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Post by foxley on Oct 11, 2016 17:58:49 GMT -5
Was in my LCS the other day and saw a comic called Barracuda, which is about pirates. It looked interesting, but I thought I'd check here before I invested in it.
Has anyone read it? Is it any good?
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
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Post by Confessor on Oct 12, 2016 5:35:36 GMT -5
Was in my LCS the other day and saw a comic called Barracuda, which is about pirates. It looked interesting, but I thought I'd check here before I invested in it. Has anyone read it? Is it any good? Funnily enough, I was reading a review of the first volume of this a week or so ago. The consensus was, pretty pictures and good storytelling, but it took much too long setting up the story and, as a result, the reviewer felt that by the end of the book, the series still hadn't reached its full potential. I've not read it myself, so take that critic's verdict with as many pinches of salt as you want. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 23, 2016 19:09:31 GMT -5
Was in my LCS the other day and saw a comic called Barracuda, which is about pirates. It looked interesting, but I thought I'd check here before I invested in it. Has anyone read it? Is it any good? Haven't gotten around to reading it yet. The Long John Silver books, from Cinebook, are excellent, as is Scorpion, about a swashbuckling hero, in Italy. |
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Post by foxley on Oct 23, 2016 20:02:36 GMT -5
Was in my LCS the other day and saw a comic called Barracuda, which is about pirates. It looked interesting, but I thought I'd check here before I invested in it. Has anyone read it? Is it any good? Haven't gotten around to reading it yet. The Long John Silver books, from Cinebook, are excellent, as is Scorpion, about a swashbuckling hero, in Italy. I loved Scorpion, and it was this that made me start looking for another swashbuckling European comic. I think I'll buy the first volume of Barracuda and check it out. I may also see if my LCS has the Long John Silver book. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 23, 2016 20:42:09 GMT -5
Haven't gotten around to reading it yet. The Long John Silver books, from Cinebook, are excellent, as is Scorpion, about a swashbuckling hero, in Italy. I loved Scorpion, and it was this that made me start looking for another swashbuckling European comic. I think I'll buy the first volume of Barracuda and check it out. I may also see if my LCS has the Long John Silver book. The one I wish someone would translate for the English market (well, US market) is Barbe Rouge, by Charlier, from the old days of Pilote. I've seen the art and it's fantastic. I have a few pdfs, in French; but, that's it. |
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Post by foxley on Oct 26, 2016 20:35:13 GMT -5
I bought the first volume of Barracuda, and it is a decent enough read. It is mostly concerned with establishing the characters and setting up the conflicts that will drive the story. As such, it is a little slow, but the plot promises to snowball rapidly, with multiple characters and their goals on a collision course. My one big complaint is that Cinebook's censorship is a lot more obvious here. While this was present in The Scorpion it was generally well-done and unobtrusive. However, in Barracuda one female character is topless for an action sequence (for plot reasons, I will add. She had been stripped to the waist to be flogged and then tried to escape and was chased through the jungle). Cinebook have retouched the art so it looks like she does not have breasts, which is kinda jolting. What is it with America that graphic violence is totally acceptable, but that exposed breasts signal the end times?  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 26, 2016 20:48:01 GMT -5
I bought the first volume of Barracuda, and it is a decent enough read. It is mostly concerned with establishing the characters and setting up the conflicts that will drive the story. As such, it is a little slow, but the plot promises to snowball rapidly, with multiple characters and their goals on a collision course. My one big complaint is that Cinebook's censorship is a lot more obvious here. While this was present in The Scorpion it was generally well-done and unobtrusive. However, in Barracuda one female character is topless for an action sequence (for plot reasons, I will add. She had been stripped to the waist to be flogged and then tried to escape and was chased through the jungle). Cinebook have retouched the art so it looks like she does not have breasts, which is kinda jolting. What is it with America that graphic violence is totally acceptable, but that exposed breasts signal the end times? America was founded by a bunch of prudes who were ashamed of sex. Except Ben Franklin. It's not just Cinebook. When Viz translated Crying Freeman, they did a bit of editing; not of the women, just any time a penis appeared. There is a scene, in the first volume (I think, it's been quite a while), where Freeman gets his dragon tattoo (which covers his torso) and is feverish, due to the reaction to the needle. The female tattoo artist (of course) performs a sexual act to help Freeman deal with the fever, somehow. The male member is absent, yet the female actions are more than enough to give you the shape of what is missing. Why is the actual image of the genitalia worse than the suggestion of what is happening? In this country, we censor movies because of sex and language; but, rarely violence, except in the extreme. The rest of the world censors the violence and leaves the rest. Maybe Phillip Jose Farmer was on to something, in A Feast Unknown. |
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Post by junkmonkey on Nov 2, 2016 18:40:45 GMT -5
much as I love the art in these books that lettering is awful. I couldn't read that.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 2, 2016 20:06:01 GMT -5
much as I love the art in these books that lettering is awful. I couldn't read that.
That's not the original lettering; it's just a translation I pasted over the originals for the sake of our regulars! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 2, 2016 21:53:06 GMT -5
much as I love the art in these books that lettering is awful. I couldn't read that.
That's not the original lettering; it's just a translation I pasted over the originals for the sake of our regulars! I kind of wondered, whether it was re-lettered. i read the NBM editions and the lettering didn't look like that. |
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Post by junkmonkey on Nov 3, 2016 9:35:01 GMT -5
My apologies. I thought that was the way it was being published.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 3, 2016 11:53:27 GMT -5
's all cool. No way you could have known.
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 5, 2016 6:32:43 GMT -5
So a new une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par... came out. No10 if I count correctly and it's a big one. 84 pages (not counting sketches and paintings in the back). La Lumiere de Borneo (The Light of Borneo).
Creators
Art this time is by Frank Pé, a Belgian artist who has worked for Dupuis for about 40 years now with a fondness for drawing animals, which shows in this comics.
Writing duties are for Benoît Zidrou Drousie (or just Zidrou), also a Belgian. A former teacher who has written mostly short gag comics and parodies.
Not that familiar with either before, so I have little to say about them, but they do a great job here. The result is one of my favourite episodes of this series (a series which is pretty great all around so far), though it will take some time getting used to a Spirou wearing glasses.
Plot:
The story starts with Spirou quiting his job at Humo magazine (this magazine actually exists in real life) when his new editor tries to pressure him into rewriting an artical that is very critical of a large multinational. Now with free time to spare, Spirou decides to live the good life, focusing on painting (he has no talent) and just hanging around, but is asked by his old acquintance (friend is too strong) Noe (a character from Franquin's Spirou episode "Bravo Brothers") to take care of his estranged teenage daughter. Fantasio, as usual, decides to stick with the magazine and focus on another story dealing with popular paintings created by a mysterious artists. Meanwhile the Count is dealing with a plague of black mushrooms that are quickly spreading all over the world.
The Count's storyline feels superfluous, though it's connected to the main story in ways that are still not completely clear to me. Fantasio and Spirou's story quickly cross. There is not much adventure here, most of the story is focused on reconciling Noe and his daughter Wildy. The story is quite a bit darker than the usual Spirou stories: there are deaths, depressions and even some non-sexual, but full nudity.
Characters
Spirou is his usual self, maybe a bit more laidback than usual. He's good intentioned, but not experienced dealing with a moody teenage girl. He also has a romantic interest this story (no, not Wildy), who doesn't really play a role in the whole story.
Fantasio is pulled between trying to do the right thing and keeping his job, which makes him (as usual) sympathetic to me.
Noe is not a nice person, he's fantastic in dealing with animals, but when it comes to his daughter he's outright hostile (not even bumbling father trying to understand his teenage daughter, he's cynical, grumpy and insensitive). Wildy is a teenage girl who has suffered a lot over the years, she is moody, but you can understand why: all those she loved have died over the years, when she tries to get close to her father, he pushes her away.
Art
Artwise most of it is in the usual cartoony style that fits Spirou, but the paintings (mostly of animals merged with other animals) are beautifully painted and are my favourite thing artwise in the story. Many animals in the story itself are also beautifully rendered.
Overall: Recommended!
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 5, 2016 18:32:27 GMT -5
So a new une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par... came out. No10 if I count correctly and it's a big one. 84 pages (not counting sketches and paintings in the back). La Lumiere de Borneo (The Light of Borneo). CreatorsArt this time is by Frank Pé, a Belgian artist who has worked for Dupuis for about 40 years now with a fondness for drawing animals, which shows in this comics. Writing duties are for Benoît Zidrou Drousie (or just Zidrou), also a Belgian. A former teacher who has written mostly short gag comics and parodies. Not that familiar with either before, so I have little to say about them, but they do a great job here. The result is one of my favourite episodes of this series (a series which is pretty great all around so far), though it will take some time getting used to a Spirou wearing glasses. Plot:The story starts with Spirou quiting his job at Humo magazine (this magazine actually exists in real life) when his new editor tries to pressure him into rewriting an artical that is very critical of a large multinational. Now with free time to spare, Spirou decides to live the good life, focusing on painting (he has no talent) and just hanging around, but is asked by his old acquintance (friend is too strong) Noe (a character from Franquin's Spirou episode "Bravo Brothers") to take care of his estranged teenage daughter. Fantasio, as usual, decides to stick with the magazine and focus on another story dealing with popular paintings created by a mysterious artists. Meanwhile the Count is dealing with a plague of black mushrooms that are quickly spreading all over the world. The Count's storyline feels superfluous, though it's connected to the main story in ways that are still not completely clear to me. Fantasio and Spirou's story quickly cross. There is not much adventure here, most of the story is focused on reconciling Noe and his daughter Wildy. The story is quite a bit darker than the usual Spirou stories: there are deaths, depressions and even some non-sexual, but full nudity. CharactersSpirou is his usual self, maybe a bit more laidback than usual. He's good intentioned, but not experienced dealing with a moody teenage girl. He also has a romantic interest this story (no, not Wildy), who doesn't really play a role in the whole story. Fantasio is pulled between trying to do the right thing and keeping his job, which makes him (as usual) sympathetic to me. Noe is not a nice person, he's fantastic in dealing with animals, but when it comes to his daughter he's outright hostile (not even bumbling father trying to understand his teenage daughter, he's cynical, grumpy and insensitive). Wildy is a teenage girl who has suffered a lot over the years, she is moody, but you can understand why: all those she loved have died over the years, when she tries to get close to her father, he pushes her away. ArtArtwise most of it is in the usual cartoony style that fits Spirou, but the paintings (mostly of animals merged with other animals) are beautifully painted and are my favourite thing artwise in the story. Many animals in the story itself are also beautifully rendered. Overall: Recommended! I've been reading the Cinebook editions, which is mostly Tome and Janry, though they've done a couple of Franquins. I really enjoy the series and it joined Valerian as a "must buy," whenever they release a new one. I've been very happy with Cinebook's mix of genres and age-ranges, for their translations. nice broad cross-section and I really haven't been disappointed with anything, except that I wish they had some of the older Buck Danny. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 11, 2016 17:38:01 GMT -5
Thorgal #35: Le feu écarlate (The Scarlet Fire) Written by Xavier Dorison
Art by Grzegorz Rosinski
What went before: Thorgal's youngest son Aniel, has been kidnapped by a cult of Red Wizards. In the last issue he managed to catch up with the Wizards and find out that they believe that Aniel is the reincarnation of their founder, but he's too late. The Wizards have started their ritual and Aniel is now Kanahiel, the Grand Wizard of the cult, incarnate. Summary: Prisoner of the Red Wizard, Thorgal tries to reach his son and the cold-hearted Aniel turns out to be not as controlled by his ancestor's spirit as it appears at first. But is it really any better to have an emotional child with the power to turn burn the world? Plot: New writer time: Dorison already wrote an issue of the five billion spin-offs that Thorgal has now that Van Hamme has left (spin-offs which I haven't been following), but the switch from Sente to Dorison is pretty smooth, probably because Rosinski has been the main force behind Thorgal for these past few years. I do hope that this story-arc will be wrapping up soon enough, I'm actually more interested in Jolan's story right now than Aniel's. Plotwise it's Thorgal trying to save his son basically from the Dark Side. The Red Wizards have some advantages, Thorgal has been a pretty terrible father to the boy over the years (not all his fault of course) and the kid may be closer to them, but Thorgal has an ace they don't know about: Aniel's mother, Kriss of Valnorr is alive (again... long story, nevermind). Art: It's Rosinski, he's been doing this for 40 years now (though he did reinvent himself about halfway through by painting instead of pencilling), so you pretty much know what you're getting. Lots of fire this time as Aniel has the power to turn water into fire so we get everything burning in large illustrations. Most of the story is taking place in dark dungeons, caves and temples though and when we get outside it's a city in a desert, so not much landscapes around this time. Grade: 7/10: It's a pretty standard Thorgal story here, I'm missing the heights of The Archers or The Invisible Fortress. Dorison taking over seamless is both a pro and a con this time. Luckily I also got some Van Hamme comics to read, so let's see how those work out (Publisher Le Lombard has an action right now (not sure if it's just a promotion or a celebration. Le Lombard was founded 70 years ago, so it might be that) where several series have their first issue available for 3 euros and there are some great series there (sadly I've most of them, but I picked up Van Hamme's Rani which I haven't read yet. Other series include Jeremiah, Largo Winch, Djinn, Thorgal, XIII, Lady S, Barracuda, Michel Valliant and Alfa. Maybe more on Rani when I've read the issue. Other series include a new Meta-Baron series by Jodorowsky, which I finished, but it lacks the crazyness of the original Meta-Baron series. |
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