The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane

Gr 10 Up—Lone Sloane finds himself, as the title suggests, adrift in solitude after his spacecraft explodes. Where most people would surely have perished, Sloane survives, managing to evade the all-consuming black hole that has seemingly erased any vestiges of his craft. In its place a stone throne emerges, thus beginning the very trippy voyages of the title character. Druillet's oversize picture book is a psychedelic fantasy reminiscent of the "Bronze Age" of comics (1970–85). His use of worm's-eye perspective, warm colors, monochromatic patterns, and various shades of gray, black, and white capture Sloane's alternating position as the "hunted" and the "one touched by the King of Gods." Readers may find themselves confused by the bizarre surrealism of the illustrations, which occasionally might cause them to lose the story's focus. There isn't much revealed about the protagonist and how he came to be regarded as the sought after "living one," nor why he is a "loner" among his kin. Perhaps the answer to these questions and more will be found during subsequent voyages.