The Invisible Frontier

    (NBM)
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In the make-believe world of Sodrovno-Voldachia, eager Roland De Cremer follows in his great-uncle’s footsteps and starts a new job as a government cartographer. Inside a huge domed center located in the midst of parched desolation, Roland quickly learns the ropes. His crusty manager Mister Paul instructs him to interpret maps within the context of history, a lesson he soon will have to learn all too well.

The interests between the ivory world of academia and the real world of politicians must inevitably collide. Their nation’s leader, Marshal Radisic, intends to enlarge his country’s borders by affirming the territorial legitimacy of a “Great Sodrovnia.” As Roland falls in love with Shkodra, a house prostitute who conceals strange map-like tattoos, how will this institute of mapmaking be manipulated to justify a Machiavellian military mission?

Authors Francois Schuiten and Benoit Peeters create an elaborate allegory of how Serbia’s leaders recently justified waging war with its Yugoslavian neighbors. In the spirit of geography, the architecturally underpinned art is painstakingly rendered. Though the subject matter may be too dry and methodical for the tastes of action-oriented readers, a solid groundwork has been laid for an intriguing conclusion.

— Oliver Chin
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