19.10.2023
Banned from a pseudo society in a world mired in its apocalypse, Aster can only count on his comrade Wallis, as transfixed with affection as he is ignored by everyone. While their clan finds itself under the threat of a terrifying power and the demons of the past resurface, the wild woman will reveal herself, thwart the safeguards of a corrupt feudal society, lighting the first fuse of a freedom movement.
Based on a “David against Goliath” type story, Merwan offers a very classic adventure, full of imposed figures, pleasant, if not striking. From the first pages, the fact that the author is above all a graphic designer is obvious, and the promise of being entitled to a sort of portfolio of the extent of his talent is probable. In a globalist style, evoking as much the European school as Otomo, even Frank Miller, it shines in its strong points, the very origin of its possible weaknesses: the colors are absolutely magnificent, airy, offering a truly personal palette, without forgetting to be efficient. Without falling into watercolor drawing, he manages to retain these qualities of transparency which make the discipline specific. And there a few problems arise when he takes up the pen to establish the outlines, a process which he could perhaps have done without. When it comes to drawing fine lines, the process remains discreet and effective, but as soon as the brush is picked up to paint more substantial blacks, the subtlety loses, the contradiction of the techniques becoming almost glaring.
Beyond these stylistic considerations, we must recognize that the ambition of the project is essentially narrative: in a form of absolute decompression, there is room for long action sequences choreographed to the extreme, almost cinematographic, certainly iconic, but paradoxically not very dynamic. , because everything seems suspended, frozen. The whole thing remains impressive - the build-up to a game of post-apocalyptic dodgeball in three acts is quite enjoyable -, while revealing the limits of an author who, although ambitious, still shows a good margin progress for the future.
Sometimes, the impression is felt of reading the production bible of an animation project, pleasant, although without real surprises, offering a very conventional discourse on the excesses of authority, from the family level to that of the state. Not to mention the dialogues which remain quite basic, even obsolete ("stupid"?!). Furthermore, what is the real translation of a context "Fontainebleau, 2068" (100 years after May 68?)? Only a few pages at the beginning mention it. Quickly, the action could take place in Japan as well as in Russia, this fact not really being embodied in the story.
Fortunately, while the enterprise continues without displeasure, but without passion, the reader finds himself truly taken by the stakes in the second round of the game which articulates the adventure, an epic breath suddenly igniting a story that had hitherto been humming along. Between over-cut action and vaguely funny jokes, a real emotion sets in, that of fervor for the underdog, one of the great successes of a youth album which poses more as a promise of the future than as a work of maturity, and that’s already not bad!
Apocalypse, Europe Comics
11.03.2019
Gabriel dreams of buying back Malaterre, an estate built by his ancestors in the heart of the jungle over a century ago. Of going there, living there, and restoring the Lesaffre family honor. Of passing it on to his children. But he knows nothing about the country or managing a timber forest. He will have to risk it all, taking his two eldest with him and separating them from their mother and younger brother. All of this, of course, is completely crazy.
Drama, Europe Comics
11.03.2019
Timo’s been preparing to be an adventurer his whole (short) life—devouring books of valiant feats and incredible journeys, learning about navigation, botany, and other survival skills. But now that he’s taken the plunge, venturing alone into a new land, the fairy tale has become all too real. Will he fulfill his wish and become a true hero, noble steed and legendary weapon included? More importantly, will he be able to distinguish friend from foe?
Adventure, Europe Comics, Kids
07.03.2019
Renée Stone is a successful English mystery novelist and an independent free spirit. In this first book of the series, she finds herself in Ethiopia for the coronation of Haile Selassie I in 1930. There she meets John Malowan, a bumbling archaeologist whose grandfather unearthed the Epic of Gilgamesh. Unbeknownst to Stone and Malowan, a host of parties are conspiring to take advantage of the grandson in order to get their hands on a hidden treasure that dates back to Mesopotamian times. Renée Stone finds herself in the midst of a murder mystery full of colorful characters who could have come straight out of her novels.
Adventure, Europe Comics
03.03.2019
Meet Jack Irons. He’s a cold son-of-a-bitch, but he’s got a gift. He can look at a disaster—a fallen bridge, a collapsed skyscraper—and see everything: the physics, the material stresses, the behind-the-scenes insight into how it all went wrong, claiming lives and property. Makes sense: he’s a structural engineer. And when he applies his brilliant, analytical mind to crimefighting, then the truth will out. Because that’s what he cares about. Not people. Not feelings. The truth. And the truth is about to turn a little Canadian fishing village upside down…
Europe Comics, Thriller
02.03.2019
The good-looking and hotheaded Nadau, carpenter by trade, is also one of the finest blades of the country: it is said he is the son of the legendary D’Artagnan. On top of that, he’s fallen in love… with not one girl, but two: the beautiful Roma twins Angelina and Leane, fiery and fiercely loyal. But a curse seems to be upon the happy lovers, driving them halfway across the world looking for a place to call home. Along the way, they will become the Gypsies of the High Seas.
Europe Comics, Pirates
25.02.2019
For Ian Mallory, life as he knew it ended the day his wife was murdered, in an attack that sent him into a coma. Three years later, he’s woken up, with the bullet still lodged inside his brain. Any attempt to remove it will kill him, but that isn’t all: because of the bullet, he feels emotions several hours after they occur. An affliction that may be a gift—at least in the eyes of the NSA.
Crime, Europe Comics, Thriller
21.02.2019
In a post-apocalyptic future, Medina has become the last bastion of a humanity fighting the nightmarish and infectious creatures known as the Drax. The shield that protects the city won’t hold out much longer, and humankind appears to be condemned. The only ray of hope is a “package” ripped from the Drax by the soldier, Karloff. This package is in fact 14-year-old Hadron, said to carry within her the Great Redemption. But will the humans manage to control this young girl’s force?
Apocalypse, Europe Comics
21.02.2019
Born into an aristocratic family, Percy Bysshe Shelley has no intentions of following in his father’s political footsteps. The rebellious young poet finds himself drawn to more scandalous pursuits: supporting anti-royalist and anti-clerical causes, championing vegetarianism, and extolling the virtues of atheism, an act that ultimately leads to his expulsion from Oxford University.Book 1 of “Shelley” lets us dive into Percy’s tumultuous childhood, giving us an insight into his friendships with some of the finest progressive thinkers of the times, not to mention his blossoming relationship with his future wife and author of “Frankenstein,” Mary.
Europe Comics, History, Humor
20.02.2019
Meet Leo Sully-Darmon, a hot-shot photogenic criminal defense attorney who takes on cases nobody else will touch. Leo loves a good cause just as much as he loves a good photo-op, and he happens to excel at both. But when he agrees to represent a woman accused of crimes against humanity during her former life as an officer in an Iraqi detention camp, he may have bitten off more than he can chew, as antagonistic forces conspire to cast doubt on his client’s innocence and start digging up dirt on his own life… complete with dark secrets from both the past and the present.
Drama, Europe Comics, Thriller
