outright suicide
Julie Doucet, The Association (February 27)
After having finally won the Grand Prix d’Angoulême almost a year ago, after having repeated many times that the comic strip and the autobiography were over for her, now the great Julie Doucet takes us by surprise with the publication of outright suicide, a fresco whose 144 pages unfold like a leporello. Yes, you read that right, the album opens like an accordion, 20 meters long, and was designed and thought out in this way, without panels, each drawing fitting into one another. For this big comeback, Doucet takes us back to 1989, when she had an intense epistolary relationship with one of her French readers. Note that the first edition, published in the form of a leporello, will only be sold in 1500 copies, the finishes of which will be made by hand.
Glad who like Ugo
Réal Godbout, Robin Bourget-Godbout and Dominique Bourget, La Pastèque (in bookshops)
It’s an understatement to say that we look forward to any new release signed, or co-signed as is the case here, by the legendary Real Godbout (Michel Risk and Red Ketchup, to name a few). Especially since it is a family affair since the scenario ofGlad who like Ugo is signed Robin Bourget-Godboutson of Réal, while his spouse and Robin’s mother, Dominique Bourget, took care of the color. At the center of this adventure? Ugo Saint-Germain, a tourist columnist who has not put down his suitcases for several years and who undertakes a cruise on a luxury yacht, on the Mediterranean, to lead him in the footsteps of Ulysses. And, of course, like any trip, nothing goes as planned. So, what does this album have in store for us, the title of which, inspired by a song by Brassens, suggests an odyssey that risks being joyfully offbeat?
Revolution, Volume 2
Equality – book 1
Florent Grouazel and Younn Locard, Actes Sud L’An 2 (February 19)
Here is the second volume of the Revolution series, signed by Breton designers and authors (they do everything with four hands) Florent Grouazel and Younn Locard, a trilogy whose first part was published in 2019. A trilogy? Yes and no since this second episode had to be split in two, given the material to be covered. Obviously, the revolution in question here is the French Revolution which, nearly 240 years later, continues to fascinate and give material to the authors who attack, here, the period during which the first Constitution was drawn up. , while the loyalists, still loyal to the King of France, try either to protect him or to make him escape. And since the excellent first volume delighted us (it also won the prize for the best album in Angoulême in 2020), we can’t wait to read the rest.
So much for the likes
Bach, New Address (April)
After telling us about his life in the two-volume series It’s not easy being a girlpublished in 2014 and 2015, now Bach (Estelle Bachelard) returns with a hybrid between the comic strip and the essay entitled So much for the likes. The basic idea? If the month without alcohol allows some people to reflect on their consumption, why not do the same with social networks? Calling herself an internet addict, addicted to likes and other digital validations, Bach decided to go unplugged for a month in order to document how she was going to deal with her likely cravings. Will we find it in a small ball in her wardrobe? Does moderation really taste better if you can’t make an Instagram story to tell it? That remains to be seen !
Someone unplugged the Big Apple
Zovi, General Mechanics (February 14)
Of Franco-Chinese origin, having spent ten years in China and residing in New York, where she works as an illustrator for the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority), Zovi launches into comics with a first autobiographical album entitled someone unplugged the big apple. She recounts, here, a completely chaotic arrival in the American metropolis, in the midst of the COVID crisis, during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, while the United States is going through one of the biggest political crises in their history. Add to that problems with immigration papers and a professional reinvention, and we have fertile ground for a story that we are promised filled with humor, by a young author of whom we have seen a few boards revealing a certain talent. for drawing.