The Travels of Ibn Battûta , Lofti Akalay and Joël Alessandra: fabulous tales of the Muslim Marco Polo
An exciting story brought up to date by the Moroccan writer Lofti Akalay and enhanced by the superb watercolors by Joël Alessandra. Dupuis.
A great 14th century traveler, Ibn Battûta traveled 120,000 kilometers and traveled 43 countries. From his native Tangier, the one that we define as the “first tourist in the world”transports the reader to a Muslim world full of a thousand wonders. From India to Egypt, via China, Yemen, Spain, or the Maldives, we share with him the folk and fabulous stories of welcoming peoples. Engaged in a real sociological journey, Ibn Battûta tells us, according to his meetings, that in Yemen, women could contract marriages of a few days with foreigners, that widows in India threw themselves into the pyre consuming the body of their deceased husband. An exciting story brought up to date by the Moroccan writer Lofti Akalay and enhanced by the superb watercolors by Joël Alessandra. A visual treat.
Dupuis, Aire Libre collection, € 29.90.
Stanley Greene, a living life , Morvan and Tristan Fillair: luminous biography
The hectic life of photographer Stanley Green offers a ready-made scenario for the comics of Jean-David Morvan and Tristan Fillaire. Delcourt.
He has traveled the world to show its steepest side. Stanley Green was one of the greatest war reporters, awarded five World Press Photo awards. Mixing photos and realistic drawing, the biography signed Jean-David Morvan and Tristan Fillaire takes breath from the first to the last page. Born in 1949 in Brooklyn and died in 2017 in Paris, Greene burned the candle at both ends. A member of the Black Panthers in the 1970s, fashion and punk group photographer, heroin user ... His chaotic life offers a well-defined scenario. The album also returns to its vocation born after covering the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. "No more pretense, there would only be the truth ... raw," said the photographer . Stanley Greene will therefore never stop pressing the trigger to reveal the unadorned reality of countries at war.
Delcourt, 18.95 euros.
The Man Who Killed Chris Kyle, Nury / Brüno: The True Story of American Sniper
In the manner of Truman Capote in De sang-froid , the tandem Fabien Nury-Brüno ( Tyler Cross ) autopsies America by Donald Trump in a masterful documentary comic. Dargaud.
In 2013, Clint Eastwood directed American Sniper, a film about Chris Kyle, America's warlike hero who eliminated 160 enemy individuals on a mission. On screen, Bradley Cooper embodies this elite killer with conviction and charisma. However, the film does not say that the former Navy Seals was shot dead by another veteran named Eddy Ray Routh who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return to the country. In the manner of Truman Capote in De sang-froid , the tandem Fabien Nury-Brüno ( Tyler Cross ) autopsies America by Donald Trump in a masterful documentary comic. Using the codes of comic books such as The Dark Knight by Frank Miller (with an omnipresence of television news flashes), The Man Who Killed Chris Kyle unrolls the life and death of the "record holder for the number of homologated killed throughout history of the American army " . Brüno's drawing, sober, cold, cut with a bill hook with large dishes, makes allegiance to Fabien Nury's script with great humility. It is also the mark of great designers to know how to submit to a story as strong and precise as that of Nury. In the footsteps of this patriotic hero then arise, at the turn of a dialogue, or an anecdote, the excesses of a society saturated with violence.
Dargaud, 164 pages. € 22.50.
Unbelievable! by Zabus and Hippolyte, unconfined childhood
A moving and poetic tale about the suffering of a child who will find the light relayed by a delicate graphics. Dargaud.
Jean-Loup, 11, has locked himself in his world and tries to avoid his classmates at all costs. A world made of fads, tics, knocks, imaginary friends or a tin can used as a funeral urn. He is alone and spends the time listing information of all kinds in small files. The oxygenation of the heart, the circulation of air in an astronaut suit, the fins of whales ... The little boy has more than 1,500 files on all subjects. Methodical, Jean-Loup lives a life regulated like musical paper. Until the day he discovers a talent for storytelling, which will upset his whole small, confined universe. A moving and poetic tale about the suffering of a child who will find the light relayed by a delicate graphics.
Dargaud, 21 euros.
Aldobrando , Gipi and Luigi Critone, initiation story and picaresque adventure
The liveliness of medieval fabliaux and the adventurous spirit of Don Quixote penetrate this album sublimated by the line of Luigi Critone Casterman.
We had already recommended this comic strip to escape confinement. Comic book critics selected her for the ten essential titles to take to the beach. The opportunity to once again salute the immense talent of Gipi and Luigi Critone, authors of an epic staging Aldobrando. Son of a rich lord entrusted from an early age to an old mage. The latter will educate him in the cocoon of an old isolated house, cut off from the outside world, until he is old enough to discover the world. When the time has come, the teacher sends the adolescent on a false pretext to explore humanity. The innocent young boy will face the cruelty of a medieval society plagued by the abuse of power, to achieve great exploits. Luigi Critone offers a superb picaresque story where cheerfully initiation and adventure stories intermingle. Vivacity of the fabliaux of the Middle Ages, chivalrous spirit of Don Quixote, heroism of the song of gesture, the aura of all this delicious literature penetrates an album sublimated by the watercolor and expressionist line of Luigi Critone. Read without moderation.
Casterman, 19 euros.
Mohamed Ali. Kinshasa 1974: a photographer at the heart of the fight of the century
This fascinating comic strip depicts the secret of a mythical fight, opposing Mohamed Ali to George Foreman. Dupuis.
It is the story of the fight of the century, captured by the eye and the lens of one of the few accredited photographers who was able to attend. A mythical confrontation, necessarily, opposing Mohamed Ali to George Foreman, in a symbolic place, Kinshasa (ex-Leopold city) in Zaire (ex-Belgian Congo) in October 1974. Many books tell of this pugilistic summit. Documentary filmmaker Leon Gast made it into a film When We Were Kings (1996) which remains a masterpiece of the genre. How to compete in comics? Simply by changing your point of view. And by innovating in a clever way on the form. The key to entry will therefore be the photojournalist Abbas, a legend of the Magnum agency. In 1974, he was in Zaire. The newspaper Jeune Afrique ordered him a report on the confrontation between these two black-American boxers who have been waiting to be able to do battle in the ring for six weeks. Paradoxically, Abbas is the hero of the story. As with Emmanuel Guibert's Photographer , designer Rafael Ortiz and screenwriter Jean-David Morvan must find a flexible and effective way of telling the famous "Rumble in the jungle" from another angle. Bet won. In this magnificent work at the crossroads between the documentary and the graphic novel, the reader plunges back into the moist atmosphere of Mobutu's Zaire. So, we rewind. Young George Foreman, 24, is a terrifying hitting machine. At 32, Cassius Clay aka Mohamed Ali is no longer the boxer he used to be. But he wants to regain his world champion belt. In training, however, and especially during the weigh-in, Abbas realizes that the boxer seems "old and puny" in front of the mountain of Foreman muscles. Ali announced to the world that he was going to dance in the ring. He's bluffing. But his pugilistic art is incomparable. "I fly like a butterfly and bite like a bee," he insists in the media. Will all this virtuosity be sufficient against the Foreman bull? This fascinating comic strip depicts the secret of a mythical fight. We come out struck. But happy to have unraveled the mystery ... And we understand better why the little Zairians did not stop shouting "Ali Boma Yé!" in support of the one they had chosen as (super) herald of the black cause.
Dupuis, € 24.95.
Human skin, Hubert and Zanzim: a wonder of tolerance
Zanzim's lively and colorful line perfectly enhances this tasty, committed tale full of poetry and humor. Glenate.
Bianca is a girl from a good family promised to Giovanni, son of a rich merchant whom she does not know. We are in the midst of the Italian Renaissance, a difficult time for the woman enrolled in the narrow life of a simple wife cloistered at home. But Bianca belongs to a family where women have a man's skin which allows them to transform themselves into Lorenzo, a young ephebe with coppery skin. She will thus be able to roam the city at will and above all know her future husband, and discover her secret up to date: Giovanni loves boys. The two young people will think outside the box and join forces to live in complete freedom. Zanzim's lively and colorful line perfectly enhances this tasty, committed tale full of poetry and humor. A magnificent hymn to freedom.
Read also: Human skin or love without shackles or barriers
Glénat, 27 euros.
Knock out , Reinhard Kleist: hard fate of a boxer
The powerful black and white of the designer gives this story all its intensity. Casterman.
Nothing destined the young Emile Griffith for boxing, who rather dreamed of embracing a career as a milliner. But his boss decided otherwise. Impressed by the young man's imposing stature, he pushed him into the ring. The colt links the victories and ends up obtaining the title of world champion. Everything is going well for him, success is there and he multiplies the male conquests while managing to hide his homosexuality. Until the day his opponent Benny Paret gives him homophobic insults before a match. Enraged, the champion will strike a little too hard. In front of more than fourteen million viewers, the two athletes fight one of the most brutal fights in the history of this sport which will lead to the death of Benny Parret. Signed by the German Reinhard Kleist, the biography Knock out !, brilliantly traces the destiny of the African-American sportsman, the first homosexual boxing world champion. A tragic fate marked by guilt. Emile Griffith will never forgive himself for the death of Benny Paret. The powerful black and white of the designer gives this story all its intensity.
Casterman Scriptures, 18.95 euros.
Open Bar 2 , Fabcaro: record holder for zygomatic elongations
For the summer period, nothing like reading the second delivery of its hilarious gags gathered under the title Open bar 2. Pataquès.
Fabrice Caro alias Fabcaro seems to have absurd humor pegged to the body. For the summer period, nothing like reading the second delivery of its hilarious gags gathered under the title Open bar 2 (Pataquès collection). Take the gag in three strips from page 15 at random. First box: a couple in a double bed in the evening. The husband is immersed in his computer. The woman is reading a novel. Not a word. Second box: same drawing, but in the middle of the bed, a bearded bohemian with glasses, shoulder bag, crosses the room perched on an electric scooter. Still not a dialogue. Third box: back to box 1, but this time, we read in the bubble: "It's starting to do well these scooters everywhere ..." Otherwise, we will be entitled to more distinguished gags: during a co-ownership meeting , a man standing, his hands resting on the table begins a monologue around the few empty cups of coffee: "So for this first co-ownership meeting, I suggest that we get naked and we caress the genitals with seasonal vegetables." In box 2, a large blank. In the third strip, the man continues: "But we can also tackle this problem of humidity in the trash room if you prefer ..." And in a thought bubble, we can read: "Ah well, that promises l 'ambiance ...' It's like that Fabcaro. It strikes where we do not expect it and sometimes where it hurts ... As in this gag where there is a crowd of people looking at a guy who has just been knocked down by a car. Suddenly, a woman dismisses the crowd: "Let me pass, I am a personal development coach!" Fortunately, Fabcaro is there to have fun diverting the major issues of the time, and other fashion phenomena from a sometimes laughable, so laughable society ...
Pataquès, 12.50 euros.
The Exile , Erik Kriek: the curse of the Viking heritage
With L'Exilé , Erik Kriek signs a strong, relentless work on a family curse. Anspach.
What a funny comic book album! The Exile of Erik Kriek appears as an “unidentified drawing object” in the landscape of the ninth art. It is this graphic singularity that makes all its charm. Because it's summer and a little freshness won't hurt, you have to dive into this tale located in the heart of 10th century Iceland. The author, an illustrator born in Amsterdam who made himself known in press cartoons and posters, seems to have put his whole heart and his erudition into it. Erik Kriek tells a Viking story that will drink directly from Nordic mythological sources (we will not be surprised to learn that the author's mother is Finnish). It all starts with a return to the country. A Viking warrior named Hellstein returns to the land of his peers after seven years of banishment. He traveled around Europe as a mercenary, scrapped and made solid fellow travelers. The man has a violent past which he would like to leave behind. He aspires to find his roots. But on the spot, he will have to face the consequences of his past acts. The design we discover here almost resembles works of scratch cards. Contrasted, powerful, haunted ... The colors, red, gray, black, white are pure. Dreamlike action mingles. There is something of a cursed family fresco. The perfect backdrop for a Shakespearean western dipped in heroic fantasy ... With L'Exilé , Erik Kriek signs a strong, relentless work on a family curse that recalls so much the stories of Homeric mythology. To discover urgently ...
Anspach editions, € 29.