Review by Frank Plowright

Kathy Austin came to the Brazilian jungle in 1949 searching for an unnaturally tall and unnaturally pale man on the basis that he may be an alien. Events revealed to readers have almost conclusively proved that’s not the case, although he’s possessed of abilities otherwise absent in humanity. He’s currently influencing the native population to help a couple of Nazis search for the submarine they abandoned in 1945, lost since then and seen on the cover in its present condition.

Writers Leo and Rodolphe begin with a scene showing the final stage of the man now referred to as Jo heading toward the Amazon, while also supplying a little more background information about his abilities. Pleasingly, despite the way it seemed in Episode 4, the writers aren’t finished with British investigators Clyde and Oscar, and finally embed them properly into the series obsession by taking them on a trip to Roswell, New Mexico.

Half of Episode 5 definitively reveals a past that isn’t required in such detail, but it gives artist Bertrand Marchal the chance to choreograph a Nazi gun battle during a submarine stopover, and that’s worth seeing. Marchal’s been excellent throughout, and that doesn’t change here. People, technology or scenery, he delivers it all attractively, with the sensitive colouring of Sebastian Bouêt contributing greatly to the appeal.

Curiosity and greed motivate most of the cast, sometimes in combination, and they prove powerful stimulation. Rodolphe and Leo, though, devise a neat ending where the only person achieving what they want is motivated by neither. As with previous arcs, Kathy’s investigations supply nothing definitive that can be made public, and her journey continues in Scotland, but readers are given an extra insight.

The previous episode looked great, but faltered a little. This conclusion, though, ties up everything neatly and looks equally great.