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This one came out in May, and continues the story of the "Schtroumpfs" (original name for the "Smurfs"), created by the late Peyo. It's by artist-writer Tébo, and breathes some welcome new life in to the franchise. HERE are some samples of Tébo's work, and here's BDgest's summary of the new album:

A smurf wakes up in the middle of the village. No one knows him, and he doesn't quite understand the language of the Smurfs. In fact, he's not even sure who he is, and doesn't know what he's doing there. After dealing with the suspicion that Gargamel is behind all this, Papa Smurf gets busy preparing a remedy for this curious amnesia. In the meantime, Smurfette decides to set up an expedition to clear it all up, accompanied by a small group including the newcomer who, for lack of a better word, will call himself "Unknown Smurf."

So I read the album in my beginner-ish French and am happy to say that I found it quite enjoyable and fresh. I must admit that one of my frustrations (meh, call it "limitations," as I'm not on the warpath, here) with Peyo's albums is that despite how lovable the Smurfs generally are, and how amusing their special language is, overall the scenarios, artistry, and expressiveness of the characters are traditionally kinda... "limited," is maybe the word?

While yes, they're always adorable, these are quintessentially kids books (yay!) that double as all-ages books at best. Which brings me to artist-writer Tébo, who addresses those traditional limitations with a great deal of skill, creativity, and humor.

To give a couple examples-- one of the things I liked in this album is that Smurfette takes a leading role in the adventure, and not just as a pretty face. There's also a fun new character who's effectively "Brawny Smurf," a nice alternative to "Hefty Smurf." But best of all, the little questing party travels to a completely unknown, maze-like realm in the forest, with brand new characters and dangers to contend with. This was a welcome change compared to the routine of idling around the village, with the same old characters repeating cliché jokes and the same old behaviors (lookin' at you, Jokey-Smurf, Lazy-Smurf, Grouchy-Smurf, etc). Another amusing novelty was seeing the normally unflappable, problem-solving Papa Smurf meet his Waterloo, so to speak. Finally, as a special bonus, two semi-famous BD characters play significant roles in the story.

Anyway, let's get to the goods! Here are 12 page samples from the new album at BDgest:

[LINK]

(if you see a large popup ad, click around the border to dismiss it)

Criminal villain Rastapopoulos' right hand-hand man "Allan" makes a tragic error in judgement.

From Tintin album #22, Flight 714 to Sydney.

Posting images is working again :)

(click links for samples)

Last of the Atlases (authors: Vehlmann & Bonneval, illustrators: Tanquerelle & Blanchard, 2019-) Another smash by Vehlmann & Co, and a running series at that. We're following the life of a mobster's lieutenant dealing with Albanians trying to horn in on his gambling business, and more concerning, the police looking to nail him and his operation. Suddenly a Pandora's Box of new problems pops open, such as having to rescue a big regional crime boss, needing to retreat to his homeland (Algeria) for the first time ever, and getting involved in a borderline-supernatural phenomenon while there. Based on all these factors & events, he conceives a mad plan to restore the last remaining "Atlas," i.e. a giant work / combat robot, decommissioned and abandoned years ago. (I'm sensing a nice Miyazaki / Castle in the Sky tribute there) LotA is a brilliant mashup of themes you normally don't see together, told with a level of truth & realism all too easily bungled in the comics medium, featuring impeccable story-telling and artistic expression. I'd call it an instant classic, checking off many of the same boxes as the wonderful District 14, although of course it's quite a different kind of story.

The Princess of Clèves (Bouilhac & Catel, 2019) - Set in the middle 1500's at the court of Henry II, this is a Dangerous Liaisons-style psychological drama about a young married woman struggling against her attraction to a philandering noble. Special tension comes from the fact that the noble decides to give up all his other pursuits in order to woo her, yet it still may not be enough. "Clèves" is perhaps a little dry for those who prefer action, as it mainly has to do with court intrigue, reputations at stake, and correctly interpreting the relentless gossip of the day. Based on a famous novel of the day, and featuring real historical figures, it's an enjoyable delve in to a far different time and place.

Atomic Empire (Smolderen & Clerisse, 2018) - This is stylish, strange and amusing look at a man who believes he's part of a cosmic conspiracy of sorts. We see him somehow, some way in telepathic communication with an important figure light years across the galaxy, thousands of years in the future. The issue at hand is that a tyrant of an emperor has escaped justice, and our protagonist has an opportunity to aid him, stymie him, or even pay for his sins in his stead. This could almost be a Scientology backstory, except this one probably makes a lot more sense. The book's illustrated in an appealing 50's, "googie," jet-set style. Unfortunately, while this was a fun read, it jumped around a lot, and didn't really stick with its characters. Another way of stating it is that there was a certain lack of satisfying 'payoff' moments and scenes that naturally reward the reader for following along. The creative team here has oodles of talent, but for most folks I'd recommend one of their more conventional works, like Diabolical Summer.

BTTM FDRS (Claytan Daniels & Passmore, 2019) - This indie comic was a wild, enjoyable ride that begins with such issues as a strained friendship, urban & racial realities, and a young woman trying to break away from parental influence, settling in to her first apartment. It's the apartment itself (and the odd cement building) that throws the story in to overdrive, introducing abandoned technology and even genetic experiments that become active when new tenants enter the building. Despite not being crazy about the color palette (see for yourself in the link), I'm happy to say that "BTTM FDRS" ("bottom feeders") has a certain weird, raw energy, and is a nicely-realised tale, with excellent story-telling. It's also a bit provocative and open-ended, reminding me of plenty of classic BD.

Cradlegrave (Smith & Bagwell, 2009) - I liked the way this one sets you down so deftly in to the world of urban poverty (it's set in Lancashire, Britain), as told mostly from a teenage / young adult POV. The art is nicely done in a subdued color palette, matching the setting. The story's a bit breezy & aimless (although punctuated by dark moments) and it's not always clear which character we're really following, but that's not unusual for this kind of work. In any case, the biggest takeaway for me was getting a better sense of the cyclical poverty & misery of this way of life, as it was easy enough to see why so many self-medicate from a young age, typically dooming their future selves. On top of that, there was a strange science / horror angle that I didn't see coming, which I'm guessing was sort of a gonzo extrapolation of the 'addict life.' Cradlegrave had some echoes of BTTM FDRS in that way, although I thought that work was more focused. TBH I'm not completely sure why I'm adding a review for this work, as I suspect there's better stuff out there of this type. Still, there's real skill that went in to this one, and I've never quite seen a mashup of these issues before. This will probably be right up some peoples' alleys, if not mine.

My unread pile has now reached 30 graphic novels (roughly half are European, the rest are mostly American but not only).

I have been in a shopping spree during August but now it is time to stop as this pile should last me for a while. I hope. :)

Girl: Arms up, coyote! Keep your hands well away from your hardware!

Jolly Jumper: Here we go again...

Lucky Luke: Tsk, tsk. Little girl, it's not safe to play with your daddy's rifle...

(sound): *BLAM!*

Girl: One more word about my daddy and you get the next volley of lead where it counts!

This will be published by Dargaud, and is created by the singular Blutch, a huge talent and one of the main innovators in BD, it says here.

Thanks to Jérôme Lachasse's Mastodon 'tweet' [here] for the news!

"Caza" is the pen name for Frenchman Philippe Cazaumayou, who created such works as Worlds of Arkadi, Arkhê, and Laïlah. [his WP page]

This was a poster he did for the 23rd BD festival held in Chalonnes sur Loire, 13th-14th February 2010. The lettered version looked like [this].

https://imgur.com/a/e1nwfHo

This is a lovely, deadly 8-page story from the book, right in the mold of Hitchcock. Like the other stories in Deadly Vacations, one never really knows what's going to happen until the final frames!

Jan Lööf (b. 1940) is a Swedish illustrator, author, comic creator, and jazz musician.

From 1967 until 1973 he created his most famous comic strip Felix, which soon gained popularity in many parts of the world. Mixing humor and adventure, Felix has sometimes been described as a more naivistic or underground-style version of Tintin in terms of the drawing, but in its themes and morale it is also somewhat leftist.

Later, Lööf created other comics, such as Bellman (a humor strip about a Stockholm hobo) and Ville (1975–76), a "comedic adventure" about an unemployed Stockholm author, teaming up with Olof Palme and Carl XVI Gustaf to fight the bad guys. This was originally serialized in the Swedish periodical Vi.

His children's books are continually popular, both in Scandinavia and elsewhere. Among them are The Story of the Red Apple and Uncle Louie's Fantastic Sea Voyage. Based on these books Lööf produced his own children's show, the animated Skrot-Nisse och Hans Vänner (Scrap-Nisse and his Friends) for Swedish National Television in 1985. --WP

Captain Haddock drinks a bottle of whiskey for some quick energy on the long trek to search for Tintin's friend Chang. Predictably...

From Tintin in Tibet, the 20th album in the series.

(click links for samples)

Monsieur Jean (Dupuy & Berberian, 1989-) is a light-hearted yet pointed series of episodes revolving around a one-hit-wonder book author. He good-naturedly suffers through various difficulties, such as his dating life, publishing deadlines, social situations, a gossipy landlady, and most of all, a chronic pain in the arse in the form of his best friend. Jean's anxieties are the featured player here, playfully being exposed in various ways, such as through flashbacks or Walter Mitty fantasy moments. All in all, this series falls somewhere between a 'palette cleanser' and a rather point-blank look at human neurosis. Indeed, I feel it quite exemplifies the spirit of BD, ligne claire, and even French cinema. Don't let the starting date throw you; this series is primarily set in the 90's and 2000's, and looks & feels sufficiently modern-enough to enjoy.

Through Lya's Eyes (Carbone & Cunha, 2019) - A young wheelchair-bound woman discovers a lead that may reveal the hit-and-run driver who wrecked her life only a couple years before. She decides to do the unthinkable-- interning at the very same law firm involved in paying her parents hush money. There, she attempts to unravel the case from within, taking serious risks, helped by a friend or two. This three-book series features pleasant, poster-like art and a young-adult, 'Nancy Drew' storytelling style that works well for the most part. There's a happy, altho abrupt ending that I feel could have been more complete.

Biotope (Appollo & Brüno, ~2018) - Lovely, economical, two-volume sci-fi story, a bit out of the Orson Scott Card / LEO playbook, perhaps. Three detectives travel to a research station on a world under scientific observation in order to solve a murder. Little do they know the whole situation's a powder keg about to erupt. In a way that directly belies the simple 'ligne claire,' the reader is challenged to notice a subtle, steady buildup of clues and ominous portents before the story really takes off. This is not just a murder mystery, but a breakdown and post-apoc kind of work. I can certainly recommend it.

Rose (Alibert, Lapière & Vernay, 2019) - A young woman's father has been murdered, and now it's up to her to sort out his affairs, including one last case from his detective agency. There's a compelling blend of themes & premises here, combining murder-mystery, the 'out-of-body' effect, personable ghosts, family tragedy, psychosis, and historical witchcraft, all portrayed in an art style of lush colors, skillful shading and enjoyable oil pastels. I'm always amazed when a wild mashup like this comes off so believably, so major credit to the creators, here. The biggest critique I have is that this one felt kind of rushed once it really got going, despite being three volumes in length. Definitely a quality, satisfying work, though. Style-wise the target audience might be argued as 'young adult,' but I'd call this a really nice, all-ages read.

Alpha (Renard & Jigounov, 1996-2019) - Right in the mold of Lady S., Largo Winch and I.R.$., here's an espionage / mob / political thriller series centered around fallout from the collapse of the Soviet Union, during the Yeltsin years. "Alpha" is the code name for a talented young agent recruited to the CIA, tasked with investigating shady international money laundering. The more intriguing figure actually is a beautiful young Russian gallery-owner whose husband is a significant post-KGB official and whose childhood friend is the son of a powerful Russian mobster. She's caught in a web between these three men in her life who all love her, yet are each willing to use her for their own ends. Alpha is a little heavy on the dialogue, but it makes up for it with ongoing tension and bursts of action. If you like the three series mentioned above, you should enjoy this one.

Angela is no "cheesecake," but actually the star pilot of the series, navigating a world of largely chauvinistic men during wartime.

This is a terrific series, and I'll have to do a proper review one of these days.

https://imgur.com/a/JoRYmmd

Here's a fascinating throwback story about an 'outsider' chess champion who gets discovered during a pleasure cruise. The gaming aficionados on board eagerly press him to play a few matches, and he finally agrees, insisting that everyone team up against him in order to produce a fair match. Naturally, he crushes them with sloshing ease, game after game.

That is, until an unknown stranger saunters over and begins suggesting moves and strategies to the local group. Remarkably, his play serves to stalemate the champion. *Who* is this guy, anyway, who evidently doesn't even play chess? The answer turns out to be rather astonishing.

I thought the art and storytelling in this work really captured the spirit and discipline of both chess and the specific timeframe in a way I'd hardly thought to see in a BD. Thumbs way, way up for this lovely album.

CREDITS: The original BD is called Le Joueur d'échecs, published by Casterman in 2017, based on a Stefan Zweig novel Schachnovelle, from the 40's. Major thanks to Philly-Willy for producing a scanlation, as I don't believe this one's been published in English yet.

Lucky Luke: Finally, we've arrived at the home of the Shava-Shava. We can spend the night here; it's a tribe of old friends.

Man: Gosh! They have amazing totems!

Ran-Tan-Plan: These Indians are crazy!

This panel is from a tribute collection, Asterix & His Friends, with art by "Achdé."

Across both manga and Euro comics, I've never seen electric-pastel covers like these before!

On the whole, this series seems to have some BD-influences, such as cinematic storytelling, experimental and 'sketchy' artwork, as well as tight, historically-driven scenarios. It makes me wonder if there was some cross-fertilisation going on between manga and BD during this period (60's to 80's). For example, I could easily imagine figures like Moebius, Jodo, and Osama Tezuka borrowing ideas from each other.

Anyway, about the manga itself? It's one of my favorites, altho dated. [SAMPLES] I like it because there are fascinating themes of discovery, danger, and sacrifice that you rarely quite see in BD's & GN's.

One thing I've noticed about manga is that the writers commonly love to 'go for it.' For example, one of the main samurai - heroes, and a highly sympathetic one at that, gets badly disfigured whilst escaping a firebombing which took out most of his clan. So for the rest of the series he's sort a chilling 'no-face,' whilst remaining exactly the same principled character. It creates an interesting kind of tension, in that we typically associate heroes with handsome, virile-types, and not maimed, disfigured characters. Which perhaps hearkens back to Shelley's Frankenstein, in which the suave scientist is the villain, and the monster, the real hero.

Final thoughts? This is a super-good, nuanced, humanistic series, with plenty of action & drama. More HERE, and there's also an animated series, which doesn't seem terrible. [YouTube]

If you don't know any French, you should still be able to recognise a bunch of the album names, which are helpfully placed in chronological order. (or just click google's "translate" option)

In fact the quiz can be played in four different ways: 1) all panels are displayed, 2) only panels with text are displayed, 3) only panels without text are shown, 4) only text is shown without any panels at all.

These quizzes can be played endlessly, so see how high you can score (out of ten questions). Whoever scores a ten, please add a comment below! :D

EDIT: If a web-savvy person wanted to host a site like this, for example with a general-BD theme, I'd be happy to provide plenty of good-quality art samples.

From Lucky Luke, altho I forget which volume.

Arzach took me to fantastic imaginary worlds when I was a teenager

For JohnnyEnzyme because he is a fan of Daredevil