European Comics in Official and Fan Translations

A Real Job

Javi has left Spain for Berlin. He doesn’t speak German and hardly knows anyone there. He wants to be a comic book artist, but all his friends advise him to find a real job. He desperately needs to believe in himself, and to be believed. Burning with the desire to leave his mark, yet patient like any professional observer, Javi tells the story of his world, which becomes his first comic.

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Violeta – Corazón Maldito

Violeta Parra was a musician, a poetess, an all-round artist, and the soul of the popular tradition of Chile. The year 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of her birth. Violeta’s life was painful and intense, devoted to art and love: for decades, she crossed America and Europe making people all around the world fall in love with the authentic folklore of her homeland. Virginia Tonfoni (writer) and Alessio Spataro (artist) tell her incredible story for the first time here in graphic novel format.

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Alas

When a young girl is captured in the forest and brought to the city, only to escape shortly afterwards, all manner of individuals and organizations try to get their hands on her, no matter the cost. In a chilling and clever tour de force, the authors use the backdrop of the 1910 Great Flood of Paris to depict a world where animals rule and humans are viewed as curiosities, scientific guinea pigs, hunting trophies, and the occasional snack. A political satire that forces us to question our treatment of different species, the nature of intelligence, and more.

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Alt-Life

On a dying Earth in a not-so-distant future, Josiane and René are the first to enter a new virtual world where just about anything is possible… Part dystopian love story, part psychedelic meditation on human nature, “Alt-Life” takes the reader down a mind-bending rabbit hole of desire, loneliness, and self-discovery.

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Brina and the Gang of the Feline Sun

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.

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Hibakusha

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…

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Jazz Club

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…

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Lightness

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.

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Little Mama

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.

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Melvile

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?

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