The Case of Alan Turing: The Extraordinary and Tragic Story of the Legendary Codebreaker

A brilliant mind, an award-winning mathematician and physicist, an eccentric who lived in his own world, the Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing was recognized for his genius and at the same time demonized for his sexual practices. This epic story of the heroic quest to decipher the German orders during World War II zooms in on the intrigues at Bletchley Hall and the numerous discouraging attempts to construct the ‘bombe’ that would ultimately decrypt the enemy code. Using classified data recently released, this graphic novel recounts the military pressures exerted on their code breakers, and the obstinacy of Turing, specifically, in pursuing his challenged line of thought. Translated from the original French, the dark, mournful colors used in the cartoon images project the melancholy plaguing this exceptional scientist. Floating through the drawings are projections of his desire for male companionship and lovers. Finally exposed as a homosexual, this war hero lost the protection of the war office, was labelled a sexual deviate by the civilian court and sentenced to undergo chemical castration. While still in his forties, Alan Turing took his own life. The illustrative snapshots along with short text explanations impart the sad, tragic biographic of a brilliant theorist who was destroyed by the prevailing ideology of his time. It’s a sad tale recounting how often we destroy anything or anyone that is different.