Dark Horse has announced Sylvain Repos’ robot dystopian saga Yojimbot will receive an English-language release in December, with a translation by Matt Madden. The 160-page first instalment in a four-part French bande dessinée series, Yojimbot Volume 1: Metal Silence will hit bookstores December 3 and comic shops December 4, 2024, as a paperback retailing $19.99.
The synopsis for the first volume – written and drawn by Sylvain Repos with colours by Noiry, is as follows:
“While attempting to flee a robot-inhabited island, Hideo and his son Hiro are attacked by a troop of armored humans. When Hideo sacrifices himself to save his son, a lone robot-samurai, called a Yojimbot, stands between Hiro and his death. Throughout their journey to escape the island, the robot-and-child duo are joined by other Yojimbots willing to protect Hiro against the hazards of the ruined island to find the mysterious “rights holder” who may hold the key to Hiro’s safety. But more dangerous foes lie between Hiro and his freedom…”
Yojimbot debuted in 2021 from Franco-Belgian publisher Dargaud. The series – which wears its Japanese influences on its sleeves – has thus far reached three volumes and had a prequel webtoon series. A fourth volume is expected to conclude the saga. Europe Comics had previously produced a digital-exclusive English translation however it appears that edition has been removed from Amazon Kindle when the international publication rights were picked up by Dark Horse.
Sylvain Repos is a French comics author and illustrator who studied a Masters degree in Visual Art at the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris. He draws his influences from a variety of comics traditions – including Franco-Belgian bande dessinée, manga, and American indie comics. Yojimbot is his debut work and (as its title suggests) heavily leans into his love of Japanese comics and Akira Kurosawa movies.
Auxence Delion, a reviewer for French comics website ActuaBD said about the first volume (translated via DeepL):
“Colorful, overflowing with high-octane action and drawing inspiration from the likes of Katsuhiro Otomo, Moebius and Mad Max, young author Sylvain Repos imposes his narrative and graphic mastery in just a few pages. Fun, efficiently structured and fast-paced, there’s never a dull moment.”
You can check out an extract of the French edition of the book here.
Thanks for crediting the translator in your article! Just one note: it’s Madden with two ds.
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