In Review - ‘Black Water Lilies’ from Europe Comics.

Black Water Lilies.

Script by Fred Duval, Michel Bussi 

Art by Didier Cassegrain

Full Colour - 144 pages 

£7.99 (digital only).

Published by Europe Comics (originally published in French by Dupuis). 

The Story - ‘Three willful women: one old wicked, one young and selfish, and the third in the prime of her life. A man murdered three ways: stabbed, bludgeoned, and drowned in a stream. The mystery brings brash young Inspector Laurenç to the postcard-perfect Norman village of Giverny, home to Impressionist Claude Monet’s gardens and studio. Like any small town, Giverny has its secrets. But have they to do with greed? Lust? Missing paintings? Jealous husbands? Laurenç soon finds himself head over heels for a pretty schoolteacher—and in over his head. Dider Cassegrain brings Michel Bussi’s bestselling novel to life in lush, delicate watercolors worthy of the famous canvases that lend the book its name: Monet’s immortal Water Lilies…’

This is a comics adaption of Michel Bussi’s prize winning novel of the same name.

Review - The cover drew me in with it’s astonishingly on point joining of the cross generational murder mystery I was about to read and the gentle and peaceful (mostly) art of Oscar-Claud Monet. It really is quite something!

This is a story of a whodunnit thriller set in the town of Giverny in rural France. A place that is increasingly being ruined by the ‘English speakers’ there to soak up the inspiration and locations of the Lily paintings of Monet and more. It is also a small enough town that it’s occupants know everything about each other and live in a countryside of scandal and rumours.

‘’Observe and Imagine.’’

Intertwine the very French twist on the Midsommer Murders vibe and quality of the investigation with the light and scenery of the paintings of the impressionist himself. There is also an added smouldering passion at play here between the investigator and the main suspect’s wife. A cleverly paced and played out game of romantic and sexual temptation that may well muddy the waters. These women, and one in particular, may be adorned in the flowery dresses of the rural French countryside but they have the talons of the Noir femme fatale.

At it’s hear this album has a really intriguing puzzle that you get all the necessary clues along the way for the reader to solve it. I can see why this was a bestseller and I can also see why it would seem quite a task to tackle adapting. But the comic totally works and that is both a credit to the story and the art.

The action is observed by an old woman who self-describes herself as the ‘witch’ of the area. Who is she and how does she narrate the events to come becomes an integral part of the story. Photographs appear that accelerate the intrigue and the Detective Inspector and his staff pursue these with vigorous professionalism (at least to start with.....). Later this Detective may well overstep the boundaries of his own pursuance of truth and become a part of the conspiracy himself? (I'll leave you to find out).

‘The crime of dreaming. I consent to its creation’

• Louis Aragon ‘Nymphee’. 

The intrigue and extremely logical and detailed investigations are not carried out in the sterile confines of a police office and interview room but rather in the streets, cafes, meadows, cathedrals and riverbanks of the town and surrounding area itself. A place so beautiful and idyllic that it allows for the breathtaking artistic abilities of Didier Cassegrain to take flight. 

Cassegrain uses what appear to be gentle and blended colours to signify the personality and details of the people, landmarks and gorgeousness of the canvas he works upon. He then uses the flourish of a thicker black ink line to stake out the figures on his landscape. This art is really something to slow down and relish as you scroll onwards. I read this in the digital version on an iPad and the backlight of the device adds to the brilliant use of sunlight playing across the town. You can feel the dramatic summer heat in the air and the relaxation of the atmosphere in the grey/blue of the early evenings. For in a book so entrenched in not only a murder but also the images and history of Monet the art had to take centre stage. Every panel could be a print on your wall and it’s definitely a comic where you can marvel at each and every page. 

This is a book that I wish was a physical and translated copy. This is currently only available as a digital copy in the English language version.

This book is a must-read for fans of whodunnits and also for those with an interest in comics (and) fine art. It is also one of the best looking books you will read for sometime.

Highly recommended.

You can find out more about this book and others equally as stunning by visiting www.Europecomics.com and make sure that you sign up for the newsletter.

You can also follow this company on Instagram @europecomics and on twitter @EuropeComics. Thanks again to Irina Polianina for hooking me up with a review copy.

Here are some details on the creators from the Europe Comics site.

Born in 1965 in Rouen, France, Frédéric Duvalfirst studied history. He completed his master’s degree by studying the caricatures of a newspaper during the Dreyfus Affair. He published his first book, 500 fusils, in 1995. In 2008, for comics publisher Delcourt, he published the science fiction series Meteors, illustrated by Philippe Ogaki, before tackling an old dream with illustrator Zanzim: to adapt Tartuffe as a graphic novel. In 2010, he then published the first volume of the speculative fiction series Nico (Dargaud), alongside Philippe Berthet. In 2016, he wrote the tenth volume of XIII Mystery (Dargaud), under the direction of Jean Van Hamme. The year 2018 marked the release of his latest science fiction series, Renaissance(Dargaud; Europe Comics in English), alongside Ememand Fred Blanchard. His most recent work is the masterful literary adaptation Nymphéas Noirs (Dupuis; Black Water Lilies, Europe Comics), illustrated by Cassegrain.

Michel Bussiwas born in France in 1965. He was a geography professor at the University of Rouen before publishing his first novel in 2006 (“Code Lupin”), and is now one of the most widely read French authors, most notably for his crime novels. In 2011 he published the award-winning mystery “Nymphéas noirs,” adapted as a graphic novel in 2019 by Fred Duval and Didier Cassegrain (Dupuis; “Black Water Lilies,” Europe Comics). His books have been translated in dozens of languages around the world.

Didier Cassegrainwas born in France in 1966. He studied at a vocational drawing school as well as at the Gobelins school in Paris. He then went to work on television series for France Animation before joining Disney Studios for a year, followed in turn by a stint with a company called Story. That’s where he met Fred Blanchard and Olivier Vatine, who pushed him into the comics world. Tao Bang was soon born (Delcourt, 1999). In 2019, in collaboration with Fred Duval, he illustrated the masterful literary adaptation Nymphéas Noirs (Dupuis; Black Water Lilies, Europe Comics).

‘Deep down, people admire crazy’.

Many thanks for reading.

In Review - 'This Land' from Aroha Comics.

This Land.

Written by Mark Abnett.

Art by P.R. Dedelis.

Colours by Liezl Buenaventura.

Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

Edited by Verona-Meiana Putaraniu.

(Extra logos and designs by Seb Wikaraka Peni, Craig Peterson and Hekiera Mareoa).

Published by Aroha Comics.

28 pages - Full Colour - £4.00.

The Story - ' A world once destroyed is now reborn. A world where the gifts of the gods have been stolen by man and made their own. Now those Gods have returned and they are not happy with what they have found'

(Pages 2 & 3).

The Review - This is the second book by Aroha Comics and written by it's founder Mark Abnett that I have reviewed in the last couple of months. This is my favourite of the two and shows playful reverence to the myths and legends of a country far from our own but somewhere that Mark used to call home before moving to Scotland.

This is a twenty-eight page comic that makes no excuses for the complications of it's mythology that it presents on the page boldly to the reader. I spent some time Googling the terms and names whilst reading and it did add an extra dimension to the story. I would say that for most readers (who are not trying their best to get stuff straight to write a fair and balanced review) this might be a little much? If you are a bit of a folklore/myths and mysteries junkie it might well be up your street. In fact in the inside front cover introduction Mark Abnett directs readers to www.maoridictionary.co.nz to 'enhance your enjoyment'. Bravo sir!

Don't let the richness of the back story colour your preconceptions to what is actually a 'getting a super team together' opening issue. This is an approach that can often be a fun opener and there are elements of humour in the last act selection of the team. Some of the writing in the nine panel grid 'New Faces' sequence for me was a little on the nose and trying for a laugh it didn't quite hit. But the issue develops on from that and ends on a nice splash page that should lead to some interesting battles/punch ups and story beats. In fact the issue has some nice moments of personality and also of building the tension to the battles ahead.

I can see some Ed McGuiness in the art by P.R. Dedelis and it reminds me of some good web-comics art you can find with some anime/manga influences. The page two and three opening splash (see above) is stylistically and visually a great place to jump between a myth being told to kids and being presented with those telling it on the beach. However, there are a couple of panels that I found had me trying to work out what they represented. The overview (?) of the smoking crystal on pages six and seven being a good example of this. This is an overview of a large structure (explained later in the issue) but had me scratching my head for a few minutes. Many of the panels could also do with some added backgrounds in my opinion.

(Pages 6 & 7).

The colours often side heavily on the reds and they can become a bit much on a couple of pages with little else to identify what we are reading. But in the most part they are used well to identify characters and later on their personalities/powers. They also add to the feelings of wide-open skies and fire-based legendary gods. I've never been to New Zealand and this isn't putting me off at all!

On the whole I had fun with this and it is indeed pleasant to see the myths of countries and areas that we rarely see developed into the pages of a comic. The first issue is a slick package and adds some interesting material in the back matter as well as some teases of the inked line-work from issue 2. I'll certainly be watching to see where this series goes next.

 You can find a copy of this first issue with more about Aroha Comics (as well as some pretty great looking videos of computer generated moving panels) at https://www.arohacomics.com/ You can also find this company of Twitter @ArohaComics

Many thanks for reading.

DreamCage.com announces their Best Comic of the DECADE!!!!

Congratulations to the writer, artists and all the team behind the series Death Sentence for winning the Comic Of The Decade award over at The Dream Cage website.

The other three who were up for consideration were Griff Gristle, The Umbrella Academy and Habibi.

After the 83 votes were compiled in a tight competition between four titles this series came out on top with a whopping 63% of the vote!

There has been some tough competition over the last ten years that includes the following...

Hellboy in Hell.

Silver Surfer Black.

The Walking Dead.

Saga.

Super Fuckers.

My Favourite Thing is Monsters.

Headlopper.

Southern Bastards.

Giant Days.

Criminal.

The Final Incal.

Spinning.

Omac.

Asterios Polyp.

Black Science.

Wilson.

Airboy.

Minimum Wage.

Sabrina.

Carthago.

The River at Night.

Revival.

Outcast.

Building Stories.

Clyde Fans.

Batman.

Colonies.

Invincible.

Sara.

Immortal Hulk.

Love and Rockets.

The Parker graphic Novels.

Hip Hop Family Tree.

The Vision.

Mister Miracle.

Harrow County.

Nowhere Men.

Basquiat.

Alone.

Maggie Garrison.

Ultimate Spider-Man.

Sentient.

Ms Marvel.

Monstress.

Bitch Planet.

Black.

Daytripper.

BPRD.

March.

Deadly Class.

The Phoenix.

Eagles of Rome.

Action Comics.

Thor.

Daredevil.

Lumber Janes.

House of X/Powers of X.

This One Summer.

Savage Sword of Conan.

Copra.

Daytripper.

The Spectator.

Spirou.

In Waves.

Stranski.

Skip.

Snagglepuss.

Super Mutant Magic Academy.

Black Bolt.

Gideon Falls.

Sex Criminals.

The Nao of Brown.

The Dotter of My Eyes.

Andromeda.

The Inflatable Woman.

Love and Rockets.

The Astonishing X-Men.

Private Eye.

Mouse guard.

Asterix.

Usagi Yojimbo.

Trees.

Hawkeye.

The Hilda series.

And many more.

BUT DEATH SENTENCE IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE BEST COMIC OF THE DECADE.

Well done people!!!!

(Never Iron Anything does not endorse this award or anything else ever).

In Review - ‘The Sons of El Topo’ Volume 2 from Archaia.

‘The Sons of El Topo’: Volume 2 ‘Abel’

Written by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Illustrated by José Ladrönn.

Coloured by Ladrönn andugo Sebastian Fabio.

Translated by Edward Gauvin.

Lettered by Deron Bennett.

Published Archaia.

79 Pages - Oversized Hardback.

£14.99 - £10.00 (digital via ComiXology).

I talked about this book on the recent episode of The Awesome Comics Pod but felt that I’d like to repeat some of what I said and more importantly expand on a number of the thoughts I had at the time and continue to have a couple of days after reading.

Jodorowsky is someone that I have a troubling reader/viewer relationship with and a creator I consider is at once a fantasist and someone I wouldn’t want around kids (genuinely). I’ve seen the majority of his movies and read many of his comics and books and often wonder where he crosses that line of transgressively creative writer and deluded self-promoter. I also wonder at his predilections and who and why he likes provoke.......I wonder at these every time I look at one of his pages.

The second volume of The Sons of El Topo continues in the story that started in 1970 with the release of the titular El Topo at American cinemas (and if Jodorowsky is to be believed kick-started the midnight movie grind-house craze). It is by anyone’s standards a mixed piece of art. The narrative is messy and shifts through scenes and themes with the supposed changing moods of it’s writer, director and star Jodorowsky himself. It falls into that sub-genre of Acid Western and also into a mystical and quasi-religious diatribe of sex and murder and spilled internal organs. 

Jodorowsky can easily be ridiculed about his need to shout loudly about his own genius. He loves to sermonise his personally created legend and pummel the listener with his (possibly) acid flash-back theories. He is what my father used to say ‘A legend in his own lunchtime’. But I often smell a rat. More recently as I watch his eyes as he speaks I spot something of the snake oil salesman and his faux magical intensity. Like Grant Morrison’s space alien first contact story it seems falser with the passing of time. An impact not unfelt by the bullshitter as well as the person being muck spread upon.

So onto this volume. This is not an easy read. But to give credit where credit is due this is a gorgeous looking book. Hardback in that oversized album treatment we see so often in Belgium and France. It bears the mark of class that is José Ladrönn and you can marvel at his level of intricate thin-lined and imaginative pages all day.  I honestly think that without his input I would have given this a miss. It isn’t a long volume but gives over more than the expected story beats as we tumble through the bizarre structure and drama.

It opens with Cain on the back of a horse being ridden by a young nun. They are sinking into a swamp. In the first of Jodorowsky’s switch and bait catholic metaphors the nun initially seems to be standing miraculously on land with her head above the rushing water. But as Cain ducks his head beneath the waves he shouts that she is in fact standing on the back of the dead horse. He moves from a possible miracle believed by the naive and weak-willed to the cold hard reality of that world? Would the writer agree with me? I guess he might but I would also wonder at the same time if he isn’t agreeing through some attempt at jumping on a reader’s assumption and so gets to claim brilliance (once again).

The pair are saved by a raft full of an Amish style cowboy cult visually at first straight out of The Scarlet Letter. Cain and the Nun are dragged to a clearing that is strangely very dry on the sandy ground and a matriarchal haridon approaches them. The young nun is stripped and nailed down and spread with her legs open on the ground. This wizened woman has a small pack of oversized mountain cats on leads who snarl at those in her wake. This woman demands ‘The Holy Rape’. And that is exactly what is attempted. Not in the dark or in shadow or merely in an expositional narration, nope, we see it happening right there on the page plain as day. This moment has troubled me and I find it hard to rectify it’s appearance. I have thought long about why it should be displayed so and I have returned to the book to ponder. Is it merely for the titilation of those perverts with such interests or does it mean more? Look back at what has just happened in the swamp. This woman seems to have a messianic plot thread. The first man who attempts to penetrate her declares that she is a virgin and the second man has his penis and groin burnt by the attempted rape. What is the writer saying about the actions of religion and maybe the centuries long intentions of the Catholic Church specifically. What is he saying when he has a woman call out the order for the rape? 

Using sex as a weapon is something that has been used both theologically and literally by the church for pretty much as long as it has existed. I hope that this is meant as a warning and as a lesson and not just part of Jodorosky’s sandbox play....... I suppose that I will never know for sure.

You can see what I mean about this comic having troubling aspects.

You could write a book of many hundreds of thousands of words on the possible reasoning and implications behind the stories that Jodorowsky creates. They are always far from what you’d expect from a western or a space opera or even an autobiography. He intertwines the fantastical with the absurd with what can only be seen as po-faced lies. He floats in the relish of the surprise and the raised eye-brows of the reader. I feel that the almost obsessive confusion I feel and the need to read onwards is his crack cocaine, he needs that energy from his readers to force his way onwards and maybe a little bit downwards.

The madness in this second volume continues with added velocity.

In this single volume we meet the leader of a bandit army who believes that he is a dog and sits naked on the floor gnawing on a bone and barking. The aforementioned bandits all have small feathery wings and I can only guess for what reason. We find a castle under siege and manned by male nuns with crafted beards and curled moustaches. Does this show that the bandits are the good and the costumed religious zealots are ‘the bad’? (Then why is the leader a carnivorous dog? My brain is in a spin!)

In other sequences a dead mother hangs between the real world and the after-life and has an hypnotic fragrance that attracts butterflies and menfolk. There’s a dead forest filled with skull faced warriors and an army of Bishops, Centurions and Knights who are seemingly battling a last crusade knee deep in bright red blood.

I fully admit that I find myself drawn to this book and it’s combination of insanity and beauty. José Ladrönn is revelatory in his style and layouts. He makes use of the oversized format by adding all and every detail. You see and feel emotionally the confines of small rooms as well as feeling your vulnerabilities in the wide-open skies of his landscapes. The battles are brutal, the emotions are raised beyond the norm and the women can be sexy and predatory all at once. I’m struck by how the artist and the colourists handle the nature and animals that seem a very important part of the story and also of the hidden meanings I guess at often whilst reading. Eagles soar overhead, horses are tired and embattled, the sky is often grey and claustrophobic and the mountains roar at the edges of the panels.

I hope, with some trepidation that we see another volume. And that the Dog/Mexican Bandit finishes chewing on that limb!

I find this a hard book to recommend to those who are not aquatinted with the writer. If you are then you may have a copy already.

It certainly got me thinking and isn’t that what all good art should do?

Many thanks for reading. 

Finally Wham BAM - It’s my haul. (Part 1)

It was BAM at The Komedia in Baththis past weekend and a fine old time was had by all. I shifted a few copies of The Whore Chronicles, Cyn, Making Comics With Springworth and The Spark and shared a table with podcast brother Vincent Hunt. The day was possibly more on the whole like a local Zine Fair and there was a lot of great art, zines, comics and experimentation on show. 

I was tabling for the podcast and not for Nobrow on this rare occasion and found it to be a chuckle fest and social kind of event. I didn’t really get round to have a proper chat with everyone so apologies. (Everyone did seem impressed that I wore a tie though so I suppose that’s a plus?)

Antony is a little tired this morning....

I travelled down with Mr Adam Falp and he gave me this great sketch he’d done at his table. Watch this space in the new year for something pretty nutty that he and I have been working on..... 

Meanwhile go and grab a copy of Satan’s Library whilst stocks last. You can find him at https://www.adamfalp.com/ Or follow him on Twitter @adamfalp

Otherwise, I thought I’d share some of the purchases, gifts and swaps I got at the event.

First up is My Cherie Jane issue 1. This is a love letter to the actress, model and musician Jane Birkin from Raechel Leigh Carter (with some lovely design work by Dave Tinkham). This is quite the Zine and is A4, perfect-bound and full of interesting articles and photographs that I had never seen before.  It also oozes both coolness and affection for it’s subject matter. I also now want to watch The Idol as it was in part filmed in my home town!

You can follow RLC on Twitter @tinynoggin and at https://tinynoggin.wordpress.com/ She makes comics and zines unlike anything you’ll find out there and are always fun, wacky and informatively beautiful to read and own. 

Raechel (RLC) was also one of the organisers of the day and put on a great event that involved much hilarity and vegan sweets! I had an absolute blast and was ruined the day after!

It was great to see one of my collaborators on The Whore Chronicles at the event. Rik Jackson was there selling his excellent psychedelic detective series Heads as well as his other self published books. He kindly passed me the above two zines.

Three Panels of What is a project that he and his son Dylan worked and and actually got it’s theoretical birth at the BAM event in May this year. Rik drew three panels randomly and handed them over to his Dylan to write a story around what he saw. He would then in turn write three panels of undirected dialogue and hand them back to his Dad to interpret. Pretty Cool Huh!

Rik also gifted me his Horror Movie character inspired Inktober collection. It was great to see his drawing of Blade from the Puppet Master franchise that I suggested on Twitter! Rik is an enthusiastic and inventive artist and writer and also never appeared on an episode of Heartbeat in the nineties (long story).

Find Rik over on Twitter @gojacksongo and buy his stuff over at https://rikjackson.co.uk/

I swapped a copy of The Whore Chronicles with the mighty Paul Ashley Brown for a copy of his new comic Bonbon Fabrika and I’m really pleased that I did.

This is a small A5 black and white self published comic that reads like Micky and Donald (yes, those ones) lived in the world of Tijuana Bibles after crossing through the pages of Private Eye. It travels roughshod over the sensitive feelings of the politically righteous on all sides of the divide and is at once transgressive and hilariously irreverent and also diabolically relevant. Fun with firearms, rampant perversions (your mileage may vary), hard intravenous drug use, satirically subverted cartoon characters and political allegory fill this fucking glorious book!

Highly recommended and my favourite book of the day!

Find Paul over on Instagram @paulashleybrown and at his website https://www.paulashleybrown.co.uk/

More to follow.

Many thanks for reading.