This comic seemed to be a curious mix of Dune - giant subterranean snow worm, Alien - an abandoned planet with non-natural structures, and Prometheus - advanced underground tunnels and temples of a long-supposedly-extinct race of beings. Although the art impessed me at times, the dialogue failed to hold my interest at times and there wasn't enough action for my liking.

'Siberia 56' by Christophe Bec with art by Alexis Sentenac is a science fiction graphic novel about life on a hostile planet. It appealed to me as a decent science fiction story and the art was better than average.

A new relief crew to planet Siberia 56 crash lands 150 miles from the base. Hostile conditions on the planet mean they have to cross the distance on foot. Hostile lifeforms on the planet mean they might not all make it. With a giant creature that can approach undetected, a non-liveable atmosphere, and a government that has it's own motivations, it might be hard for humans to survive.

It did remind me a bit of Aliens and Dune, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I appreciated characters in peril that actually used their brains. I liked the painted art quite a bit. At times things are a bit indistinct, but on a planet of snow storms, I think this was definitely a good choice.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Insight Editions and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, not only for the space exploration, but also for the grittiness of the story and the characters. It made for an interesting and exciting read.

Gorgeous cover + Absolute dream of sci-fi settings

I received a copy of this e-ARC from NetGalley and my first mistake was to not download the pdf version before the graphic novel got archived! Because the kindle version was very hard to read as the images were separated from the text, and that alone ruined my experience.

Another thing that struck me as unappealing, was the main character and how conveniently everything was presented to him. The writer was trying to portray him as a hero, saving lives and killing these creatures, but at points it felt too forced.

The story itself was definitely interesting and if I ever see this graphic novel in the bookstore I will definitely get it for myself! It is a perfect injection of sci-fi when you crave something unworldly but don’t have time to emerge into a complex and huge book.

Siberia 56 should be a damned film project. Someone make this into a movie/TV hybrid project stat!. Take your Alien/Prometheus worlds and mix with your Pitch Black/Riddick, sprinkle in a bit of Event Horizon, Dune, and little Ghost of Mars.. That is the amalgamate feel that Siberia 56 gives. It is presented as a collection of three comic volumes: The 13th Mission, Morbius, and The Pyramid

Siberia 56 is a terrible planet. It is a candidate for colonization ONLY because it has an atmosphere compatible with Human life. That is close to all it has going for it. The tropic belt ranges from 14° to -40°, with consistent lightning storms, erratic knife blade mountain ranges, and hostile life forms that live under the ice. If you get closer to the poles, the temps drop to -330° with wind sheer close to 200mph.

The novel opens on the 13th mission, a group of replacement pre-colonists who are dropping into the atmosphere for an eight year stint on the planet. They are eighty million light years from earth, so many of them are resigned to simply being home. Nearly a hundred years of pre-colony research has been happening and yet they still hit road blocks. In this case, multiple engine failure and a crash landing a hundred and fifty files from the HQ.


While stomping through the snow on a 15 day hike to civilization, the crash survivors stumble across the frozen corpse of a Silhur, under ice razor toothed worm about the size of a Naval Destroyer. Bitten and torn apart, they are left to wonder what could possibly accomplish this action and never be seen in a century of research.

They do not have to wonder for long. As they are terrorized by a beast who leaves a frozen wake of body parts, they locate several artifacts from a multi-million year old civilization who appears to have left a calling card for any who follow in their footsteps.
Goddamn good.


Seems like there is a trend forming where I am reading graphic novels translated from French to English. Some were English, translated to French then back to English, but I am digressing. This French graphic novel is beautifully crafted with intense images and an indepth plotline. As the volumes progress, and you are more vested in the plot, the story text becomes significantly more verbose. Christophe Bec and Alexis Sentenac have built a beautiful object here. The English translation by Ivanka Hahnenberger was precise and had I been unaware this was a translation, I would not have questioned it.

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Disclosure- This Graphic Novel was provided to me for review purposes by the publisher. The publisher however does not know that I have planted subliminal thoughts into their conciousness and will be expecting them to cook me pancakes any day now. We will see who comes out on top in this trade. Had their novel been unfavorable in my viewing, I would have provided clear critique to this point, no matter how delicious the breakfast foods delicately fed to me and my wife in bed. Bring mimosa.

An interesting sci-fi tale taking place on Siberia 56. A team of scientists are trying to tame this frozen tundra of a world filled with dangerous creatures. Great art and compelling stories.

Strong, terrifying sci fi story. Think, "The Thing" in outer space. Bec and Sentenac have put together an edge of your seat, engaging work that keeps you hooked and makes this a one sitting read.

The artwork is interesting, that is for sure, but the storytelling is kind of flat and sometimes hasty. All in all, the concept is intriguind and I liked it.

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Siberia 56 is a sci-fi/horror story that takes place at a time where humanity is exploring the galaxy and finding places that could serve as potential colonies. The planet of the same name is an arctic world with some nasty creatures inhabiting it, but there is more going on than even the team studying the planet are aware of.

From the tone of the story, this feels like it is in the same vein as the Alien franchise. The structure and the pacing seemed forced though. It's like the creators came up with this idea they loved and rushed to get to it. I think a slower buildup would have worked better for me. It nails the feeling that this planet is inhospitable. Yet I was left wanting more than what this book was able to deliver. The characters felt one dimensional too. There is so much about the planet and the creatures that the human characters are more of an afterthought.

The art is wonderful though, particularly the landscape shots. There are numerous points where the point of view is pulled back to show off terrain with nice effect. That alone wasn't enough to carry the book though. It has some inklings of an interesting story near the end. I just didn't get enough payoff to justify getting to that point.

Siberia 56 by Christophe Bec, Alexis Sentenac (Illustrations) has volume 1-3 in it and I received this from NetGalley, thanks NetGalley. If the story was as wonderful as the cover, well it would have been a 5 star book for sure, what an awesome cover! The art inside was also great. The story was a bit predictable but enjoyable. Harsh planet with predatory alien life. Having to walk 150 miles in harsh elements to get to a base with predator beings watching them. An Aliens-type feel to it. Characters developed enough to give an idea of their personalities, which is more than most graphic novels. I enjoyed it, I'm sure the cool pics will look better than they do on my Kindle since the ARC copy has small pics but even those look great.

Review for Volumes 1 to 3.

The story started with our space travellers waking up from (cryogenic?) sleep and puking their guts out--I felt a strong Alien vibe. They crash land on their destined planet and start a hike for survival through a stark, frozen landscape.

The artwork is almost monochrome, except for rare scenes of sunsets over the barren scenery. Colour is used sparingly. The best parts of this comic are the landscapes.

I especially liked the cover, it's like Dune on ice, instead of sandworms we get ice snakes.

The beginning of Volume 2 was a surprise in terms of timeline. Hadn't expected that. I liked the plot more than Volume 1, it had more tension.

Volume 3 went off into another direction again. The pacing was generally a little uneven and I was missing a bit of a red thread throughout the whole thing (#1-3), there wasn't a consistent plot idea connecting the volumes.

A pretty wordy comic. And considering that, the world building could have done with some work. The supporting characters besides Ned all stayed flat. Only two of the main side kicks even had names (that I remembered) and for one of those her look kept changing, so I was never quite sure, what character I was looking at.

Some of the panels were difficult to decipher. I had to look at most of the action sequences several times to figure out the plot. I often wasn't sure what was going on. The SF elements didn't sound very scientific and none of the main plot points were resolved.

The main monster was a disappointment, as invisible. It would have been a nice touch to show it in all of its goriness at least once towards the end.

So, bottom line... It was ok. I liked the artwork, the story telling was not a win.
Would I read the next volume? Yes, maybe, as Volume 3 left me hanging with an open ending.
Would I recommend this to a friend? Perhaps, with the caveat that the story did not win me over and needs some work.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

I received this from NetGalley and the publisher for a review.
The only reason I gave this 3 stars is because as a graphic novel the format didn't show up well on my Kindle, but the story was great and the pictures I could see were fantastic.

I greatly enjoyed this title. The artwork and the story melded well together and were captivating. Before I can purchase for my section (teens), I'll have to give it another read-through. However, if I can't purchase this title for my section, I will recommend it be purchased in another.

Though this graphic novel has stunning artwork, the story really leaves one lacking. There is virtually no character development and the action is very standard crash survivors against the harsh terrain and near indestructible creatures. Been there, done that.

Part 1:
A team of scientists come to replace the team currently on Siberia 56. Their ship crashes on entry, and they must go 150 miles in order to reach the base. On foot. In crazy subzero temperatures on a planet with a few known predators. And as the team is soon to discover, there’s a serious unknown predator too. Will any of them make it to the base?

Part 2:
The story continues with the survivors of the first part trying to find a way to get rid of the nasty creature they discovered. Interspersed are some flash backs of first missions to the planet.

Part 3:
While researching some ancient structures on the planet, the team accidentally triggers a monstrous cosmic storm. They send out a rescue signal, but the powers that be on Earth have many things to weigh in their decision of whether to evacuate Serbia 56 or not.

If you’ve seen more than a few scifi movies, you will have a very good idea how this story is going to go and will be taking bets on who will survive. So it is somewhat predictable, but the artwork is cool and there’s still something morbidly enjoyable about a space survival story even if you know a majority of the cast is probably doomed. If you're looking for something new and fresh, you may want to try a different graphic novel. If you like disaster scifi, this may be just your thing. I can totally see this being turned into a TV series or made for TV movie.

Content notes: A few mild to moderate swear words, and over thirty strong swears. No sex scenes. Some vague, lewd references, a few scenes that show a man and woman in bed together just talking, one scene that shows two naked butts. Several deaths, a few bloody and some with implied guts.

If you are a fan of Ridley Scott’s classic Alien movies, you will definitely want to pick up a copy of Siberia 56. Siberia is an inhospitable world. Temperatures plummet to extremes far below zero. The atmosphere is breathable, but one breath at these temperatures will kill. If you manage to survive the cold, powerful and terrifying predators abound. The worst of which is the Morbius - huge, vicious and invisible. The entirety of the first mission to Siberia was wiped out by one.

It is now the 13th mission to Siberia, and 13 is not a lucky number. The shuttle bringing new personnel crashes 150 miles from base. The terrain is beautiful but treacherous and their likelihood of survival is minimal as they must travel on foot. Only of the crew survives, but the pulse pounding terror has only begun. Humans were not the first intelligent life form to visit Siberia, but they may be the last.

Siberia 56 kept me on the edge of my seat with its breathtaking visuals and action packed storyline. The Morbius is truly horrific just like the alien from the Aliens movies. Siberia 56 is a fantastic blend of science fiction and horror.

5 / 5

I received a copy of Siberia 56 from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

-- Crittermom

Stunning art and a fascinating story!

As a big sci-fi fan did I truly enjoy reading this graphic novel. I did get Prometheus vibe now and then while I read it. Which was only nice since I liked the movie.

The Siberia is Earth’s 56th colony and the volume includes three stories which are all connected with each other. I did think that the first story was the best with the shuttle crashing on the planet and the surviving members having to trek over the plane to safety. A trek through a frozen world with dangerous alien creatures. The next two stories both show past expeditions and the continuation the storyline in the first story.

Siberia 56 is really great and will without a doubt appeal to sci-fi fans!

I've had three arcs of large-sized, pretty graphic novels in translation from this publisher recently, all looking great but failing badly when it comes to text, plot and/or story. Here lovely painted landscapes on an ice planet don't serve when clarity in action is needed, and the action only comes from a very derivative sci-fi horror story, where an Alien-styled group of spacefarers has to counter an invisible behemoth. Whether it was translated to English or not, the script can be really quite hokum – characters explaining the plot to each other, talking exposition to themselves, etc. It offers nothing new, so if you don't like the look you'll probably get nothing out of it.