European Graphic Novels+

Copyright and Trademark 1988 Lucasfilm, Ltd

Copyright and Trademark 1988 Lucasfilm, Ltd

Baynes was an English artist who illustrated a landslide of works in an impressive variety of styles over the years. The turning point came from... well:

J.R.R. Tolkien had written Farmer Giles of Ham, a humorous novella about dragons and knight-errantry set in a faux-medieval period, but was dissatisfied with the work of the artist who had been chosen as illustrator. Baynes's work caught Tolkien's eye and she got the job, creating a lively set of pictures that wittily pastiche the look of illuminated medieval manuscripts. So perfectly did Baynes capture the essence of Tolkien's tale that he declared them to be "more than illustrations, they are a collateral theme". He also delighted in reporting that friends had said that her pictures had succeeded in reducing his text to "a commentary on the drawings"(!)

It seems Tolkien also wanted her to illustrate the Lord of the Rings books, but it was not to be. Just imagine the Hildebrandt brothers with serious competition, hey?

In any case, she did do a nice map for LotR:

Lots more of her art and life-story below, including more on her collaborations with Tolkien:

https://www.paulinebaynes.com/

Miou! Miou, get back here!
By Thoth, what's this magic?
Damned cat!

So I'm finishing up tome 1 of this series, titled Kheti, fils du Nil, by Isabelle Dethan & "Mazan," as published by Delcourt. It's nominally intended for young readers, but to me retains that certain charm of being a "childrens book" chock full of delights for adult readers. I also found it not too hard to understand as an A1/A2 French reader, with the Translate app on my phone filling in the gaps nicely.

Kheti, the apprentice scribe, gets bored copying out the precepts dictated by his grouchy master. Suddenly a cat, then a little girl run into the temple where he's studying. When the cat passes through a strange portal in a wall, the children are dragged after it. They're propelled into a deserted place, in ruins, very similar to the one they left. In fact they're now in the world of the gods. The children and the cat will have to foil the plot that's being hatched against the goddess Sekhmet so that she can release the waters of the Nile and thus ensure the future of the Egyptians. --Bedetheque, Google & Johnny

There are certainly some analogues here to Lucien de Gieter's classic children's series Papyrus, but I feel like this one takes the mythos and culture of Ancient Egyptian far more seriously, not to mention allows the story to find its own pace as opposed to pushing it forward ala the classic and perhaps dated 'adventure book' style of Spirou magazine, where Papyrus first appeared in the 70's.

Here's an invitation for ~~young~~ all-ages readers to discover Egypt through its legends, its deities, its customs and beliefs, for example via the critical importance of the annual Nile inundation. Various divine beings appear to considerable amusement and exasperation, such as Bes the bearded dwarf, Thoth as the learned baboon, a bored cobra goddess, and of course Apophis, an evil python. There's also a nice little glossary to help understand certain figures and nomenclature.

----> more art samples <----

Cruising Tumblr today, I was intrigued by the top-left piece. It reminded me somewhat of the work of the late, great Patrick Nagel. So then, to work finding more...

Wróblewska is a graphic designer, product designer and digital illustrator who graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Supraśl, Poland. She continued her visual arts education in Germany and Finland, later founding her own design studio. --ArtInHouse.pl with edits by Johnny

Her personal work is primarily in portraits, particularly depicting female characters surrounded by magical auras, who dominate, entice and evoke nostalgia. Her works are meant to tell short stories suspended through time and space.

(that left one reminds me a bit of how American Maxfield Parrish so deftly handled polka dots, such as with The Idiot and Florentine Fete)

More:
https://www.artmajeur.com/marta-joy
https://www.behance.net/martawrblewska1

This little story is from Romain Dutreix' darkly-hilarious Impostures series, which are collections of satirical tributes to famous BD cartoons.

---> https://imgur.com/gallery/IP8wYYR <---

Google's translation services didn't do too badly today. Hopefully it will continue to improve.

Note: this is all based on the prior post, its comments, and maybe a little bit of research on my end.

For alt-comix fans, this format is a parody of the glorious, enduring Red Meat indie-American comic, and thank you to Monkeydyne for helping me make this little fake comic. 😘

Someone in an Asterix forums recently complained that Obelix never got a proper love interest, and it got me thinking... I mean, it seems that across Asterix, Lucky Luke, Tintin and probably many other popular series, very few (or outright none?) of the main characters discovered a bona fide romantic partner, and I suspect that the difficulties of mixing romance with a humor format was one of the biggest reasons why.

That, and the fact that adding a love interest would generally mean that such a character would become part of the ensemble, which means another mouth to feed, so to speak. (more storyline & panels for them, etc)

This is kinda why I'm re-reading Henk Kuijpers' Franka series, tomes 14 & 15, in which Franka has a pretty exhilarating love / adversarial relationship with "Rix," an art thief she initially sets out to capture. It's sort of in the style of James Bond films like From Russia with Love and The Spy Who Loved Me, and I thought author Kuijpers brought it with a lot of style and interest:

Now, I suppose that the difference in Franka (compared to more directly humorous series) is that such a series only lightly relies on humor, and maybe has greater license to muddy the waters without getting bogged down. For example, "Rix" could easily have been killed off either immediately or down the road, with the spirit of the series suffering little or no detriment. (much like a Van Hamme series for example, such as Largo Winch and Lady S.)

Compare that to Asterix, Lucky Luke or Tintin, in which it would have been a notably tragic event, doubtlessly shifting the tenor of the series. For Asterix in particular it could have been plainly disastrous, offending readers along the lines of how Simpsons viewers were outraged by the episode which revealed that Principal Skinner was in fact a fraudster.

All that said-- I'm hardly some 'know-it-all BD/Euro person.' So maybe in some other series, particularly humorous ones, romance can work perfectly well..?

This story finds Corto reuniting with many friends from previous stories, searching for the Mu, the fabled lost city. The Mu story is incredibly convoluted, making this a particularly hard translation. Lots of statements contradicting previous statements. It took me a while to come to the decision that Pratt was doing this on purpose, but the discovery of just what Mu turns out to be is a big part of the ongoing story.

This one is one of the longest Corto stories, and there are a lot of trippy dreams and dreamy trips that happen throughout. This is the loosest of Pratt's draftsmanship, and my favorite Corto Maltese art. The story meanders all over the place. The ending is in fact very affecting, especially if one has read some of the previous books (Corto Maltese in Siberia would be the key book there). --ECC blog

I liked the Mayan-style reference art and watercolor style here, but I don't recall if I've read the "Mu" story itself, as it's been a while since I dipped in to CM. Some more art samples from the story here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22corto+maltese%22+%22MU%22&udm=2

This is the cover of a book, and unfortunately I found the contents rather mediocre by the standards of all the fun fan-based Tintin art out there. So I'm going to pivot by moving on to a few more hand-selected goodies I've uploaded below. Some of them involve film references or artist homages:

--> https://imgur.com/gallery/3LwAdfj <--

And of course, there's a much bigger collection below, including resources that can help you find more art, and/or identify specific artists who created the pastiches.

https://lemm.ee/post/3543286

Enjoy. ^^

Well, well!
And do you know where he lives?

And you, madame! Do you recognise this shady person?
I see, I see!
But where is he hiding?

Haha, I thought she dealt with the manatee and goose rather well.

So I recently rediscovered this lovely comic which I had as a kid. In French it's Pas de grisbi pour Grabote, or "No cheese (money) for Grabote." It's a little book of 18pp, the second of Claveloux' Grabote series. I found it super-cute, whimsical, absurd and inventive, altho at times there was sort of a menacing 'Ralph Steadman' vibe as well. So-- something to generally amuse kids, but also something to intrigue creative types, perhaps.

One can read it online below, using the buttons at the bottom to navigate:

http://www.resaclic.net/grabote/grisbi/grisbi

I admit... I'm sort of a huge, pompous blowhard when it comes to the strident truism "great art or not, a good story still needs good storytelling and plot!"

Yet here I am, just blown away by Swedish-dude Simon's incredible collection of wordless paintings offered up in the "comic book" Flood, each page of which arguably provides ~1000 possible stories alone, if only one's eyes merely observe a bit, so to speak.

https://i.imgur.com/Y79JkeC.jpeg

Simon Stålenhag (b. 1984) is the internationally acclaimed author and artist behind The Electric State, Tales from the Loop and Things from the Flood. His highly imaginative images and stories depicting illusive sci-fi phenomena in mundane, hyper-realistic Scandinavian and American landscapes have made Stålenhag one of the most sought-after visual storytellers in the world. Tales from the Loop was ranked one of the “10 Best Dystopias” by The Guardian, along with such works as Franz Kafka’s The Trial and Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca. --salomonssonagency.se

https://i.imgur.com/OwErKyT.jpeg

Now me, as someone who's arguably overly-fixated on post-apoc works, I love how Simon keeps playing with that definition:

"Perhaps we know these situations."
"Perhaps they're complete fantasy."
"Perhaps we're merely gazing through a muddy troposphere!"

https://i.imgur.com/geWNIcR.jpeg

In any case, I hope you enjoyed this tiny introduction to Simon's work. There is his official site.

I don't know much about Olsen other than he has a Danish-Norwegian surname and his art vaguely fits under the umbrella of 'LC.' Specifically, I enjoy the playful style he uses in his comics. More samples from Tiny Dracula here:

https://mastodon.art/tags/TinyDracula

Copyright Jean Giraud & Starwatcher Graphics. All rights reserved.

I'm kinda stressed these days, but much thanks to @https://lemm.ee/u/paf@jlai.lu and @https://lemm.ee/u/Taniwha420 for filling in!

I really like this Greek-English artist George Bletsis, who designed the movie poster:

https://www.monstertree.co.uk/

L'histoire vraie d'Ersin Karabulut, célèbre artiste de bande dessinée turc.

Il raconte son histoire, mais aussi celle de son pays, la Turquie. Dans ses excellents « contes ordinaires » (fluide glacial), l’auteur nous entraînait dans une époque et un monde semblable aux nôtres, y glissant subrepticement une touche de fantastique pour mieux pointer une dérive, une aberration de notre société.

Rien de cela dans ce nouvel album : Ersin Karabulut s’ancre dans la réalité. Il parle sans détour de son parcours, celui d’un gamin amoureux du dessin avant d’être un militant ; de son pays, tiraillé par de violents antagonismes politiques et sociétaux. Ce récit sans concession – ni pour l’auteur lui-même ni pour la Turquie – est porté par un graphisme exceptionnel qui entremêle caricature et réalisme. On retrouve, car c’est une habitude chez Ersin Karabulut, la force des émotions qu’il dessine à la perfection.

Ce « journal » est la première partie d’une autobiographie aussi drôle que grave ; un manifeste pour la liberté de pensée, la liberté d’expression et la liberté de la presse ! (Tome 2 en cours d'écriture)

English version: (might not be perfectly translated)

The true story of Ersin Karabulut, famous Turkish BD artist. He tells his story, but also the one of his country, Turkey.
In his excellent “ordinary tales” works, the author took us into a time and a world similar to ours, surreptitiously slipping in a touch of fantasy to better point out a drift, an aberration in our society.

None of that in this new album: Ersin Karabulut is anchored in reality. He speaks frankly about his journey, that of a kid in love with drawing before becoming an activist; of his country, torn by violent political and societal antagonisms.

This uncompromising story – neither for the author himself nor for Turkey – is carried by exceptional graphics which interweaves caricature and realism. We find, because it is a habit with Ersin Karabulut, the strength of the emotions that he draws to perfection. This “diary” is the first part of an autobiography that is as funny as it is serious; a manifesto for freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of the press!

Note: unsure this BD is available in English.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ersin_Karabulut https://www.dargaud.com/bd/journal-inquiet-distanbul/journal-inquiet-distanbul-journal-inquiet-distanbul-tome-1-bda5342530

I rather randomly picked up the first four books in this series a couple decades ago when I was in France. It was a rather new experience for me as a Canadian to read a graphic novel with adult content. It is funny! I also learned a lot of vernacular and adult French in the process. Plus, I really liked the vibrant art.

The Trolls are awesome.

This is by Tyler Miles Lockett, and the first in his Atalanta series.

I first bumped to his work based on classic Greek mythology, here: https://thecollectibles.tumblr.com/post/742334797740933120/greek-goddesses-by-tyler-miles-lockett

Evidently Benoit visited the Atomium building / sculpture in 1982 and was inspired to create this piece.

The nine central spheres have been disassembled and reduced in size. Who are these girls exactly, what is this building (a museum, perhaps?), and why are we looking at a rocky desert landscape? I'm afraid Ted can't tell us anymore since he passed on a few years ago, but there is this blog post, for what it's worth.

I just discovered that Casterman made a "ciné album" to accompany Spielberg's 2011 Tintin film. It makes for quite a unique-looking comic book, and is essentially a curated set of stills from the movie, set to balloon text. Seems like a fine way to revisit and enjoy The Secret of the Unicorn, perhaps appreciating it from different angles.

It's in French of course:
https://www.bedetheque.com/BD-Tintin-Divers-C4c-Cine-album-174093.html

I just finished reading the first three books of this swords & magic series, Percevan. It's sort of like 'the Smurfs meet Thorgal,' with the style and pacing reminding me of the Dutch series Douwe Dabbert. The characters are almost completely 'stock,' but that's normal for this kind of work.

I'd say this series is best for young adults and casual readers. It's generally light, comical reading, but there are enough moments of implied sex and mortal violence that it's maybe not quite ideal for kids. In terms of quality, I found it surprisingly absorbing, altho it also has plot weaknesses and some pretty dopey moments.

https://www.bedetheque.com/serie-24-BD-Percevan.html

Copyright Jean Giraud & Starwatcher Graphics. All rights reserved.

I first saw this one in the Summer 1988 issue of Heavy Metal. I'm leading with the first line of the story instead of the actual title (To Draw or not to Draw) because the first line (in the upper left, see?) easily gets lost upon reading.

-----> https://imgur.com/gallery/a03BUpl <-----

This Grimmsian-kinda tale stood out to me because the ~~orange~~ purple admiral in the story reminded me of a modern contemporary whose base wants to begin dismantling democracy early next year. (yes, I kid you not)

The author of course is legendary Uruguayan-Argentinian artist Alberto Breccia, working in a wild, colorful style that reminded me a bit of Corben & Strnad's utterly unique work on Denz, previously posted here. I believe Breccia's usually known more for his detailed but expressive B&W work on stuff like Mort Cinder, a sort of alternate Frankenstein's monster series which I bemusedly enjoyed.

There's certainly much more to say about Breccia and his son & daughters, each of whom seemed to riff on his style, yet finding their own paths. As usual, one place to read about the family would be: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/breccia.htm

A couple more Breccia stories in this incredible visual style are collected here: https://raggedclaws.com/category/alberto-breccia/

I think my translation needs upgrading, but--

Godammit!
Maurice, stop torturing
our ears with
that funeral march!
Why can't you be more positive?

In fact the trip was an actual thing, and this album Gringos Locos (2012) by writer Yann & artist Olivier Schwartz is a rare case of a comic about the lives of comic book artists.

(here they are in silhouette, contemplating their departing ocean liner)

Evidently these three Belgians, Joseph Gillain ("Jijé"), André Franquin and Maurice de Bevere ("Morris"), took this trip to America specifically to join Walt Disney Studios and make their fortunes there.

(Jijé's the big one, Morris' the blond,
and Franquin's the tall slim bloke)

As it happened the expedition was a failure across most fronts, and the trio returned to Bruxelles, their hopes of making it, dashed. Little did they know at the time that they'd go on to become some of the biggest superstars of BD.

(while Franquin's down in the dumps and Jijé's
fussing with his family, Morris has his fun!)