Le Transperceneige is a post-apocalyptic French graphic novel created by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette, and was published in 1982 by Casterman, under the title Le Transperceneige, and later retitled The Escape.
The series was continued in two volumes by writer Benjamin Legrand, replacing Jacques Lob, with The Explorers published in 1999 and The Crossing in 2000.
A fourth volume, Terminus, was written by Olivier Bocquet and published in 2015, as a conclusion to the novels series.
In 2014 an English translation was released by Titan Comics. The English translation consisted of two volumes, Snowpiercer, Vol. 1: The Escape and Snowpiercer - The Explorers. Though the second volume only made mention of The Explorers in its title it also contained The Crossing. In 2016 a third English volume was published, translating the fourth French volume.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
After a climatic cataclysm, the survivors of the human species are trapped in a gigantic train that runs forever. This train is very hierarchical, with golden wagons at the head where the aristocracy lives, to the wagons of the poor at the end of the convoy. Military cars provide security and vegetable cars supply food. The hero, Proloff, from the tail wagons, climbs the train in order to understand the situation, following horrific events which he refuses to expose to his interlocutors.
The following three albums take place right after these events, but in another train: the Transperceneige Deux. They present another point of view on this post-apocalyptic world. It is now possible to get out of the train, which can itself stop or even leave the rails to become an exploration vehicle. The intrigues incorporate contemporary themes such as virtual reality and the depletion of energy resources.
Characters[edit | edit source]
- Proloff
- Adeline Belleau
- Puig Vallès
- Val
- Councilor Kennel
- Reverend Dickson
- The Metronome