European Graphic Novels+

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://lemm.ee/post/3543286

Enjoy. ^^

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://mastodon.art/tags/TinyDracula

Copyright Jean Giraud & Starwatcher Graphics. All rights reserved.

I'm kinda stressed these days, but much thanks to @https://lemm.ee/u/[email protected] and @https://lemm.ee/u/Taniwha420 for filling in!

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

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

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

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

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

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

English version: (might not be perfectly translated)

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

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

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

Note: unsure this BD is available in English.

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

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

The Trolls are awesome.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright Jean Giraud & Starwatcher Graphics. All rights reserved.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I think my translation needs upgrading, but--

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'd say this series is primarily pitched towards kids and fanciers of the comic medium. The 'superhero' here is like a riff on ComicBookGuy from The Simpsons. He's completely out of shape, unremarkable in physical appearance, and wears one of the silliest outfits since the days of Ma Hunkel masquerading as The Red Tornado in the pages of the classic American comic, Scribbly. BUT he does have a 'comics superpower,' in that he can interact between panels, bending the very laws of the medium. (or dare I say "multiverse?")

We've occasionally seen this technique used before across various famous comics, going back to Little Nemo I think, but generally as more of a one-off gag. In this case it's developed much further, and is unambiguously the entire point of the series. Imbattable (i.e. Mr. Invincible) is amusingly billed as the 'one and only true comic book superhero,' and if you follow that logic, I think it works!

First appearing in Spirou, there are three collected books in this series, plus a special, authored by writer / artist / colorist Pascal Jousselin from Rennes, France. [list of his BD works] 'Mr. I.' has been nominated for multiple Eisner awards and did win an Italian award, the Bologna Ragazzi.

Of course there are some occasional hiccups with Mr. I.'s superpower. What would be the fun without a little kryptonite here and there?

There's a nice, longer-form article below by the School Library Journal's Betsy Bird. It does a fine job getting in to the nuts & bolts of the series, and raises some interesting points, such as the issue of what kinds of comics pander to kids vs. which truly respect their intelligence.

https://afuse8production.slj.com/2020/11/12/review-of-the-day-mr-invincible-local-hero-by-pascal-jousselin/

I first discovered Marco's art in the pages of Heavy Metal, specifically in the #267 issue from 2014. He's from Pontedera, Italy, and seems to have gotten in to comics via his dad, who lettered Tex.

(from the ~25pp story E.V.A. appearing in HM)

Aside from the fact that he also wrote the story, I was mighty impressed by how well he commanded the city architecture from any number of views, the human figures, and his lovely, somewhat 'electric pastel' color palette.

Turini launched the character "Claudia Poe" online (through Lycos and Dot Com), but she has subsequently appeared in dailies like Il Tirreno, La Nazione, Quotiano and Il Centro, on radio, television (local and MTV) and in a comic book called I Sogni di Claudia (Titivillus/Dot Com edizioni, 2002). In recent years, he has drawn for Miss Italia, Sesso Alieno, Blue and Underground Press. --Lambiek, with edits

Judging by his sites, it looks like he also does work for some American heavyweights:

ArtStation:
https://www.artstation.com/marcoturini

Artist site:
https://www.marcoturiniart.com/

I've always loved watercolors, but as a disabled artist with faltering energy, I also found them to be a lot of work to bring off well. Hence, why I'm honestly a bit jealous that nowadays, digital tools allow one to skip much of the drudgery of tediously hydrating paint medium and/or coaxing every little bit out of 'watercolor pencils.' 😮‍💨

But... yes, I must yield to the fact that digital watercolors (like this one) can be quite interesting, lovely, and even ground-breaking in their own way. Rosie herself doesn't seem to have a lot out there yet, but I do hope she keeps working away, as this is a great start IMO.

https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/pinkclouds/

I just loved the expression of this little rat, surprised whilst taking his daily bath. Checking on the author sent me down an interesting rabbit hole...

"Ptiluc" (Luc Lefèbvre) is a Belgian comic artist best known for his humor comics about rats: Pacush Blues (1980) and Rats (1995). Yet he has also taken other anthropomorphic animals as main characters, like apes and monkeys (Ni Dieu, Ni Bête, 1992) and pigs (La Foire aux Cochons, 1998). Ptiluc uses these animals as a satirical metaphor for human society, featuring black and bleak comedy, yet thought-provoking commentary at the same time. Since 2002, he's been a French national. --Lambiek, with edits

Veillée au coin du feu ("Fireside vigil")

Ptiluc's main inspirations come from American underground comix and the French magazines Fluide Glacial and Rigolo. He cites Hugo Pratt, Marcel Gotlib and André Franquin as his prime influences, but also adores the work of novelist George Orwell.

Pacush Blues : This gag comic about rats living in a drain would eventually become his signature work. Ptiluc said he closely identified with this animal species because people always said he resembled one, due to his long nose.

Urinoir : another day, another community bath

This looks like a funny animal comic at first sight, but contains sarcastic and often nihilistic commentary on humanity. There are no single recurring characters. While the comic features some black comedy gags at times there is also more poignant food for thought. The rats often wonder about the meaning of life and especially the role humans play in the destruction of the planet.

I'll be looking for these books and will likely post more of Ptiluc's work in future. It seems enormously promising on all fronts...

Copyright and Trademark, 1992 Mash Room Co.

If someone told me I could spend the rest of my life loafing through Henk's gorgeous ligne claire, I think I could die a happy enzymatic.

Which brings me to this panel, randomly discovered today. I had little idea what it said, but I loved the intrinsic layout and energy. Then I remembered that Nacktmull had previously discovered that Google-translate could make hay with this stuff. So why not?

Oh well, so it's about red nylons and dated bragging rights. Ho hum.

And of course, two people talking past each other, something definitely amusing in its own right. Two people focused on the greatest, most trivial of issues. In any case (he said, like the Lock-picking Lawyer), what have we learned here today?

Well, I guess it's that G-T is already pretty kick-arse at this stuff (DeepL doesn't seem to recognise images yet), but with some limitations. For example, it didn't naturally recognise the Dutch word "rimboe," because it had been split in two due to the needs of the panel limits. I tried to fix it there, but is "wilderness" really the best translation? I wonder...