Monday 28 October 2024
Cinebook Ltd: Spirou & Fantasio 21 - The Prisoner of the Buddha
Author: Greg, illustrated by Franquin and Jidéhem
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 64 colour pages
£11.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781800441354
Publication: May 2024
Spirou and Fantasio, paying the Count of Champignac a visit, discover that he is hiding an imposing visitor: a towering Russian genius who has created an anti-gravity ray. Unfortunately, the KGB is already hunting him, because he’s decided he wants to keep his invention secret. And to make things worse, his former associate, who knows almost as much as he about the ray, has been captured by Chinese authorities. Spirou decides it is vital to free the prisoner …
ISBN: 9781800441354
Regarding frequency of this title 18 came out in August 2021 and 19 in January 2023 and 20 was in September 2023 and I mention this for a specific reason; with this series (apart from where they refer to a past event or villain) the delay does not matter as each comic album has its own self contained story.
We have our more-than-hapless adventurers (and Marsupilami) getting into all kinds of situations and all wonderfully drawn. The visual gags abound and the colour work is as nice as you could wish for. What I am still amazed at is the amount of detail in each panel with 7-8 panels on some pages the backgrounds can be as busy as the foreground. Last page was a quirky bit of fun.
What is still a wonder is that we have had 20 Spirou and Fantasio adventures in comic albums -Running Scared, Virus, Wrong Head, Who Will Stop Cyanide? The Clockmaker and the Comet, Shadow of the Z, Z Rises Again, The Visitor from the Mesozoic to name a few and all just waiting to be purchased and read and chuckled over! Twenty years ago people in the UK hardly knew what a comic album was and now Cinebook has deluged us with them!
To think my generation looks back on Buster, Valiant, Dandy and Vulcan but in future adults will recall growing up with Cinebook albums!
Cinebook Ltd: Yakari 22 - Yakari and the Pronghorns
Authors: Derib & Job
Age: 6 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: September 2024
£8.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781800441446
On a lovely spring day, Yakari happens upon Quiet Rock, the tribe’s elder, busy admiring a Pronghorn – an American antelope. The young Sioux then spends a few days with the Pronghorn’s family, learning about their everyday life. With the help of several of his animal friends, he even helps them through several incidents – from coyote attacks to prairie fires – and learns a valuable lesson about humility while he’s at it.
Hmm. Not sure that I approve of the coyote as it is portrayed in this book as it does give youngsters the impression that coyotes are just plain nasty -hey, I am a mammalogist specialising in canids and this is my blog so đ
The idea of a young indigenous boy who can go out and peacefully walk amongst the wildlife and learn all about them works well even though in the past the story has gotten quite serious. Of course this series is meant for youngsters so it is colourful and entertaining while educating to a degree and I know the books also appeal to older readers because, lets face it, this is pure escapism from a rather grim world.
Despite the coyote business (which may be blown out of context by me) I would still suggest this title for younger readers and with reading and comics these days you need to get them young and why not a comic album?
Sunday 27 October 2024
Thursday 24 October 2024
Wednesday 23 October 2024
20 million? Meh
As I've been losing images on posts (again) I had someone check the technical side for me. Apparently it is all down to Blogger and how they rotate servers -which is why people checking the URL often think I am based in Italy, Spain or some other country.
"How long ago did you shoot past 20 million views?" he asked.
I have absolutely no idea since I don't check stats and the blog is not supported in any way financially worrying about views from a world wide audience is something I do not do. 20 million...that and £5 will get me a cup of coffee.
Cinebook Ltd: Thorgal 25 - The Blade-Ship
Authors: Rosinski & Sente
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
£7.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781849184984
Publication: August 2024
While Jolan and his companions finally learn from Manthor what their grand destiny will be, Thorgal is still on the trail of the men who kidnapped his other son, Aniel. Along with jolly mercenary Petrov, he sails down a frozen river aboard a Blade Ship – a trade vessel equipped with heavy metal blades to break the ice. The journey is fraught with dangers – storms, raiders, spies, wild animals … and a group of shipwrecked Vikings looking for a mysterious chest …
Once you have started on Thorgal you are in it for the long run. Well, we have seen Thorgal in Mesoamerica and in a hot air balloon and a lot far weirder places and this time there is a race across the barren ice plains, pursuing tigers, Vikings up to all sorts of nasty things and mainly being very bad to villagers -it goes all Orca Killer Whale (if you ever saw that movie).
The pacing and story is excellent and the art top notch. Will he live long enough to find his son? He better had since the final words uttered in this volume are: "They've condemned your son to death, you know" and the promise of the final confrontation with the Red Mages is enough to get excited about!
Some 25 volumes in and I'm hoping I get to see the conclusion of the Thorgal saga!
Sunday 20 October 2024
Cinebook Ltd Emilie's Inheritance vol. 1 - The Hatcliff Estate
Author: Florence Magnin
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
£8.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781800441361
Publication: June 2024
Ireland, 1801. Two men are walking across the moors when they chance upon an unearthly mausoleum lost in the mists. 122 years later, Emilie Bertin, a cabaret singer going through difficult times, is contacted by a lawyer, who explains that she is the only heir to a man who vanished in mysterious circumstances, and now stands to inherit a castle and estate … in Ireland. Thus begins for Emilie the most fantastic of journeys.
This book starts off with a hint at the magical with two adventurer types or, more accurately, one treasure hunting "adventurer" and one moaner who you have to ask "Why his he involved in this?" Our heroine, Emilie learns about an inheritance from a lawyer who appears to be doing what a rather dubious character tells him to -including leaving Paris.
This is a tale of adventure but with a fairy tale of sorts interwoven. Is it any good as a story? Yes. Is the characterisation good? Yes. The art is just lovely and the colour work is equally as good and not a surprise since Magnin writes, draws and colours this work.
My interest has not been so high to see a next volume because this is a series that could turn out to be a masterpiece or a let down., If things continue in volume 2 as they do in this volume my guess is that it will be a series to be recommended. I know eagerly await that second book!