Christmas gifts 2021: our selection of comics to slip under the tree

The young woman and the sea

To discover

• Dossier - All our 2021 Christmas gift ideas: for teens, women, men ...

In

, Catherine Meurisse stages herself, questions herself and challenges the reader to her ability to resonate with the elements.

Catherine Meurisse / Dargaud

“I would like to paint nature”.

This is the project that animates Catherine Meurisse when she goes to an artist residency in Japan.

The opportunity for the designer to explore her relationship with nature, to store new mental images, to apprehend a new art.

In

, Catherine Meurisse stages herself, questions herself and challenges the reader to her ability to resonate with the elements.

Petri-humourous, this philosophical tale set against the backdrop of an aesthetic stroll, where the Japan of Hokusai and Miyazaki rub shoulders with each other, where the oldest temples are bordered by anti-tsunami walls, can be savored like a very pretty enchanted parenthesis.

Dargaud, 22.50 euros.

The young actor 1 - Adventures of Vincent Lacoste at the cinema,

Hilarious, rhythmic, full of anecdotes, deep and remarkably drawn,

of Riad Sattouf tells the true story of Vincent Lacoste, a young kid propelled into the world of cinema, who in a few years has become a sure bet in French cinema.

Books of the future

It's a pretty daring album. Unexpected too. In 2008, Riad Sattouf shot

, with Vincent Lacoste. The film is selected at Cannes. Welcomed with kindness, it will make more than a million admissions on its release, before collecting the César for best first film. However, it is not only the meteorite trajectory of this first feature film that the author of

tells

in

.

Sattouf focuses on the journey of a fourteen-year-old teenager, whom he spotted, encouraged, and who undoubtedly did a lot for the success of the film.

Hilarious, rhythmic, full of anecdotes, deep and remarkably drawn, this first volume tells the true story of Vincent Lacoste, a young kid propelled into the middle of the seventh art, who in just a few years has become a sure bet in French cinema, of

in

.

Combining his fascination with adolescence with the metamorphosis of the young actor into a movie star, Sattouf captures the gushing of a spring, these first tragicomic drops giving rise to the birth of a vocation.

A precious and wonderfully touching album.

Books of the future, 21.50 euros.

Boxes

All superbly illustrated, these free adaptations brilliantly immerse the reader in great literary texts.

Futuropolis

The Futuropolis editions offer six beautiful literary adaptations available in two boxes of three volumes, for these end-of-year celebrations.

by Jean Dufaux and Jacques Terpant: a man without consolation

All superbly illustrated, these free adaptations immerse the reader in the earthy tales of Balzac, the absurdity of Boris Vian, the fictional life of Céline and her flight to Germany in 1944, the philosophical reflections of Giono or the epic spirit of Jean de the Varende.

Books that are aimed at both lovers of great literature and those eager to discover them in dynamic staging exhilarating captivating stories.

A nice preamble to reading the original works.

To read also

"This comic would have made Céline laugh"

Box set:

on a screenplay by Christophe Malavoy adapted

from Céline's

trilogy

,

and

Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi, 59 euros.

Box set:

(fictional account of Céline's life), Jean Dufaux and Jacques Terpant, 50, 90 euros.

Grendizer

Goldorak is back in comics thanks to a quintet of passionate authors, who have spent four years perfecting an album that will undoubtedly make a date in the history of comics. © Kana 2021

Almost 43 years after his first appearance on television, our dear Grendizer is back.

Concocted by a quintet of enthusiasts, Xavier Dorison, Denis Bajram, Brice Cossu, Alexis Sentenac and Yoann Guillo, based on the work of Gô Nagai this very successful album required four years of intense work.

It is presented as a logical continuation of the animated series.

It is a comic strip with neat graphics that was made with emotion and a touch of nostalgia.

It is with pleasure that we find the unforgettable “Fulguropoing”

“Astero-ax” and “Cornofulgur”!

A concentrate of childhood essential for fans of the famous robot.

Grendizer, Go!

Kana éditions, 24.90 euros.

Loustal et Paringaux, La Note bleue and other stories

The Casterman editions had the wonderful idea of ​​bringing together the best stories of the two authors, published in the early 1980s. Loustal / Paringaux / Casterman

The texts of Philippe Paringaux illustrated by the sublime drawing of Jacques de Loustal made the heyday of the prestigious review

by Casterman.

and

, the Casterman editions had the wonderful idea of ​​bringing together the best stories of the two authors, published in the early 1980s. Loustal brilliantly serves a cinematographic staging as well as the representation of the sordid and captivating atmospheres of the noir novel. Introspective stories, the texts in off supplant the phylacteries almost absent from the narration immersing the reader in the inner torments of characters in distress. Gorgeous.

To read also

of Fred Bernard and Loustal: a diamond as big as the Ritz

Casterman, 35 euros

Saint-Elme: the burnt cow

The album, selected in Angoulême, oscillates between black thriller, fantastic and absurd.

Serge Lehman / Frederik Peeters / Delcourt

After the imposing fantastic tale

, the tandem Serge Lehman and Frederik Peeters returns with a mysterious and dark thriller. On the trail of a runaway who has been missing for months, detective Franck Sangaré, accompanied by the strange Madame Dombre, arrives in the small alpine town of Saint-Elme. Apparently the investigation promises to be easy. But as the saying goes, sometimes appearances are deceptive. In Saint-Elme, it's special. The album, selected in Angoulême, oscillating between black thriller, fantastic and absurd, holds the reader in suspense from the first to the last page. Mobsters, mafia family, intriguing characters evolve in this small isolated town, oppressive and steeped in violence, immersing the reader in a strange and fascinating atmosphere. The series planned in five volumes,is brilliantly relayed by the powerful line and saturated colors of Frederik Peeters.

Delcourt, 16.95 euros

47 strings, Timothé Le Boucher

Largo Winch, La Frontière de la nuit,

In the 23rd volume of Largo Winch, the drawing and the graphic staging of Philippe Francq find a scale worthy of the best albums of the series.

© Dupuis 2021

For four years, the destiny of Largo Winch has passed into the hands of the novelist Éric Giacometti while Philippe Francq is still responsible for the designs. This time, the tandem pushed the heir to the Winch Empire to stick his head in the stars. The 23rd volume of Largo Winch's adventures,

gets off to a flying start. Between an incognito visit of Largo in an Indonesian tin mine, the presentation of Flyboards in California, a fashion show which turns to the drama, without forgetting the settling of scores orchestrated by a mysterious "Professor", the first part of this new diptych is driven with beating pace. Philippe Francq's design and graphic staging regain a scale worthy of the best albums of the series. We are impatiently awaiting the rest ...

Dupuis, 14.95 euros.

Elise and the new supporters

Dominique Grange, who was largely inspired by his own political career, paints an unvarnished portrait of activism.

Dominique Grange / Tardi / Delcourt

Elise was destined for a career as a singer. But destiny decided otherwise. May 68 and its procession of protests changed the situation. Events awakened her to activism and she became involved in the social struggles of the 1970s, becoming a member of the Maoist movement, the Proletarian Left. Terrorist cells, prison, clandestinity, homes of immigrant workers, slums of Nanterre, protests repressed in violence ... Dominique Grange who was largely inspired by his own political career paints an unvarnished portrait of far-left activism. The album brings to light the effervescence of collective combat while exploring the harshness of police violence, the feeling of abandonment and the disillusionment of activists at the dissolution of the movement. Richly documented, thealbum intertwines small and big story which makes it both edifying and moving.

Delcourt, 24.95 euros

Under the pebbles, the beach,

Pascal Rabaté's album speaks above all of a love story between two people who are opposed to everything.

Pascal Rabaté / Rue de Sèvres

Kertudy, September 1962. The seaside resort is emptying of its last summer residents.

The young students Albert, Francis and Edouard, take advantage of the off-season and the departure of their parents to party, while waiting to start brilliant studies.

The fate of his sons of good family is all mapped out.

Until their meeting with Odette, an unattached girl who lives on expedients.

Albert falls in love with her and his life will be shattered.

Between plunder, educational violence or acerbic portrait of the petty bourgeoisie, Pascal Rabaté's album speaks above all of a love story between two people who are opposed to everything.

A story imbued with poetry and penetrated by a libertarian spirit that the elegance of its graphics is for our greatest pleasure.

Rue de Sèvres, 25 euros

47 strings,

This bewitching psychological thriller set against a backdrop of mythology and sensuality offers a gallery of colorful characters.

Timothé Le Boucher / Glénat

Changing appearance to seduce the loved one is the prerogative of the shapeshifter, a fantastic creature that Timothé the Butcher has staged in the guise of Francesca Forabosco. Renowned and eccentric singer, she wants to possess the young Ambroise, a harpist who seeks to impose himself within the orchestra he has just joined. The opportunity for Francesca to take him under her wing and offer him a strange deal: he will have to take up 47 challenges to obtain the harp of his dreams. The prey is shod.

or the pernicious song of the sirens

This bewitching psychological thriller set against a backdrop of mythology and sensuality offers a gallery of colorful characters.

Released by a refined graphics, which brilliantly highlights all the force of the subject, this first part, rich in 387 pages, holds the reader in suspense from the first to the last page.

Glénat, 25 euros

Blake and Mortimer, The Last Swordfish,

Documented, rhythmic, full of humor, this 28th adventure marks the return of Jean Van Hamme at the helm of the adventures of Blake and Mortimer.

Blake and Mortimer

By jove! Her Gracious Majesty's two most famous investigators are back. We are in 1948. This time, they must save Buckingham Palace (as well as the whole royal family) from a terrible plot hatched by the IRA with the complicity of the Nazis. Documented, rhythmic, full of humor and second degree, this 28th adventure marks the return of Jean Van Hamme at the helm of the adventures of Blake and Mortimer. The story of the

, a real timepiece re-assembled, brings back the very endearing character of Nasir, who will save Mortimer from a few bad steps.

The infamous Colonel Olrik is also part of the cast.

The graphic duo with obvious complicity, formed by Van Dongen and Berserik, is at the height of master Jacobs, while respecting his clear line, more theatrical than cinematographic.

Read also

: Blake and Mortimer against the Irish conspiracy

Blake and Mortimer, 15.95 euros

In addition, the superb drawn biography

by François Rivière and Philippe Vurm published by Glénat, 22.50 euros.

Pacific Palace

Pacific Palace

by Christian Durieux is one of the great success stories of the

Christian Durieux / Dupuis

Over the years, the

collection has enabled many artists to revisit an eternal hero of Franco-Belgian comics.

by Christian Durieux is to be ranked among the great successes of the genre.

His Spirou, in love with the daughter of a fleeing dictator who took refuge in a palace on the Côte d'Azur, summons both the cartoony elegance of a film by Wes Anderson but also the melodious delicacy of François Truffaut's films. .

This refined adventure where political fable and romance mingle in a deserted palace has the appearance of being behind closed doors.

A fleeing dictator and his family, sinister bodyguards ... not to mention Spirou and Fantasio, who have recently been converted into grooms, are gathered there.

The Dupuis editions have just published an enlarged version of a unique edition of 3000 copies with an unpublished cover and an exclusive 16-page dossier.

Dupuis, 19.90 euros

Alice Guy

José-Louis Bocquet and Catel brilliantly illustrate the prodigious career of the first woman director in the history of cinema.

Catel / Casterman

José-Louis Bocquet and Catel Muller offer a fascinating biography of Alice Guy, the first female director in the history of cinema who gave herself body and soul to her art.

The couple of authors brilliantly illustrates the prodigious journey of this pioneer.

With in filigree the picture of an era and the vagaries of the birth of the cinema which was still only a phenomenon of fair.

To read also

, first director in the world, is reborn in a superb album

Casterman, 24.95 euros.

Blacksad - So Everything Falls Part 1

After eight years of reflection, Guarnido and Canalés sign a masterful sixth album.

© Dargaud

For two albums, John Blacksad, the elegant feline detective imagined by the tandem Guarnido and Canales, had extricated himself from New York skyscrapers to explore the great outdoors of 1950s America. After

r,

, and

, here is our cat with the white muzzle back in the fold.

After eight years of reflection, appears (finally) the sixth part of this great animal thriller.

New York is therefore one of the main characters in this episode entitled

.

The intrigue places our dear mustached private at the center of a politico-mafia imbroglio that goes beyond him.

On the one hand, a bat and moles work for the development of the metro and public transport.

On the other, a megalomaniac urban planner with the head of an eagle plans to build gigantic urban highways.

Juan Diaz Canales is obviously inspired by the controversial architect Robert Moses (1888-1981) who was dubbed the “master of construction” but who was hated by New Yorkers in the early 1960s. first part of this diptych is a masterful success… We can't wait to read more.

Dargaud, 15 euros.