|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 1, 2022 16:00:45 GMT -5
Carapaces, Zara (Humanoids, 2001)  I recently checked these two out of the library. They’re the first two books in the trilogy known as Les terres creuses, or the Hollow Grounds in these English translations, by Francois (art) and Luc (script) Schuiten. Fellow CCFer junkmonkey wrote about the third book, NogegoN, last year. There, he noted the very dreamy quality of the story – and that is definitely the defining characteristic of these two as well.  This is, though, essentially an SF tale, albeit very obliquely told (the comparison Junkmonkey made to Moebius and his Airtight Garage is quite apposite). The various settings consist of a number of worlds (seven apparently) that have really odd qualities, like low gravity, and they sometimes consist of multiple concentric spheres, some of which rotate and some that don’t. In fact, it’s never made clear whether these worlds are actually planets, even though they’re called that in-story, or perhaps gigantic constructs – it’s not even clear whether they are in outer space or maybe just floating in the sky of some larger actual planet. Anyway, none of that is absolutely vital to the stories – they’re just details that pique your curiosity. The first book, Carapaces, consists of six loosely connected stories that truly have the feeling of dreams, or perhaps nightmares. They seem to illustrate the various qualities of these worlds (in one section, there’s even detailed b&w architectural sketches of the housing units in a human habitat community) and the problems encountered by the people living in them. What they really showcase,though, is Schuiten’s amazing art.  The second book, Zara, tells a more coherent single story and thus sheds a little (but just a little) more light on these strange planets and their denizens. It starts off with a b&w prologue on a world in which its inhabitants are constantly on the move in a wagon train for a reason none of them truly understand. Then one day a girl named Olive decides to just stay in one place and see what happens – and she basically falls off of the planet…  The story then moves to a planet called Zara, which is exclusively inhabited by women. It consists of two spheres, one of which rotates around the other. They are more or less satisfied with their lives, but then two – in some ways literally – groundbreaking changes occur: a girl, Olive in fact, pops through the wall of the outer sphere, and a group of alien men, space travelers apparently, phase into their world (kind of like transporting in Star Trek, but accompanied by a big chunk of rock) – and they’re bent on conquering it to get themselves some women. The story is often whimsical, but also has some quite brutal aspects. The whole thing, though, is again visually stunning.  I’m really interested in reading the last book, but unfortunately Zagreb’s public library system doesn’t have it.
|
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Feb 2, 2022 16:50:55 GMT -5
So, over the weekend I was rummaging through some books in the second row of an overstuffed shelf, and came across the some comics I'd almost forgotten I had. They're little mini-comics printed in the form of fold-out pamphlets with a total of 10 story pages: These were published in 2013 by a Croatian comics and SF publisher; there are nine in the series, and I got six of them for free about a year or two after that when I was buying some other books at that publishers table at the Zagreb comics convention. I guess it was some sort of experiment that really never caught on, because I don't recall ever seeing any other ones. Anyway, I decided to finally get around to reading them and, well, the idea is interesting, but none of them really grabbed me storywise. The art in several is quite nice, though. My favorite was one called Sigma, by Darko Macan. It's a tongue-in-cheek 4-page SF short. The remaining six pages (the lower of the two in the first picture above) contain another humorous story, "Hugo & Jack," a sort of spoof of comic readers/hoarders. The other one I liked is the top one in the first picture, called Apokalipsa ('Apocalypse') by Tomislav Tomić. It's about the end of days for rabbits, as the Four Hares of the Apocalypse arrive. The other four, covers below...  ...I didn't like quite as much. Speaking of Moebius, is the character (puppet?) with a pith helmet in that first cover a reference to Major Gruber? |
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 3, 2022 6:56:05 GMT -5
Speaking of Moebius, is the character (puppet?) with a pith helmet in that first cover a reference to Major Gruber? Yes, it's a little hat-tip - that character puts on the helmet and hides in a garage (which he laments isn't airtight) to read comic books. |
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 12, 2022 12:18:31 GMT -5
Notes for a War Story (First Second, 2007)  This was originally published in Italy in 2004, and its author, Gipi (a pseudonym for Gianni Pacinotti) picked up a few awards in Europe as a result. Despite the title, this isn't really a war comic, as the war is mostly something peripheral the story's main characters until the very last section. The focus is on three teenage boys, Stefano (who's usually referred to by his nickname, 'Little Killer'), Christian and Giuliano - who narrates the whole story. They're living on their own in a small town or village near a war zone in an unnamed country (it's supposed to be in the Balkans, according to the cover blurbs and the afterword to this English language edition), trying to make money by engaging in petty theft or stripping down abandoned cars and selling the parts. Then they run into a guy named Felix, who runs a local organized crime ring. He takes a liking to them (well, mainly to Stefano/Little Killer) and initially enlists them to become his bag men in a nearby large city. They eventually become little thugs themselves, with Stefano as their de facto leader, who in turn does whatever Felix tells him to, so that they eventually decide to join a paramilitary outfit. Despite the apparent critical acclaim this book received when it came out, I was pretty unimpressed. It seems to tread the same ground that many stories have before (in both prose and on film), i.e., aimless youths living in desperate times and finding meaning and a sense of belonging with a criminal gang. It was apparently at least partly inspired by the wars that followed in the wake of Yugoslavia's collapse in the 1990s, and that is perhaps best reflected in these passages - which were about the only part of the story I found interesting:  (I whited out the word in the last panel to keep it SFW.)  That pretty much encapsulates the motives and philosophy (such as it was) of many a paramilitary fighter in the post-Yugoslav wars. Otherwise, I have to say I really didn't like the art very much, either, so on the whole, this book gets a mostly 'meh' rating from me.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2022 12:24:30 GMT -5
France has some exclusive HCs, I have one of these on the way for my daughter who likes french as a second language.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dizzy D on Feb 20, 2022 14:17:57 GMT -5
Two new comics this time:
- One because my father wanted to read it: The new Asterix. Not read it yet, but I was disappointed by last issue, though my comic book store assistant assured me he liked this one.
- The second, because I liked the cover. Antananarivo by Sylvain Vallee and Mark Eacersall. Only 10 pages in, but I'm loving everything about it so far. More to follow once I've completed both.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dizzy D on Feb 20, 2022 17:42:05 GMT -5
Finished Antananarivo, it's great. Already a strong contestant for my comic of the year 2022.
Amedee lives across the road from Joseph. Both are old men, but while Amedee has lived a safe and boring life, Joseph has spent his life travelling the world and getting into all types of adventures. Amedee- enjoys his nights listening to his friend, imagining the fantastic adventures and places his friend has been to. It's a sad story about missed opportunities and broken dreams, but also beautiful.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dizzy D on Feb 21, 2022 5:03:17 GMT -5
Finished the new Asterix as well. It's OK. Definite improvement over the last one (Round of Italy) with no longer overexplaining of all the jokes. It's basically Asterix in Russia/Eastern Europe (though they just use Barbaricum as it's told from the perspective of Rome and everything outside their sphere of influence is Barbaricum.)
The themes in the issue are a little muddled though, we have Roman Cryptozoologists searching for the legendary griffin, Dogmatix/Idefix running with wolves with Obelix as a concerned parent, Asterix without magic potion (the cold has frozen his flask), the Eastern Barbarians (which are exactly like the Gauls (with tiny changes to each character's counterpart), except the females are the leaders and warriors (kinda like the Rose and the Sword) and a romance subplot with one of the Barbarian warriors being single and interested in both Asterix and Obelix as a potential partner.
Plus the Roman legionnaires who are infatuated with their hostage, another female barbarian and two Scythian scouts for the Roman Army who both talk in online travel reviews (I like those two a lot. "Lovely village ahead next to a scenic river with a many travel options available. Do be aware of hostile population.", spoken while riddled with arrows).
That's a lot for a single issue.
|
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 3, 2022 5:11:53 GMT -5
Martina Mjesec (Fibra, 2021)  This is a Croatian edition of a book that was initially published in France (under the title Martine Moon) in 2020, which is in turn just a collected edition and translation of a weekly web comic that appeared on a Croatian comics site for a few years beginning in 2004. This was kind of a pet project and labor of love for both writer Darko Macan and artist Goran Sudžuka, as they weren't getting paid for doing the web comic. The title character, Martina Mjesec (or, if you want, Martine Moon), is a sort of globe-trotting problem-solver based in New York. All of her adventures involve some sort of SF or fantasy premise. Otherwise, it's unclear as to what her actual job and/or expertise are. Basically, the comic is a sort of tongue-in-cheek homage to the very popular Italian comic Martin Mystère - starring a similarly New York-based international investigator into the unknown. I found this enjoyable enough, although it didn't set my world on fire (and I'd read the first two episodes already in a little chapbook that was published in Croatia about 10 years ago). The art, though, is really quite nice, as you can expect from Sudžuka:  That's the first two panel sequences of the first episode - it gives the impression that there's a lot of cheesecake, which in fact there isn't. That's about as racy as it gets (Macan even noted this in the afterword to this Croatian edition: he said that they were initially thinking of having more scenes featuring a scantily-clad Martina as a sort of spoof of saucy British newspaper strips, but then discarded the idea). This Croatian edition also has a bonus feature: a little promotional comic that Macan was commissioned to do for a Croatian scuba-diving club. Never letting a good character go waste, he made it sort of a prequel to Martina Mjesec, as the two children who learn about scuba diving are a young Martina and her kid brother Leo.  The art is by Tonči Zonjić.
|
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 8, 2022 11:13:33 GMT -5
Martin Mystère, book 1  As noted in my review of Martina Mjesec above, that comic is an homage to Martin Mystère, a very popular Italian comic series that is also well-loved here in Croatia. So I decided to finally give it a read and checked the first book in the series out of the library recently. Our pal codystarbuck briefly touched on this series in his Other Guys thread a few years ago, but here’s a basic rundown: the creation of writer Alfredo Castelli and artist Giancarlo Alessandrini, Mystère is an archeologist, art and artifact collector, and all around global adventurer and “detective of the impossible” based in New York. He’s accompanied in his adventures by his trusty assistant and friend Java, an actual Neanderthal man. This first book (first published in 1982) involves several discoveries that point to the existence of the lost continent of Atlantis – and the attempts by some mysterious men in black who want to destroy all of these findings. The action takes place in Greece, the Azores and Egypt. I can see why this series got so popular: the basic storytelling premise lends itself to all kinds of intrigues and high adventure (similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark) and sure enough, there’s all kinds of exotic globe-trotting action and often scantily-clad attractive women. Alessandrini’s art is also quite nice…  I’m sure he was more influenced by artists like his countryman Hugo Pratt, but I find it a bit reminiscent of Kubert or Toth at times. Otherwise, I found this little sequence alternately quaint but also kind of cool:  Basically, Martin is describing to Diana (his girlfriend, often irate because Martin seems to be a magnet for attractive young women) a new prototype for a desk-top computer that Apple is letting him test out, and noting that the contents of *almost* an entire book can be stored on that floppy disk. What makes this interesting is that in 1981/2 (when I assume Castelli and Alessandrini were working on this) you really had to be paying attention to articles in technical and similar magazines to have even seen pictures of the Mac prototype, and the 3.5 inch floppy disks only became more common in the latter half of the ‘80s. So these panels are actually kind of cutting edge. By the way, as codystarbuck mentioned in his post linked above, Dark Horse published English translations of the first six volumes in this series (under the title Martin Mystery) in the late 1990s. An interesting detail: in the original Italian, this story's title is "The Men in Black" (Gli uomini in nero) and it's the same for this Croatian translation. In the English edition, it's called "Destroyers of the Past" - I guess because at that point, Dark Horse didn't want it to get confused with the movie of the same name. Eventually I think I’ll get around to reading more of these, although there's literally hundreds of them now, since he series is still ongoing as far as I know. Also, all of the unread books sitting on my shelves at home are now giving me the side-eye...
|
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Mar 9, 2022 3:53:10 GMT -5
Martina Mjesec (Fibra, 2021) This is a Croatian edition of a book that was initially published in France (under the title Martine Moon) in 2020, which is in turn just a collected edition and translation of a weekly web comic that appeared on a Croatian comics site for a few years beginning in 2004. This was kind of a pet project and labor of love for both writer Darko Macan and artist Goran Sudžuka, as they weren't getting paid for doing the web comic. The title character, Martina Mjesec (or, if you want, Martine Moon), is a sort of globe-trotting problem-solver based in New York. All of her adventures involve some sort of SF or fantasy premise. Otherwise, it's unclear as to what her actual job and/or expertise are. Basically, the comic is a sort of tongue-in-cheek homage to the very popular Italian comic Martin Mystère - starring a similarly New York-based international investigator into the unknown. I found this enjoyable enough, although it didn't set my world on fire (and I'd read the first two episodes already in a little chapbook that was published in Croatia about 10 years ago). The art, though, is really quite nice, as you can expect from Sudžuka: That's the first two panel sequences of the first episode - it gives the impression that there's a lot of cheesecake, which in fact there isn't. That's about as racy as it gets (Macan even noted this in the afterword to this Croatian edition: he said that they were initially thinking of having more scenes featuring a scantily-clad Martina as a sort of spoof of saucy British newspaper strips, but then discarded the idea). This Croatian edition also has a bonus feature: a little promotional comic that Macan was commissioned to do for a Croatian scuba-diving club. Never letting a good character go waste, he made it sort of a prequel to Martina Mjesec, as the two children who learn about scuba diving are a young Martina and her kid brother Leo. The art is by Tonči Zonjić.
I like the sounds of this one so the tipping pint for me would be the artwork - none of the samples you gave us looked bad to me but some I liked better than others, so I'll probably have to see more before I decide if I'll take a chance on the French version.
|
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Mar 9, 2022 3:57:15 GMT -5
Martin Mystère, book 1 As noted in my review of Martina Mjesec above, that comic is an homage to Martin Mystère, a very popular Italian comic series that is also well-loved here in Croatia. So I decided to finally give it a read and checked the first book in the series out of the library recently. Our pal codystarbuck briefly touched on this series in his Other Guys thread a few years ago, but here’s a basic rundown: the creation of writer Alfredo Castelli and artist Giancarlo Alessandrini, Mystère is an archeologist, art and artifact collector, and all around global adventurer and “detective of the impossible” based in New York. He’s accompanied in his adventures by his trusty assistant and friend Java, an actual Neanderthal man. This first book (first published in 1982) involves several discoveries that point to the existence of the lost continent of Atlantis – and the attempts by some mysterious men in black who want to destroy all of these findings. The action takes place in Greece, the Azores and Egypt. I can see why this series got so popular: the basic storytelling premise lends itself to all kinds of intrigues and high adventure (similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark) and sure enough, there’s all kinds of exotic globe-trotting action and often scantily-clad attractive women. Alessandrini’s art is also quite nice… I’m sure he was more influenced by artists like his countryman Hugo Pratt, but I find it a bit reminiscent of Kubert or Toth at times. Otherwise, I found this little sequence alternately quaint but also kind of cool: Basically, Martin is describing to Diana (his girlfriend, often irate because Martin seems to be a magnet for attractive young women) a new prototype for a desk-top computer that Apple is letting him test out, and noting that the contents of *almost* an entire book can be stored on that floppy disk. What makes this interesting is that in 1981/2 (when I assume Castelli and Alessandrini were working on this) you really had to be paying attention to articles in technical and similar magazines to have even seen pictures of the Mac prototype, and the 3.5 inch floppy disks only became more common in the latter half of the ‘80s. So these panels are actually kind of cutting edge. By the way, as codystarbuck mentioned in his post linked above, Dark Horse published English translations of the first six volumes in this series (under the title Martin Mystery) in the late 1990s. An interesting detail: in the original Italian, this story's title is "The Men in Black" (Gli uomini in nero) and it's the same for this Croatian translation. In the English edition, it's called "Destroyers of the Past" - I guess because at that point, Dark Horse didn't want it to get confused with the movie of the same name. Eventually I think I’ll get around to reading more of these, although there's literally hundreds of them now, since he series is still ongoing as far as I know. Also, all of the unread books sitting on my shelves at home are now giving me the side-eye...
I like the artwork in this one too -and some of it's available in English! Will be looking for this, for sure. |
|
|
|
Post by Dizzy D on Mar 9, 2022 6:30:13 GMT -5
Having enjoyed Antananarivo so much, I bought the first two issues of Katanga, also by Sylvain Vallee but now with Fabien Nury (writer of "Death of Stalin"). The final issue, #3, is sadly out-of-print and was sold out at 3 comicbook stores I tried (but that's just a challenge).
It's a lot darker than Antananarivo, which had its moments of darkness, but overall showed caring for his characters. Set in the early 60s, Katanga, formerly a province of Congo, is now an independent state (though historically, that won't last long). Its independence is possible by the support a wealthy Belgian mining company that wants to exploit the copper found in Katanga. During the revolution of Congo, Charlie steals a suitcase of diamonds, several million dollars worth and flees to Katanga. Charlie's sister is the lover of Armand Orsini, who acts as a consultant for the Katanga government on behalf of the mining company. Armand hires a group of European mercenaries to officially train the Katangan army, but in reality to secure Charlie's diamonds.
And like I said it's a dark story; none of the characters are sympathetic, all are either only interested in money or power. Charlie's sister might be the most sympathetic character, who shows compassion and concern for others, but as a black woman living among white men, she has no agency. Charlie claims his actions are all for the sake of his sister, but whether that is true remains to be seen. The several mercenaries are all merciless killers, the point of view character among them admits that there is something broken within him.
The story weaves actual history with fiction (and is upfront about it on the first page that this is not a historical accurate account).
Well written and well drawn, but I do have to note that many of the black characters including Charlie are drawn in a stereotypical manner that can be off-putting.
I also read Chateaux Bourdeaux #2, which is another Corbeyran (Cafe Noir, Cognac, The Master Chocolatier) thriller set against a background of food and drink (Bordeaux wine in this case, obviously). Alexandra has inherited the vineyard of her father, who has died under mysterious circumstances. Despite the wishes of the rest of her family who all wish to sell the vineyard, she has decided to continue producing the family wine, but has no experience in creating a wine herself. This issue she hires several people to help her, but also has to deal with several attempts to sabotage her.
I think this one was Corbeyran's first series of this kind as the others are all short stories in 3 parts and done and this series is at issue #11 (and running for as far as I know).
I know Corbeyran has several other titles with a similar setup (but to be fair to him, he also has a lot of other work in other genres, so he's not a one-trick pony). At least the info-dumps in this issue feel natural unlike in the Master Chocolatier which I read a year or so ago, where experts are explaining basic facts to other experts. In this case, experts are explaining things to Alexandra, an amateur, because she has hired them to explain those things to her. I think Cafe Noir is still the best of these type of series by Corbeyran, as it has the best pacing and the food&drink theme there is integral to the intrigue part of the story.
|
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 22, 2022 8:43:09 GMT -5
Lone Sloane/DeliriusPhilippe Druillet, 1973  Finally getting around to reading some books that have literally been on my shelf for over a decade. This volume collects the English translations of the six original stories (voyages) featuring Druillet’s space-faring character Loan Sloane that appeared in various Franco-Belgian publications in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s and the graphic novel Delirius, also starring Sloane (which was scripted by Jacques Lob). These stories are a mix of SF and horror (in a sort of Lovecraftian vein) with a little supernatural/mythical fantasy thrown in. Delirius, set on the eponymous planet, is also partially a heist story, but with a real dark and cynical edge to it. However, the strength of these – and what makes them so popular among comics fans – isn’t really in the writing, rather the real attraction is the often spectacular art, with visuals like these:  The whole book is full of striking splash pages like that one, and you often find yourself getting lost in the images, just staring.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Mar 22, 2022 21:59:04 GMT -5
Having enjoyed Antananarivo so much, I bought the first two issues of Katanga, also by Sylvain Vallee but now with Fabien Nury (writer of "Death of Stalin"). The final issue, #3, is sadly out-of-print and was sold out at 3 comicbook stores I tried (but that's just a challenge). It's a lot darker than Antananarivo, which had its moments of darkness, but overall showed caring for his characters. Set in the early 60s, Katanga, formerly a province of Congo, is now an independent state (though historically, that won't last long). Its independence is possible by the support a wealthy Belgian mining company that wants to exploit the copper found in Katanga. During the revolution of Congo, Charlie steals a suitcase of diamonds, several million dollars worth and flees to Katanga. Charlie's sister is the lover of Armand Orsini, who acts as a consultant for the Katanga government on behalf of the mining company. Armand hires a group of European mercenaries to officially train the Katangan army, but in reality to secure Charlie's diamonds. And like I said it's a dark story; none of the characters are sympathetic, all are either only interested in money or power. Charlie's sister might be the most sympathetic character, who shows compassion and concern for others, but as a black woman living among white men, she has no agency. Charlie claims his actions are all for the sake of his sister, but whether that is true remains to be seen. The several mercenaries are all merciless killers, the point of view character among them admits that there is something broken within him. The story weaves actual history with fiction (and is upfront about it on the first page that this is not a historical accurate account). Well written and well drawn, but I do have to note that many of the black characters including Charlie are drawn in a stereotypical manner that can be off-putting. I also read Chateaux Bourdeaux #2, which is another Corbeyran (Cafe Noir, Cognac, The Master Chocolatier) thriller set against a background of food and drink (Bordeaux wine in this case, obviously). Alexandra has inherited the vineyard of her father, who has died under mysterious circumstances. Despite the wishes of the rest of her family who all wish to sell the vineyard, she has decided to continue producing the family wine, but has no experience in creating a wine herself. This issue she hires several people to help her, but also has to deal with several attempts to sabotage her. I think this one was Corbeyran's first series of this kind as the others are all short stories in 3 parts and done and this series is at issue #11 (and running for as far as I know). I know Corbeyran has several other titles with a similar setup (but to be fair to him, he also has a lot of other work in other genres, so he's not a one-trick pony). At least the info-dumps in this issue feel natural unlike in the Master Chocolatier which I read a year or so ago, where experts are explaining basic facts to other experts. In this case, experts are explaining things to Alexandra, an amateur, because she has hired them to explain those things to her. I think Cafe Noir is still the best of these type of series by Corbeyran, as it has the best pacing and the food&drink theme there is integral to the intrigue part of the story. Sounds more than a little like Wilbur Smith's Dark of the Sun. That novel is set during the Katanga Secession, as a group of mercenaries are tapped to bring out a shipment of diamonds, from a mining company, via a fortified train. The novel was written in 1965 and a film version, with Rod Taylor and Jim Brown, came out in 1968. |
|
