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Post by EdoBosnar on Oct 17, 2022 4:28:53 GMT -5
Margot in Badtownscript: Jerome Charyn, art: Massimiliano Frezzato (1991)  Margot, a young woman working in a laundrymat in Prairie Dog, Texas, aspires to become an actress and make it big on Broadway. So she hops on a bus and moves to Manhattan. She finds a shabby room in a ramshackle building and starts going to auditions, but finds that most directors and producers are more interested in getting into her pants than giving her a role. At the same time, she gets mixed up in some sort of street-level war between rival slumlords who have demolition crews purposefully damaging buildings to get impoverished tenants to leave so they can then turn around and sell the properties to unscrupulous developers. Then Margot - naturally, I guess - starts to lead a sort of Robin Hood gang of wreckers who somehow help the needy (it’s never made clear how) and apparently they’re also her all-male harem.  ( Margot just arriving in Manhattan, and finding it all less than idyllic) This was, erm, interesting. The art here is really quite nice throughout, but the writing is frankly pretty lousy. There’s a germ of a good story here, but the execution is really poor, in that the characters often do or say things that make little sense, the plot shifts on a dime, again with little reason or rhyme, and the dialogue is rather clunky in most of the book – in fact, it reads like a bad translation from another language into English, although I doubt that’s the case, since Charyn is American and this book was simultaneously published in both France and the US.
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Post by Dizzy D on Oct 17, 2022 12:30:11 GMT -5
Hey, a comic I own. I was sold on anything Frezzato back in the early 2000s (friend of mine was an artist himself and recommended Keepers of the Maser, but it never got finished in translation).
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 22, 2022 9:25:02 GMT -5
Any idea if these have been translated? I feel like I need to read this. Well, Slam_Bradley, looks like this is going to happen after all: recently Darko Macan mentioned something in a comment on fb about an English translation of the Marshal Bass books, so I shot off an e-mail to him asking for details and he told me that the first five books that were published in France will be released in English by Ablaze in 2023 - they'll be broken down into 10 single issues (floppies) first and then apparently collected into a book (he didn't specify whether it would be a tpb or hc). Very cool. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 1, 2022 15:37:43 GMT -5
After a one-year break, I found some time over the past few days to slowly read through the third issue of the excellent Croatian comics anthology book Strip revija (I wrote about the first two issues here and here).  This one focuses on comics published in the 1970s and 1980s, with an emphasis on the new and up-and-coming talents of that period, although the lead story (featured on the cover) is by Ivica Bednjanec who was by the early 1970s a well-established and beloved comics creator. He did a lot of comics and illustrations for children's magazines, although this story, starring Baron Franz von der Trenck, is very much aimed at an older audience.  The actual Trenck was the 17th century equivalent of a modern-day paramilitary warlord (with even some war-profiteering under his belt) who was eventually tried and executed for misconduct. In this story, which is rather comical, he's portrayed as more of a Casanova-like figure. Other highlights in this book are two stories illustrated by Igor Kordej, some of his earliest published work.  There's also a feature by Dubravko Mataković starring his anti-superhero Protman - basically a mutant guy with a pig's head who propels himself by, erm, the gaseous by-products of the digestive system released through a lower-body orifice.  This comic was extremely popular from the late 1980s through the early '00s. I have to admit, though, that I never really liked it very much. The art, while having a very grotesque underground look, always seems too busy to me, and as these panels indicate, it's packed with dialogue. The humor doesn't always land with me - but it's popularity means I'm in a minority in that view. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 10, 2022 14:39:43 GMT -5
And on to the fourth issue of Strip revija – reviews of previous issues can be found in the immediately preceding post and at the links found therein.  Again, a wonderful sampling of comics by Croatian creators, this time from the 1950s through the 1990s; roughly the first half contains long-form stories by some creators featured in preceding issues, so it starts off with a color adaptation of Jack London’s story “The House of Mapuhi” (from his collection South Sea Tales) by the legendary Andrija Maurović:  Followed by a humorous fairy tale by the Neugebauer brothers, Norbert (script) and Walter (art) involving a pair of bumblers sent off by a timid king to slay a dragon:  There’s also two more stories from the ‘classical’ generation of comics artists, including a Yugoslav Partisan war story drawn by Jules Radilović (mentioned in preceding reviews), and a few gag bits like this one by the also previously mentioned Žarko Beker:  The second half of this volume has a number of short pieces done by the younger generation of Croatian artists who mainly got their start right at the end of the 1980s and gained some international recognition by the mid- to late 1990s, like Goran Parlov, Danijel Žeželj, Esad Ribić and the late, great Edvin Biuković:  As well as Goran Sudžuka:  There’s also a few humor strips by Darko Macan and a few other artists less familiar to comics readers outside of the former Yugoslavia. There’s also two interesting text pieces at the end of the book, one a survey of local comics history in the 20th century, and another about a painter and set designer named Petar Zrinski who occasionally dabbled in comics, which reproduces a story he did for a newspaper in the 1950s.  It’s interesting because it’s done in that old, pre-WW2 style with captions at the bottom instead of word balloons or text boxes inside the panels, and also because it recounts a legendary story from the life of a medieval Croatian poet and writer named Marko Marulić. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 11, 2022 6:52:15 GMT -5
 I'm not sure if I'm going to do this regularly or not (knowing me, probably not regularly), but I thought it would be interesting to see a short overview of all comics coming out over here this week (filtered to take out the collections, translations of American comics and hardcover releases (issues usually come out at the same time in softcover and hardcover) to make it a bit more manageable.) So for this week we have: Another Angle, which I know absolutely nothing about. It's the author's first work as far as I can tell. We have our usual historical drama's with De Haan 1933, Oostende 1905, Luchtpost (Airmail), Normandie Juni '44 (I think you can figure it out) I know nothiing about the Circle of Minsk, but it has a couple of issues out. I suspect a contemporary thriller. Eppo is a longrunning comic magazine over here. It has changed names a few times, got cancelled, but it's back to the name it had in the early 80s. Helle Nice: You can't have a week in European comics without a series about airplanes and/or fast cars. Migali and Irena look like comics aimed at children, one more serious than the other. We have 2 Agatha Christie adaptions with a Hercule Poirot and a Miss Marple. New entries in long running series Suske&Wiske (issue 365) and De Rode Ridder (The Red Knight, issue 276). Wouden van Opaal and Lanfeust of Troy are works by Arleston. Interesting to see that Lanfeust has switched back to its original mini-series name- (It was a mini-series, followed by Lanfeust of the Stars and then Lanfeust Odyssey, but with this issue it returns to its original name. I haven't bought it, so it can be prequel or set in an earlier time.) We have some adaptions of classic stories with Ivanhoe, Sandokan and Zorro. Phobos looks like a Sci-fi series. Onder de Kiezels Schuilt het Strand (Beneath the Pebbles Lies the Beach) looks like a contemporary drama. Sancoma looks like a contemporary thriller. Sigmund is a newspaper 3-panel (usually) gag comic about a psychiatrist. I don't know anything about Sirocco, but I like the cover a lot so I'm going to buy it. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 11, 2022 9:02:25 GMT -5
Do you know who's in the creative team for that Zorro book? (And is it original or something translated?)
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 11, 2022 10:22:36 GMT -5
Do you know who's in the creative team for that Zorro book? (And is it original or something translated?) It's reprint from old material: Scenario by André Papazian and Art by Jean Pape.
Jean Pape died 20 years ago, but I don't think this was ever translated to dutch (or translated into magazines but never collected).
Bit of a further look and it seems to be a translation from this: |
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 17, 2022 10:20:16 GMT -5
 Once again filtered out obvious reprints, collections and translations of American comics to keep things comprehensible. For that matter, this week very few reprints (a couple issues of Marc Sleen's Nero and they at least have the gimmick that they are each translated into a different Flemish dialect (Brussels, Antwerp and Gent to be precise) and only 1 American comic (and it's a translation of Dog Man, so not even a superhero comic). So we have two of my favourite Cyberpunk series, dueling titles Carmen McCallum and Travis. Both set in the same world. See earlier in this thread for more about them. A couple of young adult adaptions with Elonal Holmes and the Grishaverse (which is an American comic in translation based on the Shadow&Bone books). I guess Hexeleintje also fits here (or maybe even for a younger audience), a series about a young witch. Also a Stephan Pastis Trubble Town translation. Maybe I should make my collage of covers after figuring out which titles are American comics and should be excluded by my arbitrary rules. Androids, Mages and Orcs&Goblins are all kinda anthology series with an overarching theme (Mages and Orcs&Goblins set in the same universe, which also includes Elves (the first series) and Dwarves). I've read a bit of Elves and one or two issues of Androids. I usually like anthologies, but it's not enough for me to get really involved. Some historical fiction with De Derde Zoon van Rome (Third Son of Rome), Madelieine, resistance fighter (WWII) and Venijn (Venom, Western) and maybe De Dode Monnik (The Dead Monk, description mentions somebody sent to a monastery against his will to live out his life, being too much trouble elsewhere, so that sounds like pre 21st Century at least). Where you publish an Enola Holmes, balance also requires a Sherlock Holmes adaption, so we get a Steampunk Sherlock Holmes adventure. Willy Linthout's Jaren van de Olifant (Years of the Elephant) is a rerelease (another title not fitting into my arbitratry rules). I've read some of Linthout's Urbanus decades ago, but didn't like it very much, but this seems to be a more serious work. It certainly is his most popular work as it was translated into other languages and won awards. Ze Snappen Het Niet is an adaption of Boris Vian (aka Vernon Sullivan)'s "They Do Not Realize". Also on my list to buy this weekend. Have not read anything by him before, but it sounds interesting. The 5 Kingdoms has passed me by completely so I can tell you nothing about it. The Pin-Up of the B-52: You can't have a week in European comics without a series about airplanes and/or fast cars. |
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Post by berkley on Nov 17, 2022 23:46:49 GMT -5
Some nice looking art in that latest Strip revija.
The Carmen McCallum covers look very nice - does the interior artwork match it in quality? Hard to tell from the few online samples I was able to find.
Helle Nice - again, nice cover, I wonder if the interior art holds up. A quick search looks encouraging - and also tells me that Hellé Nice was a real person, a French model, dancer, and race-car driver in the '20s. Might have to look for this one if I can find it in French or English.
I'm not big on adaptations so I'll probably never read any of the Agatha Christie b-d but I find myself feeling happy that they exist.
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 18, 2022 3:13:31 GMT -5
Some nice looking art in that latest Strip revija. The Carmen McCallum covers look very nice - does the interior artwork match it in quality? Hard to tell from the few online samples I was able to find. Helle Nice - again, nice cover, I wonder if the interior art holds up. A quick search looks encouraging - and also tells me that Hellé Nice was a real person, a French model, dancer, and race-car driver in the '20s. Might have to look for this one if I can find it in French or English. I'm not big on adaptations so I'll probably never read any of the Agatha Christie b-d but I find myself feeling happy that they exist. The covers of Carmen McCallum are the same artist as the interior, but for covers, they usually take more time. I generally like the art on its companion series Travis a bit better, but it's good enough. I read it mostly for the story though (though the art is the thing that drew me in). Keep in mind that there have been several artists on the series (I think they switched around issue 8 and will switch again on one of the issues that haven't been translated yet). The artist on this story is Matthieu Ménage (alias Emem). |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 18, 2022 4:36:27 GMT -5
Some nice looking art in that latest Strip revija. (...) There certainly is. Of course, since it was an anthology book aimed at highlighting the best of comics - mainly from Croatia and the former Yugoslavia - in the 20th century, the editor (a local comics uber-fan named Mladen Novaković) made sure to only choose the nicest-looking material to reprint. By the way, I should probably reiterate that these large format, square-bound issues (13 in all) were published over ten years ago - and only sold in comic book shops and a few bookstores. I've slowly been going through them and reading them cover to cover over the past year. (The current iteration of Strip revija is a saddle-stitched monthly with about 60 pages on newsprint paper, which I only occasionally pick up.)
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Post by mikelmidnight on Nov 18, 2022 13:18:40 GMT -5
The covers of Carmen McCallum are the same artist as the interior, but for covers, they usually take more time. I generally like the art on its companion series Travis a bit better, but it's good enough. I read it mostly for the story though (though the art is the thing that drew me in). Keep in mind that there have been several artists on the series (I think they switched around issue 8 and will switch again on one of the issues that haven't been translated yet). The artist on this story is Matthieu Ménage (alias Emem).
Every page I've seen from this strip enthralls me and I can't believe it's still untranslated!
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 20, 2022 16:14:19 GMT -5
So comics this week that I've read:
Lanfeust of Troy #9: I understand why they are going back to basics for the title. Lanfeust is back on Troy and working as a blacksmith again. There is a few years gap between the last issue of Lanfeust Odyssey and this issue and some things are not explained (or I've missed an issue somewhere? #8 was back in 2001, so it doesn't seem so): last issue Lanfeust's girlfriend Cixi mentioned that she was leaving for space again (and I thought he was going with her, but that's not clearly stated now I reread the previous issue). Anyway Cixi is not mentioned in this issue (nor is her niece Cixi mentioned, who was a character that disappeared halfway through Lanfeust Odyssey and this is my main issue with Arleston these days. He's writing a lot of different series these days and it appears that he's losing track of what was happening in each.
Anyway, we get two new characters joining Lanfeust (and mainstay Hebus obviously shows up as he's the most popular character in the series). Aspette is Lanfeust's niece (more or less) and wants to be a blacksmith and Attastrofe is training to become a Sage. The story here seems to wrap up in 1 issue (though I expect there will be some fallout next issue).
Luthon-Höge by Willem Ritstier and Michiel Offerman: 1952, the young inspector Reimst Cloisse arrives in the small village of Luthon-Höge after the death of his predecessor. The small quiet village has a lot of skeletons in its cupboards and its murder rate quickly goes through the roof. Reimst attempts to find the culprit are sabotaged by his superior though. Artwise it's very Franquin, plotwise I'm reminded a bit of soemthing between Knives Out and Hercule Poirot. It's more comical than those two though and it doesn't reach the heights of any of its influences. It wasn't bad, but I'm not eagerly awaiting a next issue should it ever come out.
Carmen McCallum continues where it was last issue: Corporations and environmental damage both threaten the world and Bugg, the AI born from Carmen's friend, has had enough. As all good cyberpunk it's all about the world as it is now (so we get a full page of Charles de Gaulle's efforts to give France nuclear weapons post WWII leading up to events in this comic). Not an issue to start the series with as it's in the mid of a story arc\, but there are a couple of pages here that will stick with me for a long time.
Travis: Travis, Vlad and their new friend are locked in a bunker, surrounded by an army of killer robots. Meanwhile the Narco's are about to win the Mexican civil war, the US wants to proof that the Narco's have illegally used an AI so that they can justify interfering in said war and multiple AI's are working against each other. It's the end of the current story arc so lots of moving parts are about to collide together.
I also bought Sirocco, but it is a 200+-page hardcover, so that's going to take a while. (And in non-comic, I'm reading Alan Moore's collection of short stories, Illuminations, and enjoying them so far.)
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Post by Dizzy D on Nov 23, 2022 7:16:02 GMT -5
 Week 47 and it's a heavy one (no American translations so far, but I'm early and very few reprints, though a few of them may have slipped in) as there have been new(ish) issues from some very "big" series. (Big being relative of course). Let's start in alphabetical order this time: We have new issues for Clifton (long running detective comic by De Groot, this one seems to be a reprint though), Jeremiah (Long running post-apocalyptic series by Hermann. At age 84 he is still publishing some excellent comics), Le Petit Spirou (aparently one that came out recently. Despite Tome's death in 2019 he's still credited so work that only now sees print?), Lucky Luke (classic comedy western, I stopped reading when Morris left), The Smurfs (Peyo is long gone, but the Smurfs still exist and comics are still coming out), Thorgal (a series I've left after Van Hamme left) and XIII (another series I left after Van Hamme left). Then we have 3 curiosities: A Marsupilami special by german artist Flix, a Valerian et Laureline By... issue with the original writer and a new artist and a Suske & Wiske by... which is a half-finished product of the original writer/artist finished decades later by a different creative team (I was disappointed by the previous execution of this idea, maybe this one will be better, but there are better things coming out). Those are some big titles with a lot of interest from both classic fans here as mainstream fans. Leaving us with F.C. de Kampioenen en De Kiekeboes: Both super popular family-aimed titles in Belgium (both series are among the top 5 best-selling series there). I've never gotten into either of them. Fun fact: F.C. De Kampioenen is based on a Belgian sitcom that ran for 20 years till 2011 and it's spin-off comic has very little to do with the original series as far as I can tell, but is still running. Both series having passed issue #100 quite some time ago. Buurtpolitie as far as a I can tell is a sitcom/police comic, but I haven't read any of it. Alfa: A contemporary thriller. Series has been running for a while, but I never got around to checking it out. Many more titles that attract me more. Game Keepers: dutch or belgian, looks to be aimed at a teenage audience. De Nacht Wacht: Nothing to do with the famous Rembrandt painting of the same name as far as I can tell, this Nightwatch is a fantasy series. Also haven't read it. Bellem by Servais: Looks like a historical drama with a hint of fantastical elements. The layout looks like a series that are usually one-shots by great artists. La bibliomule de Cordoue is written by Wilfrid Lupano who did an excellent Ravian. Foot Maniacs: A soccer/football (scratch depending on your geographical location) gag-strip comic. There is a World Cup going on (apparently) so obviously they are going to publish right now. I shouldn't have included Ringo as it's not a new comic but a collection of William Vance's western from the 60s. So a packed week, I'm defnitely getting Le Petit Spirou and the Valerian and Laureline and am interested in the Bibliomule, Marsupulami and Jeremiah. |
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