European Graphic Novels+

846 readers
7 users here now

“BD” refers to Franco-Belgian comics, but let's open things up to include ALL Euro comics and GN's. Euro-style work from around the world is also welcome!

* BD = "Bandes dessinées"
* BDT = Bedetheque
* GN = graphic novel
* LBK = Lambiek
* LC = "Ligne claire"

Please DO: 1) follow good 'netiquette' and 2) the four simple rules of lemm.ee (this instance) when posting and commenting. As for extracts, they're fine, but don't link to pirated downloads.

MODERATION: If you happen to make a mistake upon the above, then please don't worry about it. We'll likely just laugh it off and let you know. OTOH, obvious bad-faith and hostile efforts will not be tolerated here.

For posting tips, including how to handle NSFW and personal content, see the FAQ below.

The designated language here is English, with a traditional bias towards French. When posting foreign-language content, please DO include helpful context for English-speakers.

---> Here's the community F.A.Q, and our resource page <---

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founded 1 year ago
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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

I appreciate how much kinetic energy this picture has, one can almost feel the inertia of the humanoid propelling out of the water. The perfectly chosen colour palette, it´s balanced composition and of course the clear lines, show off the skills of a master.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Im using the knowledge I have, and impression. maybe there are some in betweens and other artists I don’t know.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Today I would like to introduce you to Small Lebowsky, an austrian artist who became a living legend with a cult following on german speaking reddit communities. Especially the biggest german meme community r/ich_iel loves him for posting a new frog drawing every wednesday, always titled "Es ist Mittwoch meine Kerle" - "It's Wednesday my dudes", which he kept up for several years if I'm correct. Some time ago he stopped the traditional Wednesday frog posts on reddit and took a break, to soon after resurface on lemmy/mastodon.

His style is characterized by clear lines and is strongly influenced by manga, anime and Japanese pop-culture, as well as western fantasy and science fiction. His drawings are usually stuffed with -more or less insider- references and easter eggs for the viewer to find.

Check out his work here:

https://lemmy.world/u/[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/smalllebowsky/

https://www.deviantart.com/smalllebowsky

https://www.behance.net/gallery/107789645/Drawings-and-Illustrations-2020/modules/617837871

cross-posted from: https://troet.cafe/users/smalllebowsky/statuses/111214826371996392

Es ist Mittwoch 🍝meine Lieben
@dach

#drawing #zeichnung #zeichnen #kreative #selfcare

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Lucas Varela (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

I know he is Argentinian (he is relative to me), One of the most prolific contemporary Argentinian cartoonist. But he is based in France and his major work development happened there.

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Another cross post of the most upvoted card :-)

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Please tell if you like it, I have a whole bunch of those trading cards!

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It's suddenly rather cold, dark and rainy here after an unexpected run of ~80°F days. This panel from Blake & Mortimer's La Marque Jaune (translated as The Yellow M) fits my mood pretty well.

Overall, I don't feel like Jacobs is quite on Hergé's level as a ligne claire artist, but every once in a while he charms me, as with this rainy panel that looks like it could be out of The Third Man (classic Orson Welles film from 1949, set in Vienna).

Funny, when I was looking for a higher-quality version of the original, I came across one with a much different color scheme. Hroom, now... which seems the better fit?

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I'm still taking a posting break on the whole, but just wanted to add that I appreciate the group support from the other day. Clearly, a post per day was way too ambitious, but perhaps I can settle for a couple per week.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

We're now past the two-month mark, and I've done my level-best to stock up our community with a load of content to be delved into by newcomers and reviewers, both. So far it's been a labor of love.

As such, I typically spend about 1-3 hours per day investigating future stuff that might make for interesting posts, sorting through things, upgrading art, writing notes, then giving it a shot (i.e. posting) every day, balancing the days I miss by posting twice the next day. Also, I usually post in the early mornings, such that our posts begin in Europe.

That said, I don't blame anyone in particular for not liking any particular stuff I decide to post on any particular day. That's just natural.

At the same time-- with 300+ subscribers now, it frankly stings to get a negative reaction like this, upon European artist Brecht Evens' work. After all, we're talking about one of the most awarded, modern, most-legit European comics creators doing their thing when it comes to Evens' work.

So here's a question--

  1. Can you explain why you don't like the Evens' post? Because I'm open to editing / switching things up.

  2. Would you like to post your own material? Because I welcome that.

Me, I'm going to take a break from this sub and think about some things..

EDIT: At the time of posting this, the Brecht Evens' post had a zero score, with more downvotes than upvotes. This was after a full day+, in which I gave the voting time to adjust itself.

EDIT2: Thank you so much to the positive responders. I've read the replies and have commented below.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

His graphic novels have been a little hard for me to get in to so far, but one thing's for sure-- at his best, Evens' watercolors are gorgeous, striking and lush.

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I see him as sort of an 'anti-ligne claire' artist. One who deliberately avoids clean, straight pen lines, and enjoys experimenting with color, blank space and storytelling innovation. Maybe a little bit like if Marc Chagall had done comics?

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Evens' work has won him several awards in the comics industry, including the Prix de L’Audace at the Angoulême International Comics Festival for The Wrong Place in 2011 (also nominated for an Eisner Award), and in 2019 the Special Jury Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival for Les Rigoles (translated in to English as The City of Belgium, 2021). --WP

More samples of his work HERE.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 
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This is a delightful, Moominesque, all-ages book, published by Humanoids in 2019.

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I daresay it's the kind of work that smaller kids and zen-philosophers might both enjoy. Or just a middle-aged bloke such as myself. :D

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These cartoons actually date to the early 80's I believe, but remarkably, still seem fresh in a way utterly removed from 'cutting-edge' comics.

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If I understand correctly, Coudray originally produced ~four volumes. Humanoids has published about three translations, each at ~100 pages.

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"...They're a lot of fun and well worth a read for those looking for something lighter, humorous, and visually appealing. And, yeah, the gags are pretty timeless. Good stuff!" -- Augie De Blieck

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Bigby / Barnabé is also part of a small series published under Humanoids' BIG imprint, meant for kids and all-ages readers.

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Side note: if you're a beginning language learner, these books published in different languages are pretty great. By comparison, many other series, such as Astérix, Lucky Luke and Tintin, are generally too complex for beginners IMO.

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More info on Coudray here and Augie's own review there.

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It's a panel (I just made the title up) from Basura ("Garbage") by Carlos Trillo and Juan Giménez, as published in English in Heavy Metal magazine, Spring '87 edition.

The main figure is just a kind of statue, in a post-apoc world.

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First of all, huge, honking credit to u/MadDroog, who I believe took these shots using books from his personal collection. The main point is to show the original American editions and then how they looked in the French magazine.

And yes, that's certainly Robert Crumb's notorious Fritz the Cat on issue 15's cover, but you can indeed catch a glimpse of Corben's story in the lower right teaser.

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Evidently to cut down on costs, the magazine used a simple color scheme throughout, and in Corben's case, colored his B&W art themselves with, let's say it-- less than ideal results. :P

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So we have both Crumb and Corben seemingly popular in France by at least the early 1970's. I'll see if I can find some issues to see who else might have been included from 'non-BD' countries.

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In terms of Corben's work, I find it just amazing. It's full of life, and drawn with a loving tenderness you rarely see in comics. The art was usually absurdly intricate, but even when slightly-rushed, Corben saw -forms- in a way that few other comics artists did. Probably not surprising really, as he had a degree in fine arts and first started working as an animator. I'm also sad to say that he passed away recently at 80yo due to heart surgery. RIP to an utterly unique legend.

As an upcoming treat, I think in a day or two I'm going to post a 13-page chapter from his Denz saga, even though it's American-produced. The art is ridiculously, utterly unique, and here's a sample page:

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

When I first saw Yoshida's work, it immediately reminded me of classic watercolors from many a fine BD series.

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Amazingly, these seem to be -not- watercolors, but woodblock art, in which a series of blocks are carved to impress the total number of ink colors present in a piece. Not unlike screen-printing, but far more laborious I should think. Of course the point of processes like these (and lithography) is to be able to produce a run of high-quality prints using very basic materials.

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I'm still learning about Yoshida, but one thing that seems unusual about him is that he made a point of getting out of Japan and exploring as much of the world as he could. Hence, you see authentic Japanese prints of places not normally associated with the style, starting with India.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Open in new tab for full size. Enjoy!

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Versailles' de Pins clearly has a deep attraction to women, admittedly as with many neat-o artists throughout history.

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Still, it seems to me what makes him a bit different is his ability to go beyond 'mere appreciation,' all the way to lampooning his own lust, while at the same time keeping in mind social rights.

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It's a perilous line to walk, I suppose, but either way, I frankly enjoy de Pins' ability to riff on all these issues in a self-aware, comedic way. In any case, he seems to enjoy celebrating womens' rights in a pop-culture art context, FWIW.

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And I think that's pretty cool.

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Info on de Pins' various projects is here:
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/d/de-pins_arthur.htm

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It's a panel from Silas Corey, The Aquila Network, a terrific series scripted by Fabien Nury.

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There seem to be two versions of the fetish replica. This one, originally sold by the defunct TintinBoutique.com, and another by Moulinsart [example], without the 'restored' look. I believe they're both made out of resin (not wood), with the former going for as much as $500(!)

Some interesting inside info (and a short quiz) on the album here: https://www.tintin.com/en/albums/the-broken-ear

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

I just finished "Pinocchio" by Winshluss and it was very different than the BD that I am used to.

I liked the art (resembling of Robert Crumb) and the Pinocchio adaptation for mature audiences. There is a lot to like in the clever storytelling and how the stories connect with each other.

Perhaps this was not my cup of tea, but it was refreshing and definitely something very unique that I am happy to add to my collection.

EDIT: This Pinocchio adaptation is not appropriate for children or young comic readers. Just in case it wasn't clear from my post.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

I found this nice hi-res cover of Pilote magazine #140, Feb '86, presumably by Jean Solé, and now I'm left to name the characters. I'm pretty terrible at this, but here's what I've got:

LEFT COLUMN (front to back):

  1. LL, by Morris
  2. Jill Bioskop, by Enki Bilal
  3. Jack Palmer, by Pétillon
  4. Jonathan Cartland, by Harlé & Blanc-Dumont
  5. character from The Night, by Druillet
  6. Isaac Newton, by Gotlib
  7. Félina by Annie Goetzinger
  8. Blueberry, by Moebius

RIGHT COLUMN (front to back):

  1. Valerian, by Christin & Mézières
  2. sheep from Le Génie des alpages, by F’Murr
  3. Achille Talon, by "Greg"
  4. Philémon, by "Fred"
  5. Cellulite, by Bretecher
  6. unknown character by Gérard Lauzier
  7. Sir Francis Albany, by Floc'h

BOTTOM:

  • Left: Le concombre masqué, by Mandryka
  • Right: La coccinelle, by Gotlib

EDIT: bolded names are thanks to user input

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There's not a lot of info out there for Tomenius, but if I understand correctly, he first discovered a level of fame by riffing on tweets made by former PM and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt of Sweden.

It seems from there, he was inspired to create his delightfully deranged, better-known comic series Twisted Speedo and Poorly Drawn Dinosaurs. The above is a very brief, tame example of his work, so let's dig a bit further with Origin of the Seahorse:

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You see, most of his cartoons run long and vertically, averaging about twice the length of the one above. In tone, he's darkly-hilarious, satirical, and no-holds barred. If gore is called for, then there's going to be gore!

Typically, my man here examines modern culture and turns it on its head, sometimes in a purely humorous or even affectionate way, but just as often, with biting nihilism. His 'punchlines' don't always come together the way you might expect... in which case I think it's more his sense of simple, absurd style that makes these work.

Here's a couple more of my favorites: [1], [2], which should help demonstrate what the hell I'm trying to say above.

As for repositories of his work, try: [WebToons], [Tapas], and [TheComicSeries]. His "Poorly Drawn Dinosaurs" site doesn't seem to be up anymore, but fortunately it's preserved at the Internet Archive. Tomenius' also has some collections available on Amazon.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Permanently Deleted

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 
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