On Reading Graphic Novels discussion

Have you read any graphic novels which really yook your breath away? It would be so good to hear what you've read.

I recently read Mathieu Bablet's "The Beautiful Death". It was awesome!
I loved it!

It follows the story of a small group of people left on earth after the insects have taken over. At first it tells us of the way they survive and the struggles they have in their relationships with one another as they try to find a way to live. Later in the story we see parts of their former lives, before the take-over. These vignettes are beautifully crafted showing us so much of each person's character in a small recollection of the past. Then finally we begin to discover the wider story of what happened and what their parts will be in the story of the planet.

The story never drags or loses forward momentum, but unlike many superhero books, the pace is not all at one speed. Sometimes it's contemplative, sometimes dramatic, sometimes action-packed, sometimes tense.

However what I loved most about this book was the characterisation. At the end I felt like I really knew these people, as whole individuals with their own faults and flaws, as well as their own strengths and hopes.

The art was idiosyncratic and quite beautiful. It was a joy to see and sometimes left me just drinking in a page. More than just drawing clearly and telling the story, Bablet was also able to infuse the art with feeling.

I am going to try to find English translations of Bablet's other works. He is certainly a comic creator I want to read more of. Highly recommended!

Prisoner of Dream (Marc-Antoine Mathieu)

Well, at first, I wasn't going to buy it. It was expansive for me and it had only 48 pages... but somehow I knew it was a work that would blow my mind.

I can't say much without spoiling the story, but it's about a man called Julius Corentin Acquefacques, who has problems with his dream.

The art, the atmosphere and also the story made me feel like having a déjà-vu. It's like I have seen and read it when I was a kid in the 90's or maybe early 2000's, but this comic was not published here in Brazil until 2022.

I would definitely recommend it.
(Sorry for my bad English)