader, the ancient Chinaman Fuxi, who was born in 2852 BC and invented writing.
‘The Knights Of Heliopolis’ is a work of great imagination with terrific, colourful, dramatic art that will entertain if taken with a pinch of salt. It features ‘mature content’ or soft porn. According to his bio, author Jodorosky has developed a system of Psychomagic or Psychoshamanism, which derives from his interest in alchemy, Tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. The book, a beautiful hardback edition on quality paper, can be enjoyed without believing in anything. I kind of liked it.
Eamonn Murphy
April 2021
(pub: Titan Books UK, 2021. 232 page graphic novel hardback. Price: £36.99 (UK), $24.99 (US), $33.99 (CAN). ISBN: 978-1-78773-608-5)
check out website: www.titan.com
