The Saga of the Metabarons (also called The Metabarons) is a spin-off of The Incal saga. It was written by Alejandro Jodorowsky, illustrated by Juan Giménez, and published by Les Humanoïdes Associés between 1992 and 2003. It's a story of epic proportions chronicling the lives of the Metabaron's ascendants, from his great-great-grandfather Othon to the current Metabaron ("Nameless"), who follow a strict code of honor and extreme traditions such as patricide and mutliation. Throughout the series the metabaron family members work as mercenaries, fight with different factions and among themselves, while they struggle to find love and accept their destiny.
The original idea for The Saga of the Metabarons comes from a short story that Jodorowsky and Moebius made in 1989, In the Heart of the Impregnable Metabunker, which is retold at the beginning of the first issue, Othon.
The Saga of the Metabarons has spawn other works, such as the short story The Crest of Castaka, which in turned served as the basis for Castaka, and the one-off Weapons of the Metabaron. Another spin-off series, The Metabaron, is still ongoing.
Overview[]
The story of the metabaron clan is told by Tonto to Lothar while they wait for the return of their master to the metabuker. Initially Tonto says that they've been waiting six months for their master to return, but later the story skips at least three centuries ahead. This would seem to indicate that Tonto starts telling his story six months after the Metabaron went searching for John DiFool in The Black Incal, but by the time he finishes telling the story the events of The Fifth Essence: Planet DiFool have aready happened, and that's why City Shaft is deserted and the Metabaron is in another universe.
Most of the story narrated by Tonto in the first seven issues takes place before the events depicted in Before the Incal, for example Honorata the Great-Great-Grandmother shows how the Emperoress was inseminated. Each issue correlates with one character, spawining three generations.
- Othon the Great-Great-Grandfather (1992)
- Honorata the Great-Great-Grandmother (1993)
- Aghnar the Great-Grandfather (1995)
- Oda the Great-Grandmother (1997)
- Steelhead the Grandfather (1998)
- Doña Vicenta Gabriela de Rokha the Grandmother (1999)
- Aghora the Father-Mother (2002)
- Nameless, the Last of the Metabarons (2003)
Short Stories[]
The Crest of Castaka is a short story written by Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Juan Giménez, and released in 2000. The story is, once again, told by Tonto to Lothar, probably before the events depicted in Aghora the Father-Mother, since Lothar is still in his normal body and it isn't aware of his real identity.
The story narrated by Tonto explains how Dayal of Castaka settled in Marmola and the origin of the crest of Castaka. This short story served as the basis for the Castaka series, which chronologically takes place before this story.
- The Crest of Castaka (2000)
One-offs[]
Weapons of the Metabaron is a one-off graphic novel. Travis Charest began working on it but at one point the project was left on hold, and eventually Zoran Janjetov finished it. The story narrates how the Metabaron acquired some of his weapons and how he killed his father-mother (and event that's also depicted in In the Heart of the Impregnable Metabunker and Nameless, the Last of the Metabarons), therefore, the story takes place after Aghora birthed the Metabaron in Aghora the Father-Mother but before Before the Incal.
- Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)