Britten & Brülightly - a graphic novel review

Private Detective Fernández Britten has been burned out after years of confirming the worst suspicions of jealous lovers. , The heartbreaker 'is consumed by repentance about ruined lives, but clings to the hope ever revealing something that will have positive consequences.
And so, Britten and his unusual partner are investigating Berni Kudos's death. Blackmale, revenge, murder: With each discovery they land deeper into a swamp of troublesome family secrets. A special noir story in which nothing is black and white.

Both the story and the drawings are from, the unknown to me, Hannah Berry. I myself find this album one of the better detective comics. The story makes me curious and exciting. Although Britten's character does not lend itself to fierce action scenes, because he looks too depressed and does not care what happens to him, this album contains some of these scenes. That makes the story exciting.
Although this graphic novel is not humorous, there are some bits where I had to smile. It soon becomes clear that Britten speaks with a tea bag that is even talking back.

At first the drawings did not really appeal to me, but now that I read the story, I see that the style fits the story. Britten looks so depressed eyes that it enhances its character and thus the story.

I think Berry's first graphic novel is very original and I am very impressed with it and loved reading it. Berry has three albums in her name.


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Tags and links:
Detective
Britten & Brülightly on Catawiki
Britten & Brülightly on Wikipedia

Fanfulla - a graphic novel review

It was 1527 and a gang of lansquenets of Georg Frundsberg are crossing Italy and burn everything in their way are standing before the gates of Rome. Fanfulla is one of those mercenaries fighting the Medici. But Fanfulla feels remorse for all the sins he has committed and decides to enter the monastery. But after two years, the blood creeps where it can not go and decides to pick up his weapons once again to fight the Medici. But by betrayal does not make it easy to win.

The Medici was a powerful and influential family who played a leading role as founder of the international banking system in the 15th century. The best known "Medici" is Catharina the "Medici who lived from 1519 to 1589. She made it to the Queen of France. She might have been the commissioner to Bartholomew Night, the massive massacre, and she would have poisoned her brother-in-law, the throne succesor. In addition, she introduced the perfume, potato, chocolate and haute cuisine in France. But her we do not see in this story, we also do not see Cosimo I the 'Medici, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany who lived from 1519 to 1574. Although Fanfulla and his corners fought against him.
No Hugo Pratt tells the little story of the mercenaries who fought against the 'Medici'. And that's just like Pratt, he tells the stories that seem unimportant. It's an exciting story with a rough diamond  as a hero. This graphic novel is also filled with action, but it's not at the expense of the story, it's very well-founded and there is room for the development of the characters here and there.

The black and white drawings, also made by Hugo Pratt, are beautiful. They seem to be thrown onto paper and look a bit sketchy here and there. I find that Pratt has chosen to put an antagonist on the cover rather than the protagonist. Perhaps Pratt or the publisher thought that a woman sold better than when they put a man on the cover. That may very well be, I have no objection to that choice anyway.

I definitely recommend this album from 1988.
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Tags and links:
Adventure
Fanfulla on Catawiki
Hugo Pratt on Wikipedia

Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express - a graphic novel review

Well, I do not really need to tell anyone that this is perhaps the best-known story of the world's most famous detective writer Agatha Christie. Those who do not know the original book know the films that are made from this story. The youngsters among us may know the video game that was released in 2006.

Scenarist François Rivière and draftsman Jean-Fançois Miniac, aka Solidor, made this comic book in 1995. Rivière, who has been making comics scenarios since 1977, understands how to do his job. He knows the reader flawlessly leading to the denouement of the story, one after another suspect appears to the scene. Since I read the original book in my youth, it is too long to judge whether Rivière stays true to the book. However, I have seen the 1974 film several times and have watched the 2010 film for this review for a second time. Although I enjoyed the 1974 movie, with an all star cast, I was disappointed in Albert Finney as Poirot. I found him too artificial because he had so much makeup and he forced his voice to make it sound like a fat mans voice. However, I especially enjoyed Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave, who have all set exceptional performances. I wonder if Rivière saw this movie. It could at least help him to shorten the story. Because 46 pages are very little to be able to translate the book into a comic.
As I said, 2010 was also filmed in the television series, Agatha Christie's Poirot 'with the fantastic David Suchet in the role of Poirot. What I like about this filming is that Poirot's character is so well developed. This I miss a bit in this comic, but in view of the limited number of pages I realize that there is no room for it. In the 2010 filming, we will see more about what happend before everybody got on the train. We see how a man unmasked by Poirot commits suicide and at the end we see Poirot struggling with the question of whether he should follow the law or his faith. These are the details that can perfect the story and give it depth.

I really like the realistic drawings of Miniac. It's a pity that Miniac has not made that many comics because he is clearly born to draw comics.

This series, Detective Strips introduces' is definitely a promising series. Unfortunately, it has remained five strips, that’s a pity.
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Tags and links
Detective
Murder on the Orient Express on Amazone
Jean-François Miniac wikipedia

A l'ouest de l'Eden - a graphic novel review

This comic is set in 1931 and the story is about Lieutenant Abel Robinson who serves in Somaliland Camel Corps. Hit by a sunstroke he wrestles with his own insane ideas. Thus he talks to a dead man and meets Kayin and other biblical figures. Hence the title, ‘To the west of Eden '.

Hugo Pratt, who has written both the story and made the drawings, knows again with minimal means to make an impressive comic. When Robinson begins to talk to a dead man and he talks back you know he has gone crazy. Still, Pratt twist the story so that you do not know who's real and who only plays a role in Robinson's imagination. It's a very psychological and intriguing story. This is reinforced by the fact that Pratt focuses on the characters in the story. Because it takes place in the desert, there is little decor, so as a reader you focus on the personality of the characters.

I find this comic, released in 1980, definitely worth reading and I can recommend it.
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Tags and links:
Graphic novel
To the west of Eden at Catawiki
Hugo Pratt wikipedia

Follies - Carmen Bond

This is the first part of the Follies series. , Carmen Bond 'contains ten short erotic tinted stories written and drawn by Alfonso Font.
Font started to draw comics in the 1960s. At that time he usually drew western, war, mystery and horror series. In the 70's he worked on the series, ‘Historias Negras', also released as ‘Dark Stories’. This was a collection of 18 short humorous adventures. From this experience, he had fun in making the Follies comic, Carmen Bond '. In the 80's he focused on science fiction. More recent work of Font are, Tex Willer 'and ‘Dylan Dog’.

Back to the Carmen Bond comic. This is the second, Follies' comic that’ve read. I did not think I would like to find some Sombrero comics, also an erotic series, were much fun to read. And ‚Rooie oortjes’ I found only sporadically fun, I often found it too bland and too flat. So I thought erotic comics are just not spend on me. But I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Follies' stories. Fonts stories I find very funny and he has also drawn it a lot of times. It is filled with beautifully scarily dressed women who look really good.

I borrowed this album for this review from a friend, but I'm sure to collect this series myself.
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Tags and links:
Erotic Humour
Alfonso Font biography
Carmen Bond on Catawiki