13.11.2018
This book collects two of Bilal's collaborations with writer Christin about the violent ghosts of Old Europe: 1979's The Black Order Brigade / Les phalanges de l'ordre noir and 1983's The Hunting Party / Partie de chasse.
The first work is a bleak inversion of the "team gets back together for one more adventure" archetype: in response to terrorist aftershocks of the Spanish Civil War, a newspaper editor reunites his old Communist/anarchist crew to do something about the problem. What they're going to do and how they're going to do it becomes increasingly less clear, though, and their mission rapidly disintegrates into aimlessness punctuated by horrific violence.
The second novel is an even darker, bloodier assessment of the precollapse eastern bloc: representatives from Warsaw Pact nations gather around a dying Soviet bigwig who's seen the rise and slow fall of his country. The summit turns into the pretense for multiple acts of brutal, quasi-legal revenge. Its symbolism is a bit more heavy-handed, but Bilal's artwork captures the desolate colors and concrete wastelands of Eastern Europe with cruel precision.
Christin's stories can be nearly impenetrable, especially if readers aren't intimately familiar with 20th-century European politics, and their pace is all tension and distraction with little release. But the artwork in both pieces is ideal for its cold, bitter tone.
History, Humanoids
10.11.2018
A real dive into the heart of 17th-century Paris, this story takes us into the daily life of Vincent de Paul, a devoted churchman, in search of the truth. Accompanied by young Antoine, Father Vincent travels the neighborhoods of the city, pleading his case with the richest of the rich and helping the poor. He takes in Manon, a 15-year-old orphan who is a victim of prostitution. Manon’s story is connected to the disappearance of Jérôme, another person protected by the priest. Father Vincent takes it upon himself to shed some light on a cruel assassination and to reveal the truth behind a series of mysteries.
Europe Comics, History
10.11.2018
Allow us to introduce Olympia, an exquisite young woman living in post-First-World-War Berlin, a time when the town was continually shaken up by internal revolutions and cultural turbulence. Olympia is beautiful. Louise Brooks-style beautiful. She is the archetype of that generation of war-women, the likes of which we’ll never see again. Her father, Count Van Den Golzt, sends his daughter to Berlin following the Bolsheviks’ establishment in Courlande, a move that he knew was a threat to the safety of his family. She soon becomes a fascinating character, with lovers from all walks of life, from bespectacled Communist intellectuals, to pimps. Alongside her decadent lifestyle, she fights passionately for the Socialist cause. Nihilistic, but driven, she ends up in the arms of the most unlikely suitor.
Europe Comics, History
10.11.2018
It’s 1537.
Deep in the lost mountains of Jura, a group of fanatical Catholic mountain people track a young Protestant and his guide.
Big mistake.
The latter is no other than the ex master-at-arms of Francois I, Hans Stalhoffer. After being defeated in an unfair fight, Hans had decided to exile himself from the court. Some years later, the surgeon that saved his life and his young apprentice ask for his help.
They wish to travel undercover to Switzerland to publish the Bible in French. The only possible route is to take the infamous Jura Pass. Hans, who is buried in debt and has become a hardened alcoholic, is willing to sacrifice a few days to guide the two men through the hostile mountains.
But when the authorities get wind of the scheme, they launch a wide-scale manhunt. Tracked, injured and cold, Hans will have to surpass himself to win the most difficult fight of his life.
Europe Comics, History
10.11.2018
A former actress and spy, Elizabeth Montagu, is tasked with guiding British author Graham Greene around postwar Vienna, as he conducts research for a screenplay. However, the visit of “G.,” a former spy himself, soon proves to be just as mysterious as his best-selling thrillers, winding through Vienna’s shadowy underground before leading to a Prague on the cusp of revolution…
“The characters are well-defined, and the storytelling fluidity of the artwork matches the easy flow and intrigue of the storyline.” The Digital Fix
Crime, Europe Comics, History
10.11.2018
We’re right in the middle of World War I, deep in the trenches. The soldiers are confronted by unimaginable suffering and violent death on a daily basis. Considered as nothing more than cannon fodder by their superiors, they try desperately to survive. Partly as an act of defiance in the face of hardship, partly as the ultimate irony, the soldiers nickname their regiment after the famous Parisian cabaret club ‘Folies Bergère’. They laugh and joke, they write, they draw, they fight, they die in appalling circumstances, they kill themselves, they lose their minds. And then one of their number is sentenced to death by firing squad… and miraculously survives…
Europe Comics, History
10.11.2018
King Edward of England is dead. Edward’s son Harold, one of the potential successors, renounces his oath to yield the throne to William of Normandy. From that day forth, William will have no peace until his rightful claim to the throne is acknowledged. As the famous Halley comet soars across the heavens, giving rise to much speculation among the scholars of the time, William, Duke of Normandy, launches into the arrangements for the conquest that will change the face of England — one of the most formidable military expeditions History has ever seen.This is a tale of ambition, broken oaths, battles, love, death and glory.
Europe Comics, History
09.11.2018
This is the story of the distinguished Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, and the misfortunes and blessings to be visited upon him over the course of his most remarkable life.
Biography, Europe Comics, History
09.11.2018
France, 1076. Hermance Languedolce, a child with miraculous healing powers, falls in with religious rebels and is branded a heretic. Hideously tortured, he summons a miracle and saves himself, only to be taken in by kind gypsies. When fearsome warrior Karlis Oresund is converted to Christ, he too receives a miraculous ability to sense evil. Entering the service of Bohemond of Taranto, he sets forth on a crusade to the Holy Land, conscripting Hermance by force along the way. Hermance can’t or won’t remember his powers, but can Karlis bring them out of the scarred young man?
Esoteric, Europe Comics, History
09.11.2018
Constantinople, 1097. As Black Liv leads the Holy Militia deeper into Turkey, he must contend with lords above his station quarreling over glory and the spoils of war, as well as the treachery of Basileus Alexios Komnenos. Meanwhile, Hermance, coming back into his full powers as a healer and miracle worker, saves the life of Tafur Princess Istvana when the Militia is forced to take a perilous route through the Taurus Mountains. Will the Princess’ love for both men drive them apart when their armies need them most, at the gates of the daunting and impregnable city of Antioch?
Esoteric, Europe Comics, History
