Koba is a Franco-Belgian period piece horror graphic novel written by Jean Dufaux and illustrated by Régis Penet.
The story takes place towards the end of the 1940s with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin visiting zone 0049, the camp he had once been exiled to under the Tsar back when he went by the nickname "Koba". He and his escort find all the prisoners and staff of the gulag missing, save for the commandant, sitting dead in his office drained of blood with an ugly wound on his throat. Seeking to solve the mystery Stalin's next stop is an isolated museum where a certain painting is displayed; a painting depicting the dictator and figures who helped his rise to power, among them a mysterious and beautiful young woman named Macha; a painting from which each figure seems to be disappearing one by one.
We also follow the story of siblings Alexis and Katia as they become embroiled with a group of strange, beautiful people who appear immortal and impervious to any form of harm. The strange beings appear to enjoy a hedonistic existence in contrast to the death and deprivation around them and are most keen for the siblings to join them.
This comic provides examples of:
- Abandoned Area: Zone 0049 is strangely devoid of anyone when Stalin arrives in the opening sequence of the graphic novel.
- There is a general feeling of eeriness and emptiness in many locations in the story, Boulga, for example, seems to be the only one inhabiting the museum and before Stalin arrives is not shown having contact with anyone aside from Djerzy, a technician at a nearby power plant.
- Ambiguous Ending: Stalin dies much as he did in real life, but seems to wake up to find Simon and the other vampires partying as they welcome him as one of their own. It is not made clear if this is some near death hallucination bought on by his envy of the vampires and their immortality or if he really did resurrect as one of them. The fact that Stalin's brown eyes have a red tint to them and that the vampires are apparently dancing to the Lou Reed album "Berlin", which was not released until 1973, twenty years after Stalin's death in 1953, suggests that the experience is real and Stalin did indeed return to life as a vampire.
- Creepy Changing Painting: The painting in Boulga's museum depicts Stalin and a host of other figures who aided in his rise to power, including his vampire lover Macha. As time goes on the other figures seem to fade from the pictures, seemingly being devoured by Macha who sometimes appears to have blood on her lips. By the end it turns out that the other figures in the painting were actually being devoured by Stalin's own figure as a metaphor for how his last for power has left so much blood in its wake. He becomes the only subject remaining in the painting, appearing as a frightening, red-eyed, blood-soaked version of his younger self.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Katia tells Djerzy that this is the main reason why the vampires are always naked, right before killing him. Given how often the vampires seem to get it on with each other, it's probably not the only reason.
- The Dreaded: Stalin himself, unsurprisingly given the place and time period depicted.
- Macha serves as this for Stalin and Boulga.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: all the vampires except for the redhead Katia once she becomes one herself.
- Entitled to Have You: Sylvia seems to feel this way towards Katia, on account of having been the one to make her a vampire.
- Evil Old Folks: Aside from the flashbacks Stalin is in his late 60s for most of the story.
- The '40s: Most of the story, aside from flashbacks to Stalin's younger days, takes place at the end of this decade.
- The Gulag: Most of the story takes place in and around zone 0049, a former labour camp under the Tzars since repurposed by the Soviets as a Gulag.
- Historical Domain Character: Joseph Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria.
- Holy Burns Evil: Crosses appear to place certain limits on vampires, Simon is unable to leave the barrack he's confined to due to the crucifix around his neck, and he is unable to remove himself.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: As violent as they can be, the vampires are only dangerous when they are threatened or need to feed, preferring to spend most of their time in hedonistic indulgence of sex, revelry and alcohol. Which honestly seems tame compared to the atrocities committed by Stalin and others like him.
- This point is further driven home by the revalation that it was not the vampire Macha consuming the other figures in the painting, but Stalin's own image, reflecting how his path to power was soaked in blood and death.
- Immortality Promiscuity: From the first panel introducing the vampires we see them casually having sex with each other, and they seem to be fairly communal about it. Sylvia even has to be reminded by one of the other vampires that Katia belongs to ALL of them after the former starts getting a little too possessive of the latter.
- Immortality Seeker: Stalin hoped his vampire lover, Macha, would grant him this and make him a vampire, when she refused him he decided he would instead achieve the next best thing via gaining political power and building an enduring cult of personality.
- Alexis initially, which is why he seeks the vampires out, he later decides he's too much of a coward to go through with it, but his sister appears to turn him into one anyway after saving him from Djerzy.
- Incest Subtext: Some of it between Alexis and Katia after the latter becomes a vampire.
- Kill It with Fire: Stalin has this done to Macha when she refuses to make him immortal.
- Lesbian Vampire: Sylvia, given that she seduces Katia and the moment she turns her into a vampire doubles as a sex scene.
- However, given that we see several male/female vampire couples engaging in intercourse when the vampires first appear, and it is difficult to tell for sure if Sylvia is or is not among them, if she is it may actually be a case of Immortality Bisexuality.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Multiple times with the male vampires.
- Mr. Fanservice: All the male vampires, but Simon Iakov in particular.
- Our Vampires Are Different: They are not affected by sunlight, are immortal and ageless, much stronger than normal humans, can influence the minds of animals (and possibly humans too) and can ignore multiple point-blank shots from bolt-action rifles. Their only weakness appears to be death by fire or somehow placing a cross on their person, which at least seems to keep them confined to a certain building.
- Papa Wolf: When Djerzy sees that Alexis has returned without his son Lev, he points a gun at the younger man and demands to know where his son is.
- Phantom-Zone Picture: It is believed that Macha's soul somehow became trapped in the painting in Boulga's museum and was devouring the other characters in it, working her way to Stalin himself in revenge for ordering her death. It turns out that the other figures, including Macha, were actually being devoured by Stalin's image, and by the end of the story he is the only one left in the painting.
- Pretty Boy: All the male vampires, who are tall, slender, dark-haired, clean-shaven men with smooth, youthful features.
- Psychic-Assisted Suicide: Ambiguous, after most of Stalin's security detail has apparently been killed by the vampires, Ioukine shoots himself in front of a horrified Beria. It's not certain if he was simply traumatized by the sight of his men having been slaughtered or was somehow being influenced by the vampires psychically.
- Posthuman Nudism: The vampires spend most of their time nude, a habit Katia immediately adopts after she becomes one.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: All the female vampires, but Sylvia in particular.
- Themed Tattoos: The vampires are all marked with distinct black tattoos that are drawn across their bodies in some flowing abstract pattern.
- The Vamp: Macha and Sylvia
- Vampire Hunter: Lev is a very short-lived and unsuccessful one.
- Vampires Are Sex Gods: played pretty straight.
- Would Hurt a Child: Boulga lures and kills a young girl to use her blood to appease the image of Macha, whom he believes is gradually consuming the other figures in the painting he is charged with safeguarding.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Alexis murders Lev with an axe once the latter leads him and his sister to the vampires, whom Alexis wants to join.
- Your Days Are Numbered: It appears this is the case for Stalin, as Macha devours more characters in the painting, he worries she will eventually move on to him, at which point he will die in the real world. Fortunately for him this appears not to be the case and the other subjects were actually being devoured by his own image.
