European Comics in Official and Fan Translations
When the cat Brina goes on vacation with her owners, things don’t quite turn out as planned. Should our loved ones be held on to and protected, or should we let them go, to live out their own adventures? A charming and spirited graphic novel from scriptwriter Giorgio Salati (Disney, RAI) and artist Christian Cornia.
Ludwig has never been a soldier. A childhood injury left him lame in one leg, which has allowed him to largely sit out the war on the sidelines, as a translator. Fleeing his passionless marriage, he accepts an assignment in Japan, allowing him to return to the land of his youth. But the year is 1945. It is not a good time to be Japanese, or German… much less stationed in Hiroshima. Ludwig is tempted by love and, in furtively tampering with his translations of classified documents, by the chance to do something heroic. But none of that will save him…
Norman was a talented sax player in his heyday, until he lost his musical gift seemingly overnight and fled to France. Over thirty years later, with the millennium approaching, he finds himself confronting unresolved questions, a former lover, and diehard fans who have taken obsession to a new level…
In the aftermath of the murderous attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices on January 7, 2015, cartoonist Catherine Meurisse struggles with the trauma of losing her friends and looks for a way to move forward with her life and her art. She soon enters a dissociative state where she loses her memories, especially those associated with esthetic experiences. This leads her on a quest to seek beauty and lightness in the world around her with the help of guiding lights including Proust, Stendhal, Baudelaire, and two provocative graffiti artists. Throughout the book, Meurisse uses her limber cartooning and dynamic writing to weave a tapestry of raw emotion and philosophical reflection laced with a strain of wry humor.
Life isn’t easy for little Brenda, whose single teenage mom is immature, selfish, and prone to violent mood swings. Brenda takes care of her as best she can, missing out on many childhood joys to be her mother’s Little Mama. Sadly, her already challenging existence gets even worse when her mom’s abusive boyfriend moves in. Brenda loves having a new baby brother, but her home life soon turns into pure living hell. Finally she reaches her breaking point, and has to find the courage to save herself and embark on the difficult road towards recovery. A heartbreaking and inspiring tale of abuse and survival.
Sam Beauclair’s life has hit the skids. He’s late with his second novel, his marriage is on the rocks, and the bank is foreclosing on the apartment. In desperation, he flees to Melvile, a small country town where he once spent idyllic vacations with his novelist father. There he finds work as a handyman, and when a pair of siblings befriend him, he slowly begins to come out of his shell. But is it a fresh start, or just willful denial of reality? Will Sam’s past and mistakes catch up with him, and will he ever escape his father’s shadow?
When Julien arrives in Michigan to meet his wife’s American family, he gets to know the American Midwest, as well as some unusual cousins. But above all, he meets Odette, his French great aunt with what one might call a resilient personality. Originally from Paris, she married an American soldier at the end of the Second World War. Like her, 200,000 other European “war brides” left behind their families and their countries to be with the G.I.s they loved.
This is the fascinating life story of Robert Louis Stevenson, the beloved author of classics such as “Treasure Island” and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” from his early days as an aspiring writer to his first published works, his love affair and then marriage to Fanny Osbourne, his success as an author, his many travels across Europe and the U.S., and finally his voyage to the islands of the South Pacific, where he eventually built the house of his dreams. Stevenson never let his weak lungs (which he referred to as pirates waging a battle inside him) and delicate constitution stand in the way of his insatiable thirst for adventure, living life on his own terms until the very end.
Meet the children: Airbus, with his barely contained rage, Angel, whose sweet looks belie a mercurial cruelty, and Mongol, who talks to insects and stray animals. They spend their days weaving baskets at Save the Innocents, an outreach foundation. They fantasize about the friendly blonde aid worker Anika, are wary of her blandly affable Belgian boss, and mock her short husband Recto, who speaks their language so poorly. Meanwhile, gunfire thunders daily in the hills just outside town. But when their old friend Black Domino resurfaces full of schemes and swagger, will the looming violence find an echo in the children’s hearts?
When an Aryan baby is born to a Muslim woman living in Copenhagen, her husband’s family shuns her. But DNA tests prove Sorraya’s fidelity. And she is just the first in what soon becomes a rash of similar cases across Europe, threatening widespread social change even as they ignite passions in immigrant communities and incite familiar racial hatreds.
What mysterious conspiracy connects a retrovirus, a young slacker biogeneticist, a former punkette, a dogged reporter, and pharmaceutical giant Keoxis? Clarke delivers a contemplative slice of near-future science fiction paced like a thriller but full of probing questions about our prejudices.
”The larger message, rightly or wrongly, is that understanding and empathy happens organically, though sometimes that means it never happens or happens too slowly, and that is perhaps part of the tragedy of the human condition.” The Comics Beat