Work for his pain
Drac Berthiaume’s journey is stunning, to say the least. He will have been a graphic designer, researcher, director, illustrator, even musician, before publishing, at the age of 76, THE talethe first volume of a trilogy entitled Corvusdevoted to the construction of a railway in Estrie in the 19the century. Set in 1860, this first part tells how workers working on the construction of a railway manage, with intelligence and muscle, to circumvent a promoter a tad stingy who promised to pay them only when the first train arrived at the station. True advocacy on the strength of a union of workers, The tale is carried by a very strong and organic drawing, which is not without evoking the line of the painter René Richard or, even, the first drawings of the members of the Group of Seven, who were the first to highlight the force of nature Canadian in their webs. In other words, it’s beautiful!
Francois Lemay
The tale
★★★1/2
Drac Berthiaume, Moelle Graphik, Quebec, 2023, 128 pages
An unequal fight
It’s crazy how, in fifteen years, social networks have sneakily interfered in our lives. Supposedly designed as tools for sharing and social bonding, these applications have become veritable plagues which, in exchange for a small dose of dopamine, take on a lot of who we are. This is the observation made by Bach, author and illustrator, who recounts, in So much for the likes, his social media rehab, modeled after the infamous booze-free month. And no, it’s not easy, but damn it we have time to do things, when we are not constantly leaning on his small screen! Told with humor, without moralism, this detoxification will have the effect of allowing us to see how difficult it is to fight against algorithms developed with hundreds of millions of dollars to keep us captive. That’s why we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves…
Francois Lemay
So much for the likes
★★★
Bach, New address, Montreal, 2023, 144 pages
We do not choose our family
Jules, a young artist who never lets go of his sketchbook, accompanies his big brother Martin, a bearded and solitary fellow, passionate about Viking myths. In the heart of the Norwegian wide open spaces, the two brothers separated by everything find themselves on Scandinavian soil with the firm intention of climbing the impressive mountain called Preikestolen. But the duo must also face a tormented past marked by a traumatic event which created a distance between the brothers and cracks in the family armor. Will the blood ties be strong enough to allow them to succeed in their existential quest? Signed by the new young prodigy of Belgian comics, Jean Cremers, this first graphic novel is a magnificent initiatory story inspired by the author’s own experience. The dense work benefits from a well-crafted narrative giving way to lively moments and moments of contemplative silence.
Ismael Houdassine
Cold wave
★★★
Jean Cremers, Le Lombard, Brussels, 2023, 256 pages
The Impossible Expedition
Freely inspired by the adventures of English navigator Ernest Shackleton, who had led an almost suicidal expedition to Antarctica, oliphants catapults us into 1914 within the motley crew of a ship set off to discover the South Pole. As the First World War tears Europe apart, 27 men head straight for the confines of white hell, an inhospitable land swept by icy winds and haunted by fantasies of the unknown. It is on the icebreaker that we meet the strange Arkadi, a boy in his twenties embarked on a journey of no return with his father, the adventurer captain Gordon Kentigern. Screenwriter Loo Hui Phang and designer Benjamin Bachelier offer a sumptuous epic and magical odyssey on human stubbornness (or madness?). Drawings with brushstrokes in watercolor colors explode each page of this demanding and moving comic strip which tells the story of survival at all costs.
Ismael Houdassine
oliphants
★★★1/2
Loo Hui Phang and Benjamin Bachelier, Futuropolis, Paris, 2023, 256 pages