Comic Books (2023)

2023-10: Dragonero - Zanne e Acciaio
- 2022-09
- Language: Italian
- Testi: Stefano Vietti
- Disegni: Francesco Rizzato
2023-09: Dragonero - Il globo delle anime
- 2022-07
- Language: Italian
- Testi: Stefano Vietti
- Disegni: Gianluca Pagliarani
2023-08-27
- Qui est ce Schtroumpf?
- Language: French
- Author: Tebo
- Rating: 5/5
- NOTES: A super funny and sweet homage to the Schtroumpf series.
2023-08: Mental Incal
- Language: French
- Scénario: Mark Russell
- Dessin: Yanick Paquette
2023-07-20: Les Technopères
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- NOTES: I quickly re-read this series. It has great parts and is well-written by Jodorowsky, although the initial premise of a teenager wanting to “be a creator of video games” feels a little odd as a motivation.
2023-07-14: Final Incal - 1. Les quatre John Difool
- tags: #reread #french
- Scénario: Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Dessin: Ladrönn
- NOTES: See “Après L’Incal” notes. This is the first album of the “reimagined” Après L’Incal/Final Incal series. Indeed there is a lot in common with the first album of “Après L’Incal”. Moebius is out, and Ladrönn is in.
2023-07-13: Après L’Incal
- tags: #reread #french
- Scénario: Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Dessin: Moebius
- NOTES: This album is part of the confusing Après L’Incal/Final Incal series. Après L’Incal was the initial story, but Jodorowsky was unhappy with the idea of having John Difool wake up from a dream and didn’t want to continue the storyline. However things didn’t work out with Moebius for a new storyline, and so the series stopped there, abandoned. Final Incal is Jodorowsky’s new storyline, done with Ladrönn instead of Moebius. The story of the first album is similar-but-different, and then Final Incal continues on for two albums. Curiously, a second volume of Après L’Incal came out, but it appears (I haven’t checked in person)
2023-07: L’Incal
- tags: #reread #french
- NOTES: TODO
- 2023-06-22: [Megalex - 3. Le cœur de Kavatah]
  - 2008
  - Language: French
  - tags: #reread
  - Scénario: Alejandro Jodorowsky
  - Dessin et couleurs: Fred Beltran
  - NOTES:
    - I didn’t remember much of this series, except some kind of vague memory that it was somehow rushed. I reread the 3 volumes in one shot. For the first two volumes, the most striking problem is the colors. They push the use of computer colors to the extreme, resulting in a result that is a little bit disconcerting. You like the result or you don’t, but I think it looked a little unpleasant at the time, and it still does now. The third volume, published much later, is distinct from the first two, and much better in that regard, showing that Beltran learned to master his coloring techniques.
    - The drawings are overall very good.
    - The story exhibits common Jodorowsky themes: extreme cruelty, cyborgs, religion and fanaticism, the androgynous angel, but also final redemption.
    - The computerized mummified king is a genius idea!
    - The main characters exhibit very human (in a good sense) traits, and you root for them.
    - The ending is extraordinarily abrupt, concluding the story in a single page, where a few pages would have been better. I suspect that the series simply had to be concluded for commercial reasons.
    - All in all, I think the series is a little underrated. Reading it anew in one session, the story and its universe are fairly compelling. It remains imperfect, due to the uneven coloring approach and the rushed ending .
    - I found a review I wrote in 2008 and published on Amazon.fr. It’s fairly well-written ;): “Ceci est le dernier tome du cycle, attendu depuis des années. Tout est révélé ici de l’histoire de Mégalex, et la trame en cours dans les deux premiers volumes se dénoue.
      Les dessins restent magnifiques. Mais si les deux premiers tomes allaient parfois jusqu’au photoréalisme dans le traitement des couleurs par ordinateur, on ne trouve rien de tel ici avec des couleurs plus classiques. Je préfère personnellement cette nouvelle approche plus chaleureuse, mais le résultat est un troisième tome très différent graphiquement des deux premiers, ce qui est dommage si on considère ce tome dans l’ensemble de son contexte.
      Point plus important, on sent une accélération très désagréable de l’histoire vers la fin : des événements majeurs sont résumés en à peine quelques cases, et l’épilogue prend exactement une seule case sur la dernière page. Est-ce que l’histoire était prévue en 4 tomes plutôt que trois? Cela semble possible. Peut-être que l’éditeur a cherché une solution pour conclure rapidement un cycle problématique. C’est dommage car le monde de Mégalex est fascinant et on aurait pu facilement en faire un traitement plus satisfaisant.”
2023-06-22: [Megalex - 2. L’Ange bossu]
- 2002
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- Scénario: Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Dessin et couleurs: Fred Beltran
2023-06-22: [Megalex - 1. L’anomalie]
- 1999
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- Scénario: Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Dessin et couleurs: Fred Beltran
2023-06-02: Paperinik 67
- 2022
- Language: Italian
- NOTES: Includes stories of various quality: six stories from 1997 to 2012, one new story, “Paperinik e il mistero floreale” (from 2022, or at least so far unpublished), and two PK stories from 2002.
2023-05-29: Les passagers du vent - 7. La Petite Fille Bois-Caïman - Livre 2
- 2010
- Scénario et dessins: François Bourgeon
- Rating: 4/5
- NOTES: Second part, with a lot of heartbreaking storytelling, and (spoiler) the end of “Isa”. But her descendant is starting new stories.
2023-04-04: Dragonero - Il regno dei lupi
- 2022-07
- Language: Italian
- Testi: Luca Enoch
- Disegni e colori: Massimo Dall’Oglio
- NOTES: Essentially the story of a hostage crisis at the top of a monastery, where a young Ian Aranill plays an important role. The hostage takers suffered from war and oppression, but their leader turned extremely cruel. Only at the ultimate instant does he respect Ian’s life by taking the “morso del crotalo”, a fast poison, and ending his own life. There is cynicism in this story, about how empires can blindly hurt or destroy entire people while expanding, especially if those people are different (as in “savages”). Ian bitterly reflects on that. The Empire, in Dragonero, remains an empire. But in the end some hostages are saved, Ian and Leyll (Ian’s friend) survive, the main bad guy is dead, and the corrupt commander from the Empire, Faushéviez, is killed as well. Overall, this is a good story, with beautiful art by Dall’Oglio.
2023-03: Prince Valiant - Vol. 23: 1981-1982
- Language: English
2023-01-29: : Donjon Potron-Minet - -84. Survivre aujourd’hui
- 2022
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- Scénario: Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim
- Dessin: Stéphane Oiry
- NOTES: Long-awaited continuation of the Potron-Minet series. It bridges the world of Potron-Minet with the world of Zenith. The story of Hyacinthe, the futur guardian of the dungeon, continues. We meet Marvin and Grogro. The dungeon’s defense system is born.
2023-01-27: : Donjon Potron-Minet - -83. Sans un bruit
- 2008
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- Scénario: Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim
- Dessin: Christophe Gaultier
- NOTES: Not a bad volume. The story of the future guardian of the dungeon, Hyacinthe.
2022-01-26: Donjon Crépuscule - 112. Pourfendeurs de démons
- 2021
- Language: French
- Scénario: Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim
- Dessin: Obion
- NOTES: I might agree with reviews on bedetheque that this is a below average Donjon Crépuscule. I hope the next volume will be more engaging.
2022-01-25: Donjon Crépuscule - 111. La fin du Donjon
- 2014
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- Scénario: Joann Sfar
- Dessin: Mazan
2023-01-24: Sillage - 21. Exfiltration
- Scénario: Jean David Morvan, Philippe Buchet
- Dessin et couleur: Philippe Buchet
- Rating: TODO
2023-01-22: Donjon Antipodes -9999. L’inquisiteur mégalomane
- 2021
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- Scénario: Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim
- Dessin: Grégory Panaccione
- NOTES: That inquisitor and his family are so detestable!
2023-01-22: Donjon Antipodes -10000. L’Armée du Crâne
- 2020
- Language: French
- tags: #reread
- Scénario: Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim
- Dessin: Grégory Panaccione
2023-01: Olympus Mons - 4. Millénaires
- 2018
- tags: #reread
- Language: French
- Scénario: Christophe Bec
- Dessin: Stefano Raffaele
2023-01: Olympus Mons - 3. Hangar 754
- 2018
- Language: French
- Scénario: Christophe Bec
- Dessin: Stefano Raffaele
2023-01-18: Lefranc - Tome 33. Le scandale Arès
- 2022
- Language: French
- Story: Roger Seiter
- Drawings: Régric
- Rating: 4/5
- NOTES: Good art. Lots of explanations, maybe too many. The story is a little implausible (Lefranc stories tend to be, anyway), but well-anchored in history. It seems that World War II is always a good setting. Here, we learn that a French inventor built prototypes of planes that could have stopped the Germans in 1940. In fact, they did use the prototypes to completely destroy a convoy of 30 German tanks. But, due to conflict of interest, their planes were not considered by the officials in charge of selecting the companies that would build planes for the French defense. The story was buried, but unearthed by Lefranc and the daughter of the sole German survivor of the 1940 attack. The officials involved try to brutally suppress the story, but Lefranc and his friends get the story out. The retired inventor flies the remaining working prototype out of france to fight Russians invading Hungary. That part especially is quite implausible, but it’s timely with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
2023-01-17: Ralph Azham - 10. Un feu qui meurt
- 2017
- Language: French
- Scénario et dessin: Lewis Trondheim
- NOTES: Ralph and friends find the immortals. They are not so good, but not so bad. Eventually they all leave. It’s getting complicated, as summarized on page 466: the king, who is definitely not so likable; Tilda Pönns, whom you learn suffered a lot, hence her radicalism; the new bad guy, prefect Potolsian; and, generally, other influence groups within the realm. Ralph is still good, mostly, with Zania an apparent positive influence on him. But the volume ends on a difficult note.
2023-01-14: Ralph Azham - 9. Point de rupture
- 2016
- Language: French
- Scénario et dessin: Lewis Trondheim
- NOTES: Ralph and friends reach the Forteresse de Malène (very fantastic design) and save the “blued” while the fortress is destroyed.
2023-01-14: Ralph Azham - 8. Personne n’attrape une rivière
- 2015
- tags: #reread
- Language: French
- Scénario et dessin: Lewis Trondheim
- NOTES: Début du second cycle de Ralph Azham.
2021-02-20: Namibia - 2. Épisode 2
- 2010
- Language: French
- Scénario: Leo et Rodolphe
- Dessin: Bertrand Marchal
2021-02-20: Namibia - 1. Épisode 1
- 2010
- tags: #reread
- Language: French
- Scénario: Leo et Rodolphe
- Dessin: Bertrand Marchal
Olivier Rameau - INT1. Intégrale 1
- 2023-01-13: Olivier Rameau 3.Le château des 4 lunes
  - NOTES: Another challenge: two impostors come to Rêverose and introduce money and greed. Olivier, Colombe and Monsieur Pertinent, with the Mage Pas Sage, save the day.
- 2023-01-xx: Olivier Rameau 2. La bulle de si-c’était-vrai
  - NOTES: New challange at Rêverose: an epidemic/pandemic. Olivier, Colombe, and Monsieur Pertinent must find the bubble that will dispense the antidote. But Colombe is abducted by a bad guy, who wants to get the bubble first and marry her. Neither her nor, of course, Olivier want it. They fight their way through a dark forrest, a witch, and finally win and the population is saved.
- 2023-01-xx: Olivier Rameau 1. La Merveilleuse Odyssée d’Olivier Rameau et de Colombe Tiredaile
  - NOTES: We are introduced to the main characters: Olivier Rameau, Colombe Tiredaile, et Monsieur Pertinent. We are also introduced to the world of Rêverose and its inhabitants. There is an immediate challenge: solve the issue of the bird Razibus, which keeps brutally shaving people’s heads. It turns out that the bird needs the food for its offspring, but Olivier Rameau saves the day after being abducted by the bird.
2023-01-03: Thorgal - 40. Tupilaks
- 2022
- Language: French
- Scénario: Yann
- Dessin: Fred Vignaux
- NOTES: I am not enthused by the representation of Neokóra, as mentioned in my notes for album 39, the long recaps of the history of the Atlants, or the over-explanations. There is also a little too much that reminds us of current events (pandemic, AI), while I think it’s better if the series remains intemporal. I am a little surprised that Slive has now turned nice and I think that this character is depicted more plausibly in the Jeunesse de Thorgal series. This said, a science-fiction background is at the core of the whole Thorgal series, and has been guiding large arcs of the series (such as the travel to Qâ). The Neokóra and Tupilaks diptych just happens to revive that aspect of Thorgal, and I have nothing against that. Nor do I have anything in principle against returning to the spaceship and developing that aspect of Thorgal’s background. But the story does feel a little confused and, again, loses itself in too many explanations. On the positive side, with the spaceship destroyed, that part of the Thorgal universe should be definitely closed, at least in the main series. This episode also allows the introduction of a new character, Boréale, who we can only surmise will become Jolan’s companion. In general, I like that the series lets its main characters grow up and age.
2023-01-02: Thorgal - 39. Neokóra
- 2021
- tags: #reread
- Language: French
- Scénario: Yann
- Dessin: Fred Vignaux
2023-01-01: Les mondes de Thorgal - La jeunesse, Tome 8. Les deux bâtards
- 2020
- Language: French
- Scénario: Yann
- Dessin: Roman Surzhenko

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