Docteur Mystère

    (SAF, 2004-2005)
™ and © 2004 Sergio Bonelli

I had high hopes for this European album featuring the French pulp hero Dr. Mystere, but, unfortunately, “The Mysteries of Milan” reads like a camp comic romp version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

With their (to us) oversized format, European graphic novels can have as many as 10 panels per page, but here 10 seems the bare minimum, giving Castelli’s story little room to maneuver. There are a few moments of genuine heady fission, as when the good Docteur and his towheaded companion Cigale arrive in Milan via their “electric hotel” (a combination trackless train and bed camper), summoned by the pseudonymous “Lady B” to battle an arch-villain who’s equally unnamed.

The first plot is a hodgepodge of sorcery and science, Chinese warriors, and mechanical men, which is infrequently lightened by a veritable dogpile of guest spots by famous fictional characters of the period, from Henry Higgins and Col. Pickering (from My Fair Lady) to The Phantom of the Opera. It’s a handsomely mounted adventure that sadly never quite gets out of first gear.

— S.A. Bennett
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