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?

Glorious Summers

In this nostalgic account, the Faldérault family sets out for a final summer vacation together before an impending marital separation disrupts the family dynamics for good. Along the way, heading south to France from Brussels, Pierre, Maddie, and their children revel in impromptu skinny-dips, family sing-alongs, and camping in the wild, ultimately finding a renewed zest for life—and vacation!

A Love for the Ages

Jean and Germaine are the most affable couple the little village of Colle sur Loup has ever seen. A duke married to a commoner, they have no children, no jobs, and are disastrous cooks! They like to indulge in life’s small pleasures; their books, their garden, and their after-lunch naps. They live for each other, and for their love. Their simple happiness intrigues, fascinates, infuriates and is the envy of all those around them. Daniel Pennac knew Jean and Germaine well. He spent his time at their house reading, watching, learning, and, of course, trying Germaine’s catastrophic efforts in the kitchen! He’s now taken it upon himself to tell the story of those happy days, and of a love that has always captivated him.

The Great Outdoors

“Girls, living in the country will be your chance,” her parents tell her. And so Catherine Meurisse spends her childhood outdoors. Construction all around her: an old farmhouse renovated into a home, trees planted, a garden created, dreams cultivated. They dig, they graft, they plant a rosebush “adopted” from Montaigne, a fig tree from Rabelais. They observe the tumult of the outside world: new developments in industrial agriculture, the citification of rural France… With her characteristic humor, Catherine Meurisse has composed a witty poem dedicated to the countryside where her vocation as an artist first took form. The Great Outdoors, like Lightness, her previous album, is a testament to her conviction that nature and art —everything that grows, everything that lives against all opposition— always offer us a chance.

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.

Macaroni!

The touching story of a child getting to know his grandfather, an Italian immigrant living in Belgium. 11-year-old Romeo thinks of his grandfather as nothing but an “old pain-in-the-butt.” So when he finds out that he’s going to have to spend a few days with him at his crumbling old house, without even a TV to keep him entertained… well, it’s his idea of hell. But there are some surprises in store for Romeo during his visit. He changes his mind about a few things, perhaps thanks to his grandfather’s neighbor, Lucy, who tells him about her own “nonno,” and shows him how a spoil tip can be a thing of beauty. Or perhaps it’s thanks to Romeo’s dad, who speaks for the first time about his childhood relationship with his father. But it’s mostly thanks to Ottavio who, beneath his old, grouchy exterior, conceals the hard life he has led, full of suffering and sacrifice. It is a life the 11-year-old Romeo finds hard to comprehend, but which gives him a deeper understanding of someone from another century. It started off as just a short holiday to a grey Belgian town. But this holiday turns into an opportunity for three generations of men to lift the silence that surrounds them. A touching story about Italian immigration, coal mining, communication between the generations and the difficultly of opening up when you’ve spent your whole life in silence.

Mamma Mia!

Single mom Aurélie’s moving back in with her grandmother, her young daughter Emma in tow. And to everyone’s surprise, so is Sophie—Aurélie’s perennially absent mother, back from yet another adventure abroad. With four generations of women living under the same roof, life is never simple—and bound to get messy!

His Name Was Ptirou

The best part of Christmas is getting to hear one of Uncle 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 1929. Ptirou is a circus acrobat who, while the world’s economy is crashing, sees his own world fall apart. Orphaned, and possessing only his skill, 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.

Memories of a Crappy Pooch

Maria Fuencisla, a long-term resident in a central Madrid neighborhood, is hit hard when her pet dies in a tragic accident. Her three best friends, Anastasia, Dori and Ricarda, come up with various schemes to try to comfort her, but it’s almost impossible, because the deceased dog was the focus of the old lady’s entire universe. These pages are full of tragicomic memories showing us how Maria Fuencisla and her small dog formed such a solid — if somewhat unorthodox — team. Together, they overcome the difficulties of being a senior citizen and a puppy in this hyper-modern age. The puppy was her dearest one, the son that she never had, and as she thinks back on their adventures together, she tries to move past this latest tragedy and move on with her life… but the fates have more in store for her.

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.

Pico Bogue

Pico Bogue is the eldest child of a normal family, and when we say ‘normal’, we mean unique, quirky and occasionally just stark raving mad! Along with his little sister Anna, Pico goes through life with as many certainties as he has questions, making the kind of pertinent observations that only children are capable of. Sometimes challenging, always loveable, there’s no end to Pico’s mischief, much to the amusement, exasperation and surprise of his long-suffering parents!

Header: Dodin-Bouffant: Gourmet Extraordinaire – © Mathieu Burniat / Dargaud

A reading list with comics titles covering modern and ancient Japan with a fascination for its unique and beautiful culture.

Tebori

Yoshi, a troubled teenager, is sent by his grandfather to Seijun, a highly renowned tattoo artist. Against all expectations, the boy masters the art of tattooing, including the complicated Tebori technique. Ten years later, Seijun reveals a great secret to his apprentice: his clients are from the yakuza, the formidable Japanese mafia. Each tattoo they bear has a specific meaning, often to do with the murders they’ve committed. When Yoshi discover that his friend is tattooed with the same strange design as one of the yakuza bosses, his whole world turns upside down…

The Mask Of a Thousand Tears

After a horrific battle in a mythical Asian land, a peasant soldier with a mysterious past encounters a young woman who has come to find the body of her dead fiancé. She is determined to travel to Takedo Castle and get her hands on the Mask of a Thousand Tears, a golden mask which will allow her to travel to the underworld and bring her fiancé back to the land of the living. The peasant, Masamura, accompanies Sadakyo on her quest. She discourages him but soon learns that she has no chance of surviving without his help. They are both determined, for different reasons, to see this mission through to the end, no matter what the cost. A story in two volumes.

Clan

Saburo is an ambitious young yakuza who provokes a war between rival factions in an attempt to overthrow the Oyabun Kodama, Tokyo’s gang boss. But the sly old devil won’t give up without a fight! Hoping to have Saburo killed, he orders Shi’s release from prison, something the old blind warrior has been waiting thirty years for. Thirty years cut off from the rest of the world, unaware of the betrayal that sealed his fate. Sometimes, all that separates family and business is the width of a blade…

The Suicide Forest

Alan ends his rather unhealthy relationship with Masami who doesn’t take it very well. In Aokigahara, Ryoko recovers another suicide victim’s body along with his skeptical work partner who does not believe the legends of this forest.

Hibakusha

Ludwig has never been a soldier. A childhood injury left him lame in one leg, which has allowed him to largely sit out the war on the sidelines, as a translator. Fleeing his passionless marriage, he accepts an assignment in Japan, allowing him to return to the land of his youth. But the year is 1945. It is not a good time to be Japanese, or German… much less stationed in Hiroshima. Ludwig is tempted by love and, in furtively tampering with his translations of classified documents, by the chance to do something heroic. But none of that will save him…

Otaku Blue

Asami is a sociology student studying otaku for her thesis. Her relationship with Kotaro is on the rocks: she’s busy with her research, and he’s an aspiring filmmaker working on a J-horror flick. The real horror is out there on the streets: a serial killer who amputates body parts from his prostitute victims. What’s his sick game? As Inspector Arakawa and his young protégé Ryohei wade deeper into depravity, Asami, with the help of cosplayer Maiko, sets out in search of an otaku so elusive he’s almost an urban legend in the youth culture capital of Akihabara: the mysterious Buntaro.

Yojimbot

In a dystopian not-too-distant future in Japan, Hiro lives with his father on an island populated by androids, where they eke out a meager existence while trying to keep out of sight. But when they run afoul of a troop of high-tech military thugs, Hiro’s dad sacrifices himself to save his son, turning Hiro’s already-bleak world upside-down. He is then rescued by a samurai robot called a “yojimbot,” and together they seek to avenge his father’s death and make contact with a mysterious associate known only as the “rights holder,” before the soldiers and their drones close in…

The Young Woman at the Sea

Catherine Meurisse once again draws upon her memories. Her stay in a far-off, strange-yet-familiar land, at the Japanese villa Kujoyama in 2018, provides the artist with another opportunity to pursue her creative quest, this time where the West and Far East meet. In the manner of Lewis Carroll, the young artist lets characters out of legend lead her through pictorial landscapes. Imagination and dialogue are key to penetrating the secrets of this strange territory and discovering why the young explorer finds it so fascinating. This Alice daydreams and wonders, returning every now and then to reality and nature, that dynamic dictator of events and situations. After The Great Outdoors, Catherine Meurisse continues her pursuit of beauty in an unknown land, between mountain and sea, illustrating landscapes that reflect the seasons and the artist’s progress. Truly splendid!

Header: Hibakusha © Thilde Barboni & Olivier Cinna / Dupuis

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.

Operation Copperhead

Adventure, drama, spies, secrets, and even a dash of romance. This extraordinary story tells the tale of two movie stars being pulled into the intrigue of counterintelligence and disinformation campaigns during World War II. Churchill is looking for someone to impersonate Britain’s top general. And it’s up to David Niven and Peter Ustinov to train the lucky lad. They’re in a race against the clock and a battle against all the usual vices—wine and women included—to turn a second-rate actor into General Montgomery in this uproarious and award-winning graphic novel, where the truth might be stranger than fiction.

Maggy Garrisson

Even the infamous English rain can’t dampen Maggy Garrisson’s spirits as she walks through the London streets to her first job in two years. The shabby detective agency run by a hopeless, chain-smoking alcoholic might not exactly be her cup of tea, but Maggy’s willing to make concessions. The plot thickens when her boss gets beaten unconscious, and Maggy discovers a wallet full of seemingly trivial objects. But why’s she suddenly attracting all this unwanted attention? Perhaps there’s something in that wallet that’s more than it seems…

Renée Stone

Renée Stone is a successful English mystery novelist and an independent free spirit. In this first book of the series, she finds herself in Ethiopia for the coronation of Haile Selassie I in 1930. There she meets John Malowan, a bumbling archaeologist whose grandfather unearthed the Epic of Gilgamesh. Unbeknownst to Stone and Malowan, a host of parties are conspiring to take advantage of the grandson in order to get their hands on a hidden treasure that dates back to Mesopotamian times. Renée Stone finds herself in the midst of a murder mystery full of colorful characters who could have come straight out of her novels.

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.

Shi

During the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, two women’s lives become irrevocably intertwined when they both fall victim to a nefarious underground fraternity of ex-soldiers. From England’s upper crust, they have sworn their lives to defending the British Empire—as well as their own decadent lifestyles. In this first volume, young rebel Jennifer Winterfield and the mysterious Kitamakura from Japan forge an unlikely alliance along with Jennifer’s doctor uncle and a street urchin named Pickles. Together they lay the groundwork for a criminal organization that will go on to sow terror in the hearts of the colonialists and industrialists who tried to put them down.

Mr. Noir

England, last century. A castle: Blacktales. Every seven years its proprietor, the frightening Monsieur Noir, comes over to sign the new lease with his tenant. In Blacktales, two unrelenting opposing clans fight a ferocious and cunning struggle over the possession of a pen: the lease contract can be signed only with this pen, the signature giving absolute power. Into this troubled atmosphere arrives the recently orphaned Fanny: the pen, missing for two years has been located. It is in the hands of the two creatures whose ruthless sadism terrorises all the inhabitants of the place…

Miss Endicott

After many years abroad, Prudence Endicott is back in England for her mother’s funeral. Hired as a nanny by a wealthy London family, the young woman begins to spend her nights in the more common neighborhoods… For Miss Endicott is the new Conciliator, entrusted with helping the poor and the humble to solve their problems when society ignores them. A difficult task—especially as something sinister appears to be brewing underneath London…

The Corsaires of Alcibiades

The scene is early nineteenth century England, in a secret and exclusive university under the auspices of the British Crown. Peter, Lydia, Mike, Curtis, and Maryline, five young people with nothing in common, have been brought together here to take part in the admissions process of this most unusual school. Why were they chosen? And to what end? None of them realize yet that they will soon leave behind their relatively calm lives for untold adventures that lie ahead of them.

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  and delicate constitution stand in the way of his insatiable thirst for adventure, living life on his own terms until the very end.

An English Trilogy

I say! If you’re a fan of ghastly weather and mysteries wrapped in tweed, then you’ll be delighted at this complete collection from the classic series “Albany & Sturgess,” enhanced with bonus material and extra British flair. Discover bloody murders and plots that will frazzle your nerves, already frayed by the seemingly never-ending British rain. Rivière and Floc’h present an extraordinary combination of smoke and mirrors, of shadows and ghosts. Something which provokes in the reader an almost voyeuristic pleasure as it reveals the process of literary creation and its mysterious cocktail of reality and imagination. Spiffing!

Header image: Operation Copperhed © Jean Harambat /Dargaud

Gauguin – Off the Beaten Track

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 Muse

From his Barcelona studio in 1939, an aging Catalan painter shares with his model the mystery of his best friend Vidal Balaguer, “the forgotten genius” of Catalan Modernism, who vanished on the eve of 1900. His story his linked to the disappearance a few months earlier of his muse and lover, Mar, the subject of his most famous painting, “Young Lady in a Mantón.” But there are other disappearances, too, of people, a corpse, some oranges, and a stubbornly silent canary named Stradivarius. A police detective is convinced that Balaguer murdered his model but by the end of the story we may come to believe that, as the painter himself reflects, “the murder weapon is not always what you might think!”

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…

So Long Silver Screen

What is cinema? What is its effect on us? Why do we love it so much? These are all questions to which Blutch seeks the answers in his considered and humble way, drawing on his prodigious cultural knowledge and his gift for the comic book form. He references Burt Lancaster, Jean Gabin, Michel Piccoli, Luchino Visconti, Claudia Cardinale, Tarzan, Psychose, and many more. As much comic book as graphic essay, this reverie on the narrative art of image marks the advent of one of today’s masters of the 9th art.

Casati – The Selfish Muse

This is the tale of Luisa Casati Amman, otherwise known as ‘The Marchesa’, an Italian heiress whose life ambition was to transform herself into a living, breathing work of art. She was obsessed with beauty and extravagance, and devoted her entire family fortune to purchasing the means to astonish her contemporaries with her daredevil style. But her originality extended to more than just the adornment of her own person; she embellished her whole life with a succession of fantastical parties, large houses, ostentatious pets and outrageous public appearances. But, as ever, such exorbitance can hardly last forever… This intriguing biography traces the rise and fall of one of the 20th century’s most fascinating personalities.

Lightness

In the aftermath of the murderous attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices on January 7, 2015, cartoonist Catherine Meurisse struggles with the trauma of losing her friends and looks for a way to move forward with her life and her art. She soon enters a dissociative state where she loses her memories, especially those associated with esthetic experiences. This leads her on a quest to seek beauty and lightness in the world around her with the help of guiding lights including Proust, Stendhal, Baudelaire, and two provocative graffiti artists. Throughout the book, Meurisse uses her limber cartooning and dynamic writing to weave a tapestry of raw emotion and philosophical reflection laced with a strain of wry humor.

The Great Outdoors

“Girls, living in the country will be your chance,” her parents tell her. And so Catherine Meurisse spends her childhood outdoors. Construction all around her: an old farmhouse renovated into a home, trees planted, a garden created, dreams cultivated. They dig, they graft, they plant a rosebush “adopted” from Montaigne, a fig tree from Rabelais. They observe the tumult of the outside world: new developments in industrial agriculture, the citification of rural France… With her characteristic humor, Catherine Meurisse has composed a witty poem dedicated to the countryside where her vocation as an artist first took form. The Great Outdoors, like Lightness, her previous album, is a testament to her conviction that nature and art —everything that grows, everything that lives against all opposition— always offer us a chance.

Daubigny’s Garden

A graphic novel about Charles-François Daubigny, an important precursor of Impressionism.

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.

Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson, whose grandiose landscapes of Ontario’s wilderness marked the entry of Canadian art into the modern era, died at a young age under troubling circumstances. His career as a painter was as brief as it was fundamental, in that it inspired the next great generation of Canadian painters, the iconic Group of Seven. Returning to the circumstances of the painter’s sudden disappearance just as he was beginning to attain recognition, Sandrine Revel retraces his journey, sketching a subtle portrait of the artist while questioning nostalgia in art as it attaches itself to artists. This is a book about memory and the past: troubling, beautiful, and melancholic, like the passage of time.

Degas and Cassatt: The Dance of  Solitute

Tangier in the Rain

Header: The Great Outdoors © Catherine Meurisse /Dargaud

Glorious Summers

In this nostalgic account, the Faldérault family sets out for a final summer vacation together before an impending marital separation disrupts the family dynamics for good. Along the way, heading south to France from Brussels, Pierre, Maddie, and their children revel in impromptu skinny-dips, family sing-alongs, and camping in the wild, ultimately finding a renewed zest for life—and vacation!

Mamma Mia!

Single mom Aurélie’s moving back in with her grandmother, her young daughter Emma in tow. And to everyone’s surprise, so is Sophie—Aurélie’s perennially absent mother, back from yet another adventure abroad. With four generations of women living under the same roof, life is never simple—and bound to get messy!

Macaroni!

The touching story of a child getting to know his grandfather, an Italian immigrant living in Belgium. 11-year-old Romeo thinks of his grandfather as nothing but an “old pain-in-the-butt.” So when he finds out that he’s going to have to spend a few days with him at his crumbling old house, without even a TV to keep him entertained… well, it’s his idea of hell. But there are some surprises in store for Romeo during his visit. He changes his mind about a few things, perhaps thanks to his grandfather’s neighbor, Lucy, who tells him about her own “nonno,” and shows him how a spoil tip can be a thing of beauty. Or perhaps it’s thanks to Romeo’s dad, who speaks for the first time about his childhood relationship with his father. But it’s mostly thanks to Ottavio who, beneath his old, grouchy exterior, conceals the hard life he has led, full of suffering and sacrifice. It is a life the 11-year-old Romeo finds hard to comprehend, but which gives him a deeper understanding of someone from another century. It started off as just a short holiday to a grey Belgian town. But this holiday turns into an opportunity for three generations of men to lift the silence that surrounds them. A touching story about Italian immigration, coal mining, communication between the generations and the difficultly of opening up when you’ve spent your whole life in silence.

The Great Outdoors

“Girls, living in the country will be your chance,” her parents tell her. And so Catherine Meurisse spends her childhood outdoors. Construction all around her: an old farmhouse renovated into a home, trees planted, a garden created, dreams cultivated. They dig, they graft, they plant a rosebush “adopted” from Montaigne, a fig tree from Rabelais. They observe the tumult of the outside world: new developments in industrial agriculture, the citification of rural France… With her characteristic humor, Catherine Meurisse has composed a witty poem dedicated to the countryside where her vocation as an artist first took form. The Great Outdoors, like Lightness, her previous album, is a testament to her conviction that nature and art —everything that grows, everything that lives against all opposition— always offer us a chance.

Dad

Being a single dad is a full-time job, as Dad knows only too well! Especially with four headstrong daughters to whom obedience doesn’t exactly come naturally… With bookish Pandora, emotional Ondine, mischievous Roxanne and, the latest addition, baby Bella, this unemployed actor has landed himself the role of a lifetime: looking after his family!

Pirate Family

The Marrowbone has been immobilized and Victor MacLimpet is feeling glum: a pirate without a ship is a pirate without a job. Just as he hits rock bottom, Victor gets a very bad idea… He’ll wreck a galleon and steal its cargo. Perfect! Except that the “loot” in question will sow discord within the “Pirate Family” and all over Turtle Island…

Pico Bogue

Pico Bogue is the eldest child of a normal family, and when we say ‘normal’, we mean unique, quirky and occasionally just stark raving mad! Along with his little sister Anna, Pico goes through life with as many certainties as he has questions, making the kind of pertinent observations that only children are capable of. Sometimes challenging, always loveable, there’s no end to Pico’s mischief, much to the amusement, exasperation and surprise of his long-suffering parents!

The Campbells

After his wife’s brutal murder, Campbell, a pirate legend, gave up his life on the open seas to raise his two young daughters in peace. But, inevitably, his past eventually catches up with him in the form of Carapepino, a pretentious but clumsy pirate, desperately trying to win favour with the infamous Inferno. For his own sinister reasons, Inferno wants more than anything to get rid of Campbell and his offspring, once and for all. But Campbell and Inferno are bound to each other in ways that those around them would never have guessed…

Amalia

Amalia is on the verge of burnout. Her family life—with her husband, Karim; her 4-year-old daughter, Lili; and her 17-year-old stepdaughter, Nora—is nothing but rushing around, screaming, and doors slamming. At work, they talk about agility, flexibility, and adaptation, but her workload is slipping away from her. As she drives through the countryside, she sees diseased wheat fields and polluted rivers. She can’t even listen to the radio without some new story about deadly attacks and a dying climate. Amalia struggles, tries, fails… and eventually, she cracks.

The news of today is a great reminder that our planet Earth is a living and breathing organism that needs to be nourished and protected at all costs. As we move inside our houses for the weeks to come, let’s take a moment to think of the beauty of the great outdoors that awaits us once these testing times are over. Let’s come out of this experience stronger, wiser and more mindful of the living world surrounding us!

Hubert Reeves Explains

After spending many years gazing up at the stars, Hubert Reeves has turned his attention to the future of our planet. The world’s friendliest and most enthusiastic astrophysicist takes us on a surprising journey, which will make us all realize how important it is to protect our environment.

The Colony

At the turn of the 20th century, society is in tumult. Anarchist groups have turned from political terrorism to nonviolent revolution, seeking to escape the world’s injustice by returning to nature. Against this backdrop of upheaval, Fortuné Henry travels alone to a remote clearing on the edge of the vast Ardennes Forest, there to found his own colony: L’Essai. Many will join him. Some will leave. Others will stay. In colors by turns muted and vibrant, but always sensitively attuned to the setting and character, Nicolas Debon breathes life into the true story of a short-lived utopia.

Back to Basics

Aaah, the countryside! Fresh air, green fields, home-grown vegetables… the dream (or the nightmare) of all city-dwellers. Well, this is the tale of when it became Manu Larcenet’s reality. One fine day he and his partner Mariette packed up their urban life and set off for the little village of Ravenelles (population of 89 people, including a pretty baker). When, like Manu, you’ve lived your whole life in a Parisian suburb, the rural life can be quite the shock to the system…

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.

The Great Outdoors

“Girls, living in the country will be your chance,” her parents tell her. And so Catherine Meurisse spends her childhood outdoors. Construction all around her: an old farmhouse renovated into a home, trees planted, a garden created, dreams cultivated. They dig, they graft, they plant a rosebush “adopted” from Montaigne, a fig tree from Rabelais. They observe the tumult of the outside world: new developments in industrial agriculture, the citification of rural France… With her characteristic humor, Catherine Meurisse has composed a witty poem dedicated to the countryside where her vocation as an artist first took form. The Great Outdoors, like Lightness, her previous album, is a testament to her conviction that nature and art —everything that grows, everything that lives against all opposition— always offer us a chance.

Elma: A Bear’s Life

Elma is a joyful, free-spirited child who is being raised by a bear she thinks of as her father. But Papa Bear is hiding a secret, and the close-knit duo must make a long and perilous journey to begin a mysterious new life beyond the forest. Adventure and danger are in store as they discover the linked secrets of Elma’s past and future.

Blast

A man – filthy, stinking, alone and obese – is taken in by the police. We don’t yet know what he’s done, or why he’s there. But he’s going to tell us his story. The story of a man who strives to live by his own rules, free from the bounds of socially imposed morality and norms, an ambition inspired by one blinding, ecstatic, vivid moment of ultilmate perfection in life and existence – The Blast. He makes the only choice possible for him after such an experience: he leaves everything behind and sets off to live, really live, in the wild, on his own. This first volume is a homage to the acute beauty of nature, solitude and feeling alive. And to the pain and brutality necessary for this man to find his way to another, purer, more complete level of existence. But is the mysterious ‘Blast’ really what it seems? And so the interrogation begins.

Glorious Summers

In this nostalgic account, the Faldérault family sets out for a final summer vacation together before an impending marital separation disrupts the family dynamics for good. Along the way, heading south to France from Brussels, Pierre, Maddie, and their children revel in impromptu skinny-dips, family sing-alongs, and camping in the wild, ultimately finding a renewed zest for life—and vacation!

Tiny Fox and Great Boar

Tiny Fox lives alone beneath his apple tree in the distant hills. He is a happy little animal, busy looking after himself and his foxy things. Then one day, a Great Boar appears and moves in under the apple tree, bringing with him a time of change and adventure. Is Tiny Fox ready?

The Toucan Patrol

Newb wants to join the Toucan Patrol. But first, he’ll have to earn the two things every toucan needs: a neckerchief and slide. How? By confronting his greatest fears. Geez! It’s not going to be easy!

Underworld

Hades, God of the Underworld, is seeking a successor. The prize? His fabled horn of plenty, source of boundless wealth. But to winnow down the applicant pool, Hades has devised a series of challenges as deadly to hopefuls as they are enlightening to readers, taking us all on a tour of the soil: its uses and abuses, riches and resources. Beneath our feet lies a world teeming with life, whose fate is intimately tied with our own. In this fantasy adventure Mathieu Burniat deftly blends pop science and mythology to educate and enthrall on a topic vital to our troubled times.

Header images: Back to basics © Manu Larcenet / Dargaud

Our most emotionally challenging reading list sheds light on truly unique lives, exploring themes of human resilience and inner strength, as well as the importance of human connections amidst the most difficult personal circumstances.

Through Lya’s Eyes

The day before her seventeenth birthday, Lya’s life changed forever. Hit by a speeding car and left for dead, she lost the use of her legs as well as some of her faith in the world… Lya learned to live again with the support of her parents. But having discovered that someone bought their silence, Lya is determined to unmask the perpetrator and obtain justice. Her search for the truth takes her to a famous law firm… and down a dangerous path. With the help of her friend Antoine, she’ll stop at nothing to get to the bottom of it all…

In the Moment

“In the Moment” is a modern Romeo and Juliet in two different time dimensions. In this unusual love story, Dutch author Hanco Kolk and Flemish author Kim Duchateau have found a particular way of working together, in which each of them draws one time dimension. Rafael Falstaff falls hopelessly in love with Sylvia, a chronowoman. He can see her, but he doesn’t see her move, nor can he touch her, because they would both die if he did. But he’s happy with just seeing her, until he realizes her life is in danger. He then decides to take action, with all that it entails… A story in two parts.

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.

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…

While the King of Prussia…

Mrs. Hubeau looks after her 40-year-old handicapped son, Michel. Despite many happy moments, her daily life is far from easy, but she faces it with unparalleled courage and generosity. This is a beautiful homage to all the admirable people fighting in the shadows.

Header image: In the Moment © Hanco Kolk & Kim Duchateau / Ballon Media

Some children had to face challenges of life at a very young age, being confronted to war, immigration, racism or antisemitism. Now they share with us the touching stories of their hard struggles but also happy memories that still survive in these conflicted periods.

Kinderland

East Berlin, summer of 1989: Mirco Watzke is caught in a bind. Usually a model student, the seventh grader has got himself in trouble with a couple of bullies from the Free German Youth, and the only person who can help is the mysterious new kid in school… Vivid and funny, tender and nuanced, “Kinderland” chronicles East Germany’s final months as seen through the eyes of a child. It’s a story of friendship, courage, and trust, but also of growing up between Young Pioneers and the church, fathers who “disappear,” and a ping-pong tournament interrupted by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Winner of the Max & Moritz Award for Best Comic at the 2014 Erlangen International Comics Festival.

Marzi

“Before, there were trees and countryside. Man didn’t intervene. Stalin decided to “rectify” that space, and now, instead of trees, there are concrete buildings, everywhere. Stalin had a factory built. Thanks to that, lots of people got jobs, like my dad.” Born in 1979, Marzi is a 7-year-old Polish girl who looks wide-eyed at the world around her: her parents, her family, her school friends and the crabby women at the grocery store who don’t even smile for a fruit delivery. Marzi lives on a council estate in an industrial town, and is a cheerful, carefree, mischievous and perceptive little girl, bound to run into many adventures!

Haytham: A Childhood in Syria

Haytham al-Aswad is a young boy like any other, growing up in the Syrian town of Deera: he plays soccer, hangs out with his friends, and is studying for an upcoming test. But when the revolution breaks out and people take to the streets to protest the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, Haytham suddenly goes from kicking the ball to dodging bullets. His activist father is forced into exile, and the rest of the family eventually join him in France, where Haytham’s new life as a refugee brings its own set of challenges. An engrossing, first-hand account of one of the most devastating political and humanitarian crises in recent history.

Second Generation – The Things I Didn’t Tell My Father

This is an autobiographical tale in which Michel Kichka goes back over the significant moments of a childhood, an adolescence, and a life overshadowed by the Holocaust, from Belgium to The Promised Land, from nightmares to funny anecdotes, moments of joy and liberation.

Children of the Resistance

On May 10th, 1940, Nazi Germany attacked France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Their advance was swift, and led to the fall of France just six weeks later. In the fictional French village of Pontain-L’Écluse, 13-year-old François is shocked to see his fellow villagers—and even some of his family members—accept this occupation and submit to the laws and behavior of the German invaders. Determined to thwart the enemy, he enlists his friend Eusèbe to help sabotage the Nazis and motivate his village to unite against them. A fascinating tale of the Resistance and of actions taken by its youngest activitsts, inspired by true stories.

The Lions of Leningrad

On January 27, 1962, a concert at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad is interrupted by a gunshot and an ex-state prisoner is arrested. At the police station, the mysterious gunman recalls the early summer of 1941… When the German army begins its invasion of Soviet Russia, four children are evacuated to the countryside: Maxim, the son of a senior Communist Party official; Pyotr, the son of writers; Anka, the daughter of a concert violinist; and Grigory, the son of a pilot that was executed for insubordination. The farm where they are staying is attacked and the train that is supposed to take them to safety is blown to bits by German planes. The four children must find their way back to Leningrad through enemy lines. This adventure will test their friendship to the limit…

Clara

There are some things that a child should never have to endure, but life can be cruel sometimes. Clara is only seven years old when she loses her mother to cancer. Before she passes away, Clara’s mother gives her a doll from the days of her own childhood. Clara doesn’t particularly like the doll at first, but it’ll prove to be a precious ally, accompanying little Clara along the rough road of grief and mourning, through all its stages.

The Children

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?

Object Lesson

At the age of 8, Jean-Pierre is leading a blossoming life, subject to the rhythm of nature, in a village that provides enough stories and space to feed his child’s imagination. There is the church in the middle of the village – the monument to the dead. A single primary school class, an authoritarian and mustachioed teacher, fights between boys, and slaps from conceited little girls. Jean-Pierre is in love with his mum, as all little boys are, and extremely admiring of his dad, his champion, who is not around enough. This is the year that Jean-Pierre discovers life and how cruel and merciless it is: his parents split up. For this new story, the author tackles a difficult period experienced by the child Jean-Pierre, in an almost autobiographical way. A modest and deeply moving tale.

Colored

A few months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, kicking off the U.S. civil rights movement, making headlines around he world and becoming an enduring symbol of the fight for dignity and equality, another young black woman refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was the wrong person at the right time, and so History did not choose her. Her name was Claudette Colvin and this is her story.

Tales From Behind the Window

“Tales from behind the Window” is based on memories of an Anatolian grandmother and women she knew who suffered from male dominance over their lives. Writer and illustrator Edanur Kuntman seeks a unique way to express and give voice to women in her grandmother’s memories and in our reality who were not able to reconcile their inner emotional depth with their rural worlds in Northern Turkey. One long and two short stories included in this book revolve around terrifying emotional burdens such as forced marriages, being betrayed by patriarchs, and lost love, which have haunted and still haunt many in rural Anatolia.

You Can’t Just Kiss Anyone You Want

A little boy tries to kiss a little girl. No big deal. The little girl gets away and sends the little boy packing. Nothing more than an anecdote amongst many others of any normal childhood. But if this event takes place at school in a Socialist republic, half way through a propaganda movie, years before the wall is even showing the slightest sign of giving out… Well, it’s asking for trouble. This is the story of two children in a society in which paranoia and obsessive control mean that even the most innocent gesture can be blown completely out of proportion.

Sun

Sun is the story of a little boy and his mother. The child is the result of a drunken roll in the hay the mother has after a fight with her family. Filled with shame and guilt, the mother is incapable of showing the child love and affection. Her father, the boy’s grandfather, sees the boy as the son he never had and the heir to his fortune. He takes care of the boy and the bond between the two grows very strong. But the day comes when grandfather dies. In an effort to get rid of the boy, he is told to take his demented grandmother for a stroll. And that’s when the accident happens. The boy is charged with murder and ends up in jail. The mother is relieved to be rid of him and shows no intent to defend him. And that’s when the boy’s father shows up. The mother had bribed him to keep his mouth shut, but he cannot fail his son now. He helps the boy escape, but the police catch up with them. Will they get away?

The Daughters of Salem

Colonial Massachusets, early 1690’s. When a young girl in a Puritan town rejects a farmer boy’s gift and instead slips out into the forest to dance with a young man from the Abenaki tribe, it sets off a chain of events resulting in one of the worst cases of mass hysteria in U.S. history, as neighbor turns against neighbor and friends accuse friends of the most terrible things. A fictional re-imagining of the Salem Witch Trials, in which gender politics, religion, xenophobia, innocent games of fortunetelling, and one man’s sinful indiscretion are all factors that lead to the deadly witch hunt.

Bear’s tooth

Silesia, 1930. Three children play with toy airplanes. Three friends – Max the Polish Jew, Werner and Hanna the Germans. All dream of becoming pilots, but they won’t all have the same opportunities, and the world is heading down a dark road… 1944. Max is now an ace in the US Navy, while Hanna is one of Germany’s top test pilots. Will anything remain of their old friendship, as the sides they each chose are locked in a struggle to the death?

Three friends, united by their love of flying, torn apart by different origins. Amidst the madness of WW2, what will prove strongest: friendship, or loyalty?

Header image: Haytham: A Childhood in Syria © Nicolas Hénin / Kyungeun Park / Dargaud

We all make New Year’s resolutions, don’t we? But how many of us truly stick to them throughout the year? In that spirit, here are stories of those who weren’t scared to undertake new challenges, embark upon new adventures or simply make certain adjustments to change the course of their lives.

Ordinary Victories

Marco’s left town for the countryside. He’s left his psychologist because he feels he’s doing better. He’s quit his job as a reporter because he’s had enough of photographing corpses. He gets himself a little cottage in the heart of rural France, where he lives with his cat, Adolf. He throws out all his work, and cuts ties with his employer. That night, he has his first panic attack. It’s not long before he meets the lovely Emilie, and also the wise and good-natured old man who lives in the cottage just across the way… but who, it turns out, isn’t exactly what he seems…

A Real Job

Javi has left Spain for Berlin. He doesn’t speak German and hardly knows anyone there. He wants to be a comic book artist, but all his friends advise him to find a real job. He desperately needs to believe in himself, and to be believed. Burning with the desire to leave his mark, yet patient like any professional observer, Javi tells the story of his world, which becomes his first comic.

The 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.

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 Eagle with No Claws

1907: In a small town in the Pyrenees, a young soldier regularly climbs one of the tallest peaks to deliver supplies to an observatory. There, he makes a friend whose great passion for the Tour de France pushes ambitious Amédée to take up cycling and dream of winning the Tour himself. But the road to the Tour de France is more challenging and dangerous than he thought, and a terrible accident leaves him handicapped. Still, Amédée remains undaunted and trains even harder, which sets him on the road to cycling stardom… until war breaks out and interrupts his plans yet again. An inspiring tale of courage and human achievement, set against the fascinating backdrop of one of the world’s most grueling tests of endurance.

Back to Basics

Aaah, the countryside! Fresh air, green fields, home-grown vegetables… the dream (or the nightmare) of all city-dwellers. Well, this is the tale of when it became Manu Larcenet’s reality. One fine day he and his partner Mariette packed up their urban life and set off for the little village of Ravenelles (population of 89 people, including a pretty baker). When, like Manu, you’ve lived your whole life in a Parisian suburb, the rural life can be quite the shock to the system…

Header image: Ordinary Victories © Manu Larcenet / Dargaud