XIII (comic)

Template:ComicBookBox XIII (Thirteen) is a Franco-Belgian comic book series written by the Belgian Jean Van Hamme and drawn by the Belgian William Vance. XIII is similar to Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity in that both protagonists have amnesia. XIII first appeared in 1984, and was later published by Dargaud. In 2004 the storyline of the first five volumes was adapted into a video game, also titled XIII, that was released on several platforms.

Contents

1 Volumes 2 Storyline 3 Popularity 4 Translations 5 XIII video game 6 External links

Volumes

Only the first three volumes were translated to English in the initial run by Catalan Communications, but Dabel Brothers plans to release all volumes starting 2005. English titles in the below list are translations of the French original titles, and may change for the actual albums.

Most volumes consisted of three individual issues during the initial run, not otherwise named or numbered.

1. Black friday (in French Le jour du soleil noir, "black sun day")
2. Where the Indian goes (là où va l'indien)
3. All tears of hell (Toutes les larmes de l'enfer)
4. SPADS (SPADS)
5. Red alert (Rouge total, "full red")
6. The Jason Fly files (Le fichier Jason Fly)
7. The night of August 13 (La nuit du 3 août, "the night of August 3")
8. Thirteen against one (Treize contre un)
9. For Maria (Pour Maria)
10. El Cascador (El Cascador)
11. Three silver watches (Trois montres d'argent)
12. The Trial (Le jugement)
13. The Inquest (L'enquête)
14. Danger to the state (Secret défense, "top secret")
15. Release the dogs! (Lâchez les chiens !)
16. Operation Montechristo (Opération Montechristo)

Storyline

The series starts when a man washes up on a shore in Peacock Bay in the American East Coast, suffering from amnesia, with only a 'XIII' tattoo to link him to his past. He moves to Eastown, a fictional city, where he meets 'the Mongoose' and Colonel Amos.

Volumes one through five deal with XIII searching for his identity and his past, only to find himself confronting the "conspiracy of the XX" which aims to a coup d'état in the United States. They form a closed story arc, ending with the destruction of the "conspiracy of the XX". At the end of the story arc XIII believes he has found his old identity as "Steve Rowland", and is prepared to continue his life normally, even if his memories have not yet returned. This illusion is shattered in the next volume, as XIII learns that "Steve Rowland" was but one of many identities. XIII once again becomes a government agent, while at the same time he has to deal with his missing past and uncertain future.

In volumes six to eighth XIII takes up again the investigation about his past. Volumes six and seven bring XIII to a snowy town in the Rocky Mountains, where the story revolves around the fate of his father in the McCarthian 1950s, who got entangled in the agenda of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter. In volume eight, he has to deal with the relationship he had with Kim, daughter of general Carrington. Kim is married to Steve Rowland, one of XIII's former identities.

In volumes nine to eleven, the action takes place in Costa Verde, a small fictional nation in Central America where XIII once led a revolution under the identity of "El Cascador".

Volume twelve starts a new storyline, with XIII hunted by the National Security Agency, while XIII himself once again confronts his old enemy, the Mongoose.

Volume thirteen (XIII) is a special issue, where two journalists retrace the first twelve issues, clarifying and expanding the storyline.

Volumes fourteen to sixteen continue the storyline begun in volume twelve.

Popularity

First released in 1984 as a serial in the popular French Spirou magazine, XIII was an instant hit among Spirou readers. The first three issues were released as a single hardback volume by Spirou published Dargaud the same year, a trend continued for later issues. By the time of the eight issue, Thirteen against one, sales of the hardback had reached 140,000 copies, and the publisher belatedly realizes they have a bestseller on hands. Promotion starts, including a special drawing by the French national lottery in 2000 with 1,500,000 tickets and a €13,000 grand prize.

Translations

Originally in French, XIII was quickly translated into Dutch, and translations in other languages such as German and Italian quickly followed.

XIII was first released in English in 1989, but after the first three volumes publication ended in 1990. Dabel Brothers is planning to reissue all sixteen volumes starting 2005.

XIII video game

Main article: XIII (game)

XIII was adapted as a 2004 video game released for PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and the PC. The plot of the game is an adaption of the first five volumes of the comic series.

External links

• XIII official website (http://www.xiii-bd.fr.st/)fr:XIII

nl:XIII (stripverhaal)