The Man Who Shot Lucky Luke

Incognito

This is the story of an invisible man. He’s a man that no one ever notices. He is transparent, whatever he does. This is rather a difficult cross to bear! One night, the man who so wants to be seen loses it. He’s had enough. He wants to feel things too! His outburst costs him an ankle injury, which in turn leads him to Berenice, the lovely young physiotherapist. She soon sets him straight: we are all victims in one way or another! Gregory Mardon develops a narrative based on the infernal spiral of human relationships, in which love is manipulation, kindness is selfishness and cruelty is an art.

Hearts at Sea

Jean-Paul is a shy, slightly gawky young man leading a rather unremarkable life in which his oppressive mother is all too present. As the anniversary of his father’s death approaches, he feels increasingly dissatisfied with his life, and increasingly aware of his loneliness. It’s time for things to change. So, without telling anyone, he embarks on a singles cruise and takes his first steps in a brave new world.

The Client

An average Joe falls in love with a hooker from Ecuador and, when she goes missing, pressures a local mobster into telling him where she is by kidnapping his only daughter… What could possibly go wrong? A story about second chances, with a buddy road trip and musings on art and beauty thrown in for good measure.

Hell of an Innocent

When unassuming candy store owner Ike Hopper dies of a heart attack, he leaves behind a bombshell that rocks his small Australian town. His confession of guilt to a 27-year old murder—the savage stabbing of local girl Lee Duncan—brings his brother Greg, accused of the crime, out of the bush where he’s been hiding. But Greg, returning to his hometown of Dubbo to tie up loose ends, finds not all ghosts go quietly to the grave. For instance, he seems to see his ex-wife Lee taunting him wherever he wanders… A hard-hitting, guilt-ridden, sun-drenched slice of outback noir.

Come Back to Me Again

This is a dramatic graphic novel because it is about life. This is romance, because there is love. This is crime, because it’s about mysterious death. It’s also a graphic novel about dreams, because there is a lot of sleep in it. Come Back to Me Again is an emotional journey into yourself. This diary of feelings jagged by addiction. Alcohol addiction. Drug addiction. Love addiction. And life addiction. This story is about the continuous falling asleep and waking up. About daydreaming and life without sleep.

Kiosco

A kiosk is a place to have some rest, to have fun, to talk… But it is also a watchtower from where one may stare at the world. Every morning, the roller blind is raised like hope. This is the small tragedy of a tiny hero, his private adventure in a world that seems to ignore his existence. A lonely person that observes how life keeps on going, without stopping in front of him.

Black Water Lilies

Three willful women: one old wicked, one young and selfish, and the third in the prime of her life. A man murdered three ways: stabbed, bludgeoned, and drowned in a stream. The mystery brings brash young Inspector Laurenç to the postcard-perfect Norman village of Giverny, home to Impressionist Claude Monet’s gardens and studio. Like any small town, Giverny has its secrets. But have they to do with greed? Lust? Missing paintings? Jealous husbands? Laurenç soon finds himself head over heels for a pretty schoolteacher—and in over his head. Dider Cassegrain brings Michel Bussi’s bestselling novel to life in lush, delicate watercolors worthy of the famous canvases that lend the book its name: Monet’s immortal Water Lilies…

A Lapse in Judgment

Any resemblance to persons living or dead or actual events would be strangely coincidental… In a town in the east of France, Sylvestre Ruppert-Levansky, a president of the circuit court, begins his last trial, in the same place his career began. Everything here reminds him of Rachel, his first love, and most of all, Mathilde, a manipulative, diabolic serial killer. The old magistrate has a spotless reputation. He is considered tolerant and fair. But then a police officer from his past asks to see him. Perhaps the legend of Sylvestre, the eminent judge, isn’t so cut and dry… In a gripping tale full of surprises, Denis Robert and Franck Biancarelli reinvent the thriller.

Pygmalion and the Ivory Virgin

Header image: Incognito © Grégory Mardon / Dupuis

Spirou in Berlin

It seemed inevitable that Europe would once again be in the dark clutches of war, and now that conflict has broken out, Spirou must face its horrible reality while staying true to himself. He does his best to maintain his friendship with Fantasio, even as the latter enlists in the Belgian army. And when Spirou meets Felix, a German‐Jewish painter, his eyes are opened to the plight of the Jewish people and the dangerous situation in Europe and beyond. On top of all that, Spirou’s girlfriend Kassandra has been lost in the confusion of the war. In the first of four volumes, the orphan bellhop’s adventures will take him all across war-torn Belgium, discovering the world as it falls apart around him.

Spirou – The Diary Of A Naive Young Man

Summer 1939, Brussels. The orphaned teenager Spirou is working as a bellboy at a fancy hotel, living in a small apartment with his pet squirrel, Spip, and taking his first steps into the land of romance with a girl whose name he doesn’t even know. Meanwhile, the world is rushing headlong towards war. Conflict is not inevitable, however, as Polish diplomats have agreed to meet the Nazis at Spirou’s hotel in a last-ditch effort to prevent war. Communist spies, Nazi ambitions, and ridiculous reporters can’t stop Spirou’s naïve mind from outsmarting them all—and possibly saving the world! If only he can get a little help.

His Name Was Ptirou

l apart. Orphaned, and possessing only his skill, part of Christmas is getting to hear one of UncleThe best929. Ptirou is a circus acrobat who, while the world’s economy is crashing, sees his own world fal Paul’s stories. This year, Uncle Paul treats the kids—and us—to the story of the real-life boy who inspired the beloved Spirou.

It’s 1 a bottle of perfume, and an inherited dream, Ptirou sets out for New York and new adventures. With saboteurs on one side, the lovely Juliette on the other, and his own knack for mischief, Ptirou finds adventure aboard an ocean liner before it’s even left port.

Header image: Spirou in Berlin © Flix / Dupuis

Kriss of Valnor- 1. I Forget Nothing

Marie Curie – The Radium Fairy

Marie Curie is the only woman ever to have received two Nobel prizes: the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, shared with her husband, Pierre Curie, and the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for her work with polonium and radium in 1911. She was also the first woman ever to teach at the Sorbonne. This inspired comic is set at the time she received her second Nobel Prize, when a vicious press campaign was launched against her, denouncing her affair with the physician Paul Langevin. Through her flash-backs, we’re invited to witness the key moments of this exceptional woman’s life and work.

Planet of Science – The Universal Encyclopedia of Scientists

Explore the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time through the fascinating lives of the people who made them. Some are well known, such as Darwin, Einstein, and Da Vinci… Others are more obscure, like Van Leeuwenhoek, the draper who discovered microorganisms, and Alfred Wegener, the meteorologist who revealed continental drift. Combining incredible discoveries and amusing life stories, these 37 portraits of exceptional scientists will amaze you. Science is both a human and social adventure, and these geniuses from the days of antiquity to the present, whether behind the scenes or on the world stage, are the living proof.

Uh-Oh Plato!

France—the early 21st century. A young student must complete a corporate job shadowing internship. Thanks to a cousin on his father’s side, also of Greek descent, he gets a foot in the door at a famous consulting firm. He will soon discover the true face of office life. The intern’s name: Kevin Plato. From Nietzsche the director of human resources, to Foucault the video-surveillance monitor, to Teresa of Ávila the executive secretary, and many, many more, Plato dives headfirst into the world of work… philosopher style.

Zeropedia

What was the Roswell incident? Why did people in the Stone Age paint pictures on cave walls? What is the Larsen effect? What was the “Wow!” signal? How do carnivorous plants catch their prey? What is absolute zero? Author Fabcaro, smitten by science, tackles countless scientific subjects alongside artist Julien/CDM in this illustrated “encyclopedia.” Through humor and irony, they manage to make even the trickiest topics accessible to all—in just one page!

On the History Trail With Ariane and Nino – 1. Albert Einstein – Genius Physicist 

Nino would rather be outside playing than stuck inside doing homework—especially science homework. Then he discovers that one of the greatest scientists ever started out feeling the same way: Albert Einstein—the guy who invented that famous formula: E=mc2. And, as Ariane explains, there was a lot more to Einstein than just formulas. Thanks to him, we have GPS devices and electric gates, nuclear energy and … well, yes, also nuclear bombs. Einstein did everything he could to make the world a better place—but after all, he was only human!

The Adventures of Chick The 1st

He’s a chick unlike any other! Right from day one, Chick the 1st is beleaguered by the doubts and questions that come with the capacity to reason. When the farmyard dog asks him “What are you?”, little does he suspect the turmoil of endless enigmas he provokes in our little chick’s mind. While seeking answers to his endless questions, Chick the 1st shakes up all the social conventions of the chicken coop, causing scandal left, right and center. With the help of his Aunt Gallina and the mouse that devours books, Chick the 1st grapples with reality, both in the abstract and literal sense!

Header image: Planet of Science © Antonio Fischetti, Guillaume Bouzard / Dargaud

The Zolas

We know the brilliant writer of the Rougon-Macquart series and the committed author of the open letter “J’accuse…!” but what do we know about his private life?

Who were the women in his life? How did they help him to accomplish his work? At what sacrifice?

A remarkable fresco that takes us back to the end of the 19th century, to the heart of an ever-changing France and the city of Paris, full of artists and workers.

The Detection Club

In 1930s England, the best mystery writers of the era come together to form the Detection Club. G. K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr and others gather to eat, drink, and challenge one another. They are in for a bigger test, however, when eccentric billionaire Roderick Ghyll invites them all to his mansion on a private island off the coast of Cornwall, promising to enchant them with his latest creation: a robot that can predict the culprit in their novels. But when someone ends up murdered, who will lead the investigation? Jean Harambat is back, following the success of “Operation Copperhead,” with a hilarious, satirical take on the classic crime novel.

Stevenson The Pirate Within

This is the fascinating life story of Robert Louis Stevenson, the beloved author of classics such as “Treasure Island” and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” from his early days as an aspiring writer to his first published works, his love affair and then marriage to Fanny Osbourne, his success as an author, his many travels across Europe and the U.S., and finally his voyage to the islands of the South Pacific, where he eventually built the house of his dreams. Stevenson never let his weak lungs (which he referred to as pirates waging a battle inside him) and delicate constitution stand in the way of his insatiable thirst for adventure, living life on his own terms until the very end.

Man in Furs

In 1870, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch publishes “Venus in Furs,” an erotic novel revealing the author’s desire to be dominated by a woman. After the success of the novel, a woman turns up at his doorstep and offers to take on the role of the dominant woman. He submits to her completely and they get married. Years later, Leopold has remarried and lives a quiet life, far removed from the sexual escapades of his first marriage. This is when he learns that his surname is being used, to his detriment, to describe a new sexual perversion: masochism.

The Princess of Clèves

Entering life at the French royal court, a world in which “what is shown is rarely the truth,” the young Princess of Clèves learns of passion’s torments, of heartbreak, and of the agony of love. Claire Bouilhac and Catel Muller’s graphic-novel adaption of this classic tale—often referred to as the forerunner of the modern psychological novel—remains faithful to the original 17th-century text, while also providing surprising and original insight into both the mystery of the creative act, and the link between the author, Madame de La Fayette, and her heroine, the Princess of Clèves.

Delacroix 

In 1864, a year after the death of Eugène Delacroix, Alexandre Dumas recounted the memories that marked his friendship with the great painter. From one anecdote to the next, Dumas’ text reveals the personality of both painter and writer. All the while, a colorful portrait of the period takes shape; a period in which works of art are subject to fiery debates, intense admiration, and irrevocable rejection. With humor and passion, Catherine Meurisse invites herself into this very personal adaptation of Dumas’ tribute to his friend.

Shelley – 1. Percy Shelley

Born into an aristocratic family, Percy Bysshe Shelley has no intentions of following in his father’s political footsteps. The rebellious young poet finds himself drawn to more scandalous pursuits: supporting anti-royalist and anti-clerical causes, championing vegetarianism, and extolling the virtues of atheism, an act that ultimately leads to his expulsion from Oxford University.

Book 1 of “Shelley” lets us dive into Percy’s tumultuous childhood, giving us an insight into his friendships with some of the finest progressive thinkers of the times, not to mention his blossoming relationship with his future wife and author of “Frankenstein,” Mary.

Shelley – 2. Mary Shelley

The Shelley story continues, the focus now on Mary. Percy has just declared his love for her, but upon being told by her father that he may not take her as his companion, implores her to join him in a suicide pact. Thankfully cooler heads prevail; Mary runs away with Percy—her sister Claire also joining the lovers—and thus begins their European adventure. On their journey, they will meet up with the flamboyant Lord Byron, whose rainy-day suggestion in Switzerland to each write a ghost story will change Mary’s life forever…

Header image: Shelley © David Vandermeulen, David Casanave / Le Lombard

Gentlemind

New York, 1940. Navit, a young, penniless singer, inherits ownership of an old-fashioned girlie magazine: “Gentlemind.” Combative, intelligent, and audacious, she sets herself up as the publication’s new director and takes on the immense challenge of turning it into a modern magazine. Haunted by the memory of her lover who left for the front lines of Europe, she must confront the realities of an American society that is in its golden years, but remains highly patriarchal. A deeply touching story spanning three decades, relating the American dream from a woman’s perspective!

Giant

March 1932, New York. Dan Shackelton is an Irish migrant. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he has found work on the construction site of the Rockefeller Center. He is to replace Ryan Murphy, a worker who died on the site. Dan works with a quiet, broad-shouldered man named Giant who is in charge of informing Ryan Murphy’s family of the news. But Giant decides not to say anything. Instead, he sends a substantial sum of money accompanied by an unsigned, typewritten letter. When he receives a response from Ryan’s widow, Mary Ann, Giant writes to her again, tangling himself up in a web of lies. Little by little, the enigmatic Giant starts to come out of his shell, until one day, when Mary Ann shows up in New York with her three children, ready to join her husband.

Anastasia

1926. A mother and her young daughter come to Los Angeles. The mother is chasing her dream: she wants to conquer Hollywood, no matter the cost. Her little girl, Anastasia, is the perfect candidate to be cinema’s next big star. But can she stand the pressure? The clash of dreams and the dirty reality of show business is a heavy burden to bear, as Anastasia comes face to face with the crime, abuse, and murky secrets of an all-powerful industry. A story that calls into question the so-called golden era of Hollywood, when the “dream factory” resembled a Byzantine empire, above the law and fed by vanity and greed.

Milton’s Dream 

In the Depression, times are tough all over for tobacco farmers, and the Cry family is no exception. They may have set out for California to start over, but the baggage of the past never gets left behind. Crippled Billy, filled with inchoate rage from a childhood run-in with a sadistic neighbor, resents having to look after his older brother Milton, a lumbering gentle giant who was born simple. Billy starts venting his revenge fantasies into Milton’s innocent ears, causing his brother gruesome nightmares. But when a series of hideous murders occur, Milton’s bad dreams seem to be coming true.

East-West

Prolific comic book author Pierre Christin, who penned the game-changing classic sci-fi series “Valerian and Laureline,” switches to autobiography here to bring us the thoughtful, enlightening tale of two vastly different lands, the American West during the civil rights movement and the counter-culture phenomenon, and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, as seen through the eyes of an inquisitive French artist and journalist with a love for travel, intellectual query, gypsies, and jazz. Christin and his faithful road companion and “Valerian” co-creator Jean-Claude Mézières drive across landscapes ranging from Utah to Bulgaria in a series of cars each more dilapidated than the next, encountering people and adventures of all kinds in a story that is part travel journal, part geo-political documentary, and part artistic coming-of-age.

Dixie Road

The United States… the late twenties. Like many others, the company Fisherman’s Dream staggers under the ‘crash’. In the midst of this economic nightmare, we meet a young girl, Dixie. The recent events will push her and her family to hit the road, in pursuit of the elusive American Dream.

Black Cotton Star

Philadelphia, 1776: George Washington asks Betsy Ross to design the first flag of the future United States of America. Her housemaid, Angela Brown, adds to it a secret tribute to the black community: a black cotton star that she slips under one of the white stars.Dover, 1944: A soldier named Lincoln receives a letter that reveals Angela Brown’s memoirs. Does the star that she mentions truly exist? In light of this revelation, three African-American soldiers set out on a dangerous mission, ranging from liberated Paris to the snow-covered Ardennes, seeking answers, and the ultimate prize…

Bootblack

During the depths of the Great Depression, an orphan reinvents himself as Al Chrysler and strives to win the heart of the local grocer’s daughter. In doing so, he falls in with a newly arrived petty criminal who soon has him and his friends working for the local mafia. As the stakes get higher, Al soon realizes he’s gotten in too deep, and is caught up in a chain of events beyond his control.

Sherman

“The bill always comes due…” Jay Sherman is the American Dream come true: a self-made man who worked himself up from the streets to the upper echelons of moneyed society. But when his son Robert, a promising Democratic presidential candidate, is shot before his eyes, Sherman’s world spins into chaos. Threats on his life and that of his estranged daughter soon follow. An old mentor turned FBI chief steps up to offer his protection, but lacking any real leads, they can only look into Sherman’s past… which has more than its share of skeletons. A political thriller with Gatsbyesque overtones.

Header image: East-West ©  Pierre Christin, Philippe Aymond / Dupuis

The Master Chocolatier

Alex Carret is a talented young Brussels chocolatier whose life takes a drastic turn when he quits his job and agrees to partner with a friend of a friend named Ben. He’s a little wary of him at first, but when Ben comes up with a business plan, a space, a brilliant branding idea, and a 100,000-euro loan, Alex can’t resist the temptation of seeing his lifelong dream come true. Soon he and his team are selecting the finest chocolate from countries around the world and throwing a launch party, which is a smash success. But will that put them in the crosshairs of other local power brokers?

Days Of Sugar And Spice

Rose is not a happy young woman; she is closed off and angry and she hates her job. But her life changes drastically when she inherits her father’s bakery in a small town in Brittany. Returning to a place that brought her both joy and grief forces her to confront painful memories of her past and find the courage to open her heart to a new, happier life that awaits her if she will just let it. A story about new beginnings, filled with small town charm, delicious pastries and the warmth of home and friends.

Monster Delights

Chris is a young pastry apprentice who, one fateful night, sees his delicious creations magically disappear. He decides to get hold of the thief, who happens to be a peculiar sort of squirrel. Chris doesn’t know that the chase will lead to a fantastic adventure! The restaurant’s fridge is the gateway to the magical world of Fridgebottom, a country populated by myths and legends. In this new universe Chris makes the acquaintance of Hannah, a young elf who runs the Monster Delight pastry shop, and who isn’t so great at making pastry! Luckily for Hannah, Chris has a knack for inventing the perfect sweet delight for every palette.

Dodin-Bouffant: Gourmet Extraordinaire

Dodin-Bouffant is a total food enthusiast. He lives for excellence and spends his time surrounded by a small circle of hand-picked gastronomes. When his beloved cook, Eugénie, dies, it turns Bouffant’s world upside down. After a long, hard search he finally finds what he is looking for in Adèle. Not without some complications, Adèle and Dodin-Bouffant form a strong bond and share many a delicious meal. This novel by Marcel Rouff (1887-1936) is a tribute to the famous French gastronome Brillat-Savarin, on whom the character Dodin-Bouffant is loosely based.

Murena – 10. The Banquet

What could be more moving than a reunion of childhood friends making peace after long enmity and tragic misunderstanding? Lucius Murena and the Emperor emerge from their long-awaited meeting with rekindled trust and affection. But in Nero’s Rome, such victories are always fleeting. When a brutal murder attempt leaves Murena on the brink of death, his memory is erased by a family of patricians plotting to assassinate Nero with the help of the Emperor’s own dear advisor, Seneca. The series, a dive into the intricate and deadly world of ancient Rome, is back with this tenth volume.

Jack Wolfgang – 1. Enter the wolf 

With the invention of Super Mega Tofu, civilization has seen the advent of a fragile peace—between animals and humans, between carnivores and herbivores. This miracle food has the peculiar quality of being universally loved. Jack Wolfgang, the world-renowned restaurant critic, travels the world sampling Super Mega Tofu in all of its varieties. It’s the perfect cover for his second identity: Jack Wolfgang, CIA special agent. When his friend and mentor is killed, Jack picks up the scent of a conspiracy and tracks it half way around the globe. Can society survive this collision of fine dining and espionage

Yasmina And The Potato Eaters

Eleven‐year‐old Yasmina and her dad lead a modest life in a small city apartment. Luckily, the food-loving Yasmina can whip up just about anything in the kitchen, with an assist from her edible herb books and her friends from the community garden. That is, until the day the garden disappears, bulldozed and replaced by a field of potatoes that are both experimental… and completely addictive! The only solution is for Yasmina to track down and eradicate the source of the problem. A fun and colorful tale for all ages.

Falafel With Hot Sauce 

Acclaimed political cartoonist and comic book author Michel Kichka (Second Generation) brings us the fascinating, informative, and uplifting autobiographical tale of his love affair with Israel, a land he was inspired to move to at the age of twenty. From culture shock and Israeli customs to the mandatory military service, from art school to political conflict and human tragedies, he delivers a richly detailed account of his life as an artist, family man, peace advocate and Belgian Jew turned Israeli, living in the beautiful and troubled city of Jerusalem.

Header: Dodin-Bouffant: Gourmet Extraodinaire © Mathieu Burniat / Dargaud

Forte 

Flavia Antunes grew up in a favela. Her father was a casualty of gang warfare; her mother, a cleaning lady, is all she has left. That is, until she meets Mr. Lima, a wealthy old man who introduces her to her future: the piano. Music will take her far from home, all the way to a prestigious Paris conservatory. Being a foreign student is hard: low-paying jobs, prejudiced landlords, competitive peers. But Paris also has its perks, like love, friendship, and undreamt-of opportunities… Can Flavia find a way to balance the demands of the heart and her demanding art?

Violeta – Corazón Maldito

Violeta Parra was a musician, a poetess, an all-round artist, and the soul of the popular tradition of Chile. The year 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of her birth. Violeta’s life was painful and intense, devoted to art and love: for decades, she crossed America and Europe making people all around the world fall in love with the authentic folklore of her homeland. Virginia Tonfoni (writer) and Alessio Spataro (artist) tell her incredible story for the first time here in graphic novel format.

Jazz Club

Norman was a talented sax player in his heyday, until he lost his musical gift seemingly overnight and fled to France. Over thirty years later, with the millennium approaching, he finds himself confronting unresolved questions, a former lover, and diehard fans who have taken obsession to a new level…

The Bugle Boy

Eighty-five-year-old Marcel lives alone with his memories of World War II — his short-lived days as a soldier before his capture and imprisonment by the Germans. He’s got one thing left to do before he dies: find the bugle he buried by the Maginot Line. When his granddaughter Andrea stops by with her burgeoning rural taxi business, he hops a ride to the site of his regiment’s defeat… only to find things have changed. This is Alexandre Clérisse’s fierce, tender, and timely rumination on the horrors of war and the lies we tell ourselves.

Jazz Maynard 

Jazz Maynard and his friend Teo are back at El Raval where they gather with friends and family. Everything looks like Jazz retired and is finally devoting himself to his passion: the trumpet. He is about to release his fist album and is getting ready to perform it on stage. Caught up by the past, Jazz needs to make a decision on which route to follow, running the risk of paying the high price.

Lomax: Collectors Of Folk Songs

In 1933, folklorist John Lomax and his eighteen-year-old son, Alan, embarked on a tour of the American South with a modest budget and a lofty aim: to preserve America’s folk heritage. Together, they visited churches, plantations and penitentiaries under the auspices of the Library of Congress, seeking out and recording the very best folk songs, gospel, and blues. Among their discoveries were the Delta bluesman Son House and the jailed singer Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. On this, their most ambitious musicological expedition, John and Alan Lomax saved for posterity thousands of songs that might otherwise have vanished without a trace. More than that, they amassed an archive of recordings that would shape the blues-driven rock ’n’ roll of the 1960s and beyond. As George Harrison once remarked, “No Lead Belly, no Beatles.”

Django: Hands On Fire 

“Django: Hand on Fire” tells the story of the youth of Django Reinhardt, a Roma raised outside Paris who would go on to be one of the most influential guitarists of all time. We follow his early years as an aimless and rebellious kid who is heading for a life of trouble until his devoted younger brother Nin-Nin convinces their mother Négros to buy him a banjo. Captivated by its possibilities and spurred by his natural talent, Django becomes obsessed with the instrument and quickly surpasses his older peers, mastering the popular bal-musette and intrigued by the new jazz coming over from the States. Soon he is playing in clubs and winning awards. He is on the verge of international success at the age of 18 when a tragedy strikes that will mark the rest of his life and career: he is badly burned in a caravan fire and spends the next years relearning how to play the guitar with only two fully-functioning fingers. This is an amazing story of perseverance and of fierce family love that is little known even to many jazz aficionados.

African Trilogy: Turntable

Virtuoso Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe is invited out to the Congo by the governor to give a concert. How could he refuse such an invitation? Eugène waves goodbye to the infamous gray Belgian skies and hops on a plane taking him to the dazzling colors of Africa. He is invited to stay a few weeks at his nephew’s house, by the stunning Lake Maï Ndombé. And that’s where he meets Turntable. Through their mutual appreciation of music, the servant and the celebrity gradually form an unlikely friendship, breaking the boundaries of convention.

The Story of the Velvet Underground

The Beach Boys and the Beatles are filling up the airwaves, but halfway between California and Liverpool, another band is putting together a sound that will change rock ‘n’ roll forever. Andy Warhol discovers the Velvet Underground in a little tourist bar in New York, and he soon becomes the producer for this group whose songs aren’t so much about girls and hot rods but shooting up, alternative lifestyles, and the melancholy after the party. It’s the late sixties, but not quite everything is flower power. The radio wants nothing to do with the Velvets, but the cool kids know who they are, and the enormous influence of this short-lived band has yet to abate.

Blue Note

New York. November 1933. Seven years of Prohibition is about to come to an end—seven years of mafia control of the illegal alcohol trade, of high-level corruption … and of the speakeasy, whose clientele enjoy not only liquor, but the Golden Age of Jazz. A world Irish boxer Jack Doyle is reluctantly drawn back to, to settle old scores. But what he thinks will be a simple fight turns into a web of exploitation and double-dealing … and a tangle with the elusive Miss Lena. To get free he will have to use all his native cunning…

Nowhere Girl

This is the story of a girl growing up in the 1990s – a middle-schooler who finds herself lost in the gulf between childhood and adolescence, developing paralyzing fears of failure, school, other people, and her own changing body. Along the way, she becomes obsessed with the Beatles… which might be just what she needs to find her way back to being okay. Yeah yeah yeah!

The Famous Quartet of Piraeus

The Famous Quartet of Piraeus was formed in 1934 as a café band. It was the first group featuring the bouzouki and the baglama, and consisted of frontman Markos Vamvakaris, Giorgos Batis, Anestos Delias, and Stratos Pagioumtzis. Markos’ fiery love for Zingoala, his first wife, is the main and painful source of inspiration for the founder of rebetiko music. Starting as a skinner at a slaughterhouse, Markos becomes a pioneer who paves new paths for traditional Greek music and entertainment, running constantly afoul of the musical mores of the era—as well as the police, his wife, and the dictatorship of Metaxas. And all the while, war is approaching in the background like an inevitable chorus…

Header image: Jazz Club © Alexandre Clérisse / Dargaud

Rampokan

1946: The Dutch have been driven out of Indonesia by the Japanese invasion, but they refuse to recognize the country’s declaration of independence. In an attempt to regain their former colony, the government mobilizes the Royal Dutch Indian Army. When they fail to take control, an unofficial force is sent to subdue the “terrorists.” Among the volunteers is Johan Knevel, who has personal reasons for joining: he wants to find out what happened to his Indonesian nurse. But far from rediscovering the lost idyll of his youth, he is confronted by the complex realities of a country in turmoil.

Malaterre

Gabriel dreams of buying back Malaterre, an estate built by his ancestors in the heart of the jungle over a century ago. Of going there, living there, and restoring the Lesaffre family honor. Of passing it on to his children. But he knows nothing about the country or managing a timber forest. He will have to risk it all, taking his two eldest with him and separating them from their mother and younger brother. All of this, of course, is completely crazy.

African Trilogy – 1. Once Upon A Time In Africa

No one thought he’d ever dare to return. In this African country where the dictatorship has banned all forms of cultural expression, the storyteller named Once-Upon-A-Time has already had a brush with death. For refusing to stop performing his puppet shows, he lost both his hands, severed at the wrist with the slash of a machete. Now he’s back, ready to begin performing again, and ready to take on the powers that be…

African Trilogy – 2. Turntable

African Trilogy – 3. A Little Piece of Her

Yu Kiang works for a Chinese lumberjack corporation in the Congo. Despite his company’s ban on its employees from frequenting the local girls, Yu has fallen for a Congolese woman, Antoinette… and, in a very different way, for Antoinette’s little daughter, Marie-Léontine. One night, in the arms of his lover, Yu discovers Antoinette’s wound: a terrible scar, an assault on her femininity. How many others are there like her, exiled from their own body, victims of a monstrous ongoing tradition? How many? 150 million. But the only thing that matters to Yu and Antoinette is that little Marie-Léontine never falls victim to the tradition that her mother had to suffer.

Black Paradise

Stevenson, The Pirate Within

This is the fascinating life story of Robert Louis Stevenson, the beloved author of classics such as “Treasure Island” and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” from his early days as an aspiring writer to his first published works, his love affair and then marriage to Fanny Osbourne, his success as an author, his many travels across Europe and the U.S., and finally his voyage to the islands of the South Pacific, where he eventually built the house of his dreams. Stevenson never let his weak lungs (which he referred to as pirates waging a battle inside him) and delicate constitution stand in the way of his insatiable thirst for adventure, living life on his own terms until the very end.

The Aviator

This is the fascinating life story of Robert Louis Stevenson, the1917, East Africa. A German pastor—also a doctor, and married to a Frenchwoman—teaches his son Josef to fly the Albatros biplane he uses to visit his rural patients. But the war raging in Europe has spread to Africa, where the Allies are fighting the Germans in their various colonies. Against this backdrop—and strictly against his father’s wishes—Josef dreams of flying the nest, and makes a decision that will have terrible consequences…

Gauguin

Fed up with his life in France, Paul Gauguin sets out for Tahiti, where he subsequently decides to settle. As he immerses himself in the culture of a tropical country that couldn’t be more different from his own, the painter not only gains a new lease on life, but begins producing some of his most inspired work.

The Children

Fed up with his life in France, Paul Gauguin sets out for Tahiti, Meet the children: Airbus, with his barely contained rage, Angel, whose sweet looks belie a mercurial cruelty, and Mongol, who talks to insects and stray animals. They spend their days weaving baskets at Save the Innocents, an outreach foundation. They fantasize about the friendly blonde aid worker Anika, are wary of her blandly affable Belgian boss, and mock her short husband Recto, who speaks their language so poorly. Meanwhile, gunfire thunders daily in the hills just outside town. But when their old friend Black Domino resurfaces full of schemes and swagger, will the looming violence find an echo in the children’s hearts?

Header: African Trilogy – Turntable © Zidrou and Raphaël Beuchot/ Le Lombard