Review: "Hypericon" by Manuele Fior

Hypericon by Manuele Fior, translated by Matt Madden
English translation published February 2023 via Europe Comics
★★★

In 1922, Egyptologist Howard Carter (white and British, of course) is on the brink of the discovery of a lifetime—Tutankhamen's intact tomb. In 2001, Teresa is fresh off the plane in Berlin, ready to start what is, for her, the opportunity of a lifetime—an assistantship working on an exhibition of the treasures in that tomb.

In Berlin, Teresa quickly develops a double life: in one life, she is a high-achieving, motivated professional, the consummate employee. In her other life, she is living in a squat with Ruben, a man about whom she knows little other than that his life is something of an antithesis to the ordered routine she's always followed. This is a Berlin that doesn't fully exist anymore—where the squatters haven't been evicted, and you can tell the former East and West Berlin by the smell of coal, and war-torn (and Soviet) buildings are still being torn down and rebuilt. Teresa mostly slots right in, falling into this odd relationship that she tells us is unusual for her (and then setting about trying to make Ruben change into something more appropriate).

I read this for the setting and the cover, mostly. As it turns out, the art style doesn't really match the cover—the cover is far more detailed, realistic, and painting-like than most of the rest of the book. In places, especially in the wider shots of scenes set in Egypt, the art is like fresh watercolors; elsewhere, it tends to be a bit simpler. (I would have liked to know Teresa's age, because going by appearance she could be anywhere between 20 and 45.) I love the color palette, though, and especially the scenes featuring graffiti.

Parts of this, then, I really liked, like the view of punk Berlin and the look at the excavation (in particular, I loved the way the tomb map repeats throughout the story, getting more detailed as the excavation team learns more). But I don't really understand Teresa and Ruben, both of whom do get something akin to personality grafts near the end of the book, and whose relationship seems largely based on (quite explicit) sex. There's not enough of a plot outside their relationship to feel much in the way of stakes otherwise, which puts a lot of pressure on a relationship that I don't fully understand. And while I'm sure there's significance to Teresa finally overcoming her chronic insomnia just in time for (trying to avoid spoilers here) the big crisis at the end of the book, I'm not sure what that significance is, so the crisis ended up feeling a bit...arbitrary, or voyeuristic, or something. I'm glad I read this, but I'm not sure what to take away from it.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.