Dracula
Bram Stoker — Illustrated by Christian Quesnel
Vampire stories never go out of style. As proof, not one, but two films on the subject are expected in the coming months. First, Nosferatuwhich will be released next December, followed by Dracula: A Love Tale by Luc Besson, which will be presented in 2025. And it is, among other things, to highlight these theatrical releases that we decided to launch a new edition of the original novel by Bram Stoker, this time illustrated by the Quebecer Christian Quesnel, who, after having offered us albums on Dédé Fortin, Offenbach and Corbeau, reconnects with his love of the gothic thing. We can therefore expect strong and dark watercolors, which should be totally in phase with this seductive, but oh so dangerous character. Note, also, that Stephen King signs the preface of this work, which we await with great impatience. More than the films, even.
Callidor, November 27
The prince of high-flying birds
Philippe Girard
Has everything been said about the creation of the famous Little prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry? Created in part while its author was stuck on a promotional tour in Quebec during the Second World War, this great novel of childhood may have been influenced by the meeting, among others, of the son of a friend with whom Saint-Ex stayed. Well, maybe not, not everything would have been told, if we are to believe the next album by Philippe Girard, who, after having, among other things, framed the lives of Leonard Cohen and the cannon maker Gerald Bull, is now interested in the behind-the-scenes creation of the novel that has sold more than 145 million copies worldwide since its release in 1943. With his well-known colorful style and poetic way of telling the lives of others, Girard offers us a story that may perhaps transform our understanding of the creation of this little prince. Intriguing!
Watermelon, October 22
Mom
Catherine
For her first album at Pow Pow, the young author Catherine (2019 independent Bédélys prize, for Apoa beautiful and touching debut album about death), offers us what we are promised will be a sad story about fatal illness and motherhood, but also about love and resilience. Fortunately, this character from Moma young mother suffering from an incurable disease, will not be alone to face this terrible enemy, since her daughter will stand by her side and, together, they will try to find light in this ordeal. From what we have learned, Pow Pow is very proud to launch this title, which has greatly moved all those who have read it — and having noted through her previous albums the great emotional intelligence of its author, we can only express our eagerness to discover this title, which should allow this young author to confirm her place in the world of comics here.
Pow Pow, September 24
Through the ray
Aude Bertrand
Noted mainly for her forays into the world of fanzines, the young French author Aude Bertrand tells, in this first album, the story of Jeanne, who is literally obsessed with cinema. Bored by her daily life, she begins to fantasize about an idea borrowed from one of the many films she has seen: creating a green ray, like in the Éric Rohmer film of the same title, which would allow her to read other people’s thoughts. Besides, didn’t Jeanne meet, in the park, two characters that she thinks she has seen in a film? Drawn in felt-tip pen, naked in the manner of a storyboard cinema and cut in the manner of a film, this album seems to be a kind of homage to our love of the big screen, especially to the capacity that cinema has to make us live the adventure of the lives of others by proxy. It remains to be seen if this comic will be the subject of a film adaptation, which would be a kind of consecration!
2024 editions, October 6
What I like is monsters. Book two
Emil Ferris
No one came away indifferent from reading it. What I like are monsters.ofEmil FerrisPublished in 2017, this 416-page brick, in pencil evoking pen on lined paper, is a diary drawn by a 10-year-old girl who lives in Chicago in the 1960s, who finds herself investigating the death of her neighbor, a Holocaust survivor. A true ode to difference, carried by magnificent drawings that touch the heart (especially since the author is an illustrator who had to relearn how to draw following an illness that left her paralyzed in her right hand), this second volume allows us to find this character of Karen, who is now a teenager, still obsessed by this murder that has not really been solved. We can’t wait to reconnect with this universe filled with magical realism and monsters from our childhood.
Mr. Toussaint Louverture, December 2