Artwork about art
We immediately recognize the touch of André-Philippe Côté when we open AMA, a romantic comic strip that he has been thinking about for 20 years and on which he worked part-time for a decade. The cartoonist well known as an everyday caricaturist The sun here frees itself from realism by featuring anthropomorphic characters to tell a story which, however, draws heavily on that of 20th century Quebece century. By recounting the journey of Ama, the woman artist who gives her nickname to the work, he evokes the clash between academicism and modern aesthetics, questioning in the process about contemporary art and its market. His words are eloquent, his scenario which flirts with journalistic investigation is skillful and his way of working with light is breathtaking.
AMA
Moëlle Graphik
248 pages
Funny trio
Known to magazine readers Spirou For 15 years already, the horsemen of the apocadise have nothing like brave knights or menacing musketeers: they are simply three rascals who excel at getting themselves into trouble. There are the two leaders and the follower, hilarious as he is so terrified at the idea of getting caught. On the road to adventure, the fourth album in the series, features with undeniable vitality a trio at the peak of their art of stupidity. With the boundless energy of their youth and their headlong logic, they imagine stupid plans and must redouble their creativity to avoid getting caught or correct the little cataclysms they cause. Libon, their creator, gives them a helping hand by surrounding them with adults who are not too smart… A delightful series to put in the hands of pre-teens aged 10 and over who are good readers.
Horsemen of the Apocalypse – On the Road to Adventure
Dupuis
70 pages
The wisdom of stories
Well is one of the first titles to be published under a new banner from publisher Dargaud called COMBO. This word, which is an abbreviated form of “combination”, aims to evoke the fact that this new collection will present works with multiple influences. That of the screenwriter Jake Wyatt and the designer Felicia Choo recalls, in its tone, the tales imbued with wisdom and magic from the Far East. Here we are dealing with a young woman called Lizzy who, to save her life and soul, must repay the coins she stole from a wishing well. However, as we suspect, it will not be enough for him to return the borrowed sum to get by: as a kind of witch guarding the well explains to him, it is not the pennies that have value, but the wishes… Lizzy will experience many adventures while seeking to redeem herself in this book illustrated with great finesse which also borrows from medieval literature.
Well
COMBO
177 pages
Dreaming of prehistory
Inspired by the origins of the rock arts that fascinate him, screenwriter Fabien Grolleau imagined a story that could explain both their origins and their functions. His ideas, he explains, were nourished by scientific texts. Painting with lions follows the trajectory of a woman, Ellé, from her birth to the age where she became a great “tracer”, a role which is halfway between the shaman and the painter in her prehistoric society. In doing so, he also seeks to restore to women the central place that researchers today believe they occupied in these ancient societies. The dreamy aspect of the scenario gives a solemn tone to the story beautifully presented by Anna Conzatti. Its line is sometimes reminiscent of that of the cartoon Once upon a time there was a manbut her most poetic scenes are rich and she is particularly convincing when drawing animals.
Painting with lions
Dargaud
188 pages
In red and dark
A “bloody peplum”, warns the publisher on the cover of Brigantus, new series drawn by Hermann (Comanche, Jeremiah, etc.). There is in fact only the red of the blood, or almost, which pierces the misty grays of the pages of this album whose scenario is by Yves H. We find at the beginning of this story a Roman centuria dispatched to Pictish territory, located in present-day Scotland. Hence the thick fog which envelops the characters, an atmosphere which suits Hermann’s style particularly well. The Brigantus of the title is a mirror cabinet with a perhaps somewhat simple mind who is kept apart from the rest of the company, but who is also its fiercest war machine. Accused of treachery, he will have to save his skin. This kick-off is visually gripping, but the scenario does not announce anything as strong.
Brigantus – Banished
The Lombard
56 pages
A personal approach
Aurélie Wilmet is a Belgian illustrator and cartoonist who notably completed a creative residency in Quebec a few years ago. She took the opportunity to develop what became Black spruce, a story on the borders of the imagination set in the snow desert of Nunavik. She imagines a female airplane pilot who shuttles between different villages in the North to transport goods and who is the subject of a rescue mission after an emergency landing. A little bit everything in this rather thin story seems flat. It is more through a very personal visual treatment that the creator gives momentum to her album. His often colored pages seem drawn with a felt-tip pen and his compositions evoke two-dimensional collage. His dreamy sequences in blue and white are particularly successful.
Black spruce
Super Lotto
208 pages