Comics to read this weekend

Hellboy: 30 years of monster hunting

Hellboythe famous monster-hunting demon, celebrates his 30th career with a special edition, an excellent introduction to the universe of his creator, Mike Mignola. Hellboy has become an atypical pop culture hero, a heart of gold in the guise of a pure villain, far from the superheroes in tights. Hellboy also somewhat overshadowed the rest of Mignola’s output.

Hellboy is a complex hero, born on the wrong side of the gate to Hell. He fights against monsters and protects humans. Although darkness dominates in this Lovecraftian universe, Mignola’s work remains positive. Because Hellboy is definitely a nice guy.

The mine of short stories

This special edition brings together the first adventure in the regular Hellboy series – The Seeds of Destruction – and more than twenty short stories dedicated to the hero. These latter, disseminated by the author in different publications over the years, form a formidable introduction to Hellboy. They were chosen by Thierry Mornet, who composed the anthology, following the reading advice of Mignola himself.

Mignola, a unique artist, with an identifiable style, whether in terms of graphics or tone, oscillating between absurdity, sarcasm and philosophy. The independent stories, published at different times and grouped together in Delcourt’s collection, offer a nice overview of the evolution of Mignola’s style and its sensitivity.

There are also first sketches of the flagship characters of the universe and a gallery of paintings by the artist. This special edition is ideal for new readers who wish to discover comics through a means other than superheroes, all by being a beautiful object for fans who will be able to reread the adventures of their favorite demon while waiting for the release of a 4th film, who knows?
Delcourt.€39.95

Vertigeo: the fall of classes

The war happened there. The world is nothing more than a blackened slag, swept by storms, engulfed in clouds of ink. To survive, men build towers. Higher and higher. They also recomposed the social model. Suffice to say right away that democracy is not part of the menu.

Everyone has their place, everyone has their role and no ear sticks out. This is called the Push. Go higher. Faster. Don’t stop working. Just a break at certain levels to communicate with the other towers. A world where color does not exist. A foreman, well worn out by orders, back-breaking work and the vision of a company going nowhere, comes into possession of an object that turns his whole world upside down.

Vertigeo is a story in which class relations and the exploitation of the masses constitute the main driving force. The careful graphics ensure complete immersion. Dominators, dominated, agents of order and state lies, this gray, cold and dark one-shot ends with a brutal, quite disconcerting turnaround.
Casterman. €22

This is not a priest

Father Lucien has a very personal way of leading Sunday mass. We really have the impression that he has never read a missal, in fact. The parishioners of Saint-Claude, the pipe town in the Jura, cannot believe it.

If they only knew… Father Lucien is not a priest for a penny. He is a killer, who came to Saint-Claude to escape the vengeance of a gang of which he unraveled a prominent member. Saint-Claude, for the thug, appears to be a slippery slope at first, but it doesn’t take long for him to find his feet. Allies, business, and even female conquests… And then, he never leaves his 9 mm. You can never be too careful.

Schwartzman And Valley embroider a dark and enjoyable scenario, carried by a mocking tone and well-felt twists and turns. Their imposter priest anti-hero works wonders in this provincial thriller. Not to mention that Sylvain Vallée, as always, provides a high-quality graphic score.

Whether it is the characters, the very realistic settings – Schwartzmann is from the Jura – or the discoveries in terms of framing, sequential rhythm, we enjoy ourselves from start to finish with this t1 of Habemus Bastard, The Necessary Being.
Dargaud. €19.99

The saviors who became occupiers

When the evil Necromancer attacked the town of Brenhaven, the Elves left their woods and gave him a good beating. Everyone was happy. And then, the Elves stayed, and since they had saved everyone, well everyone was going to obey the Elves…

Pax Elfica, it is initially a role-playing game, very successful, and novels. The transition to comics is excellent, because not only does it benefit from flawless graphics, but its plot deeply renews a genre that is too often repetitive. The general situation – a tyranny imposed by the Elves on other peoples – offers numerous possibilities, in a basket of crabs of resistance or collaboration which makes complex characters, with very rich motivations and pasts, plausible.

In this t1, The Sword Inn, we make contact with this very particular universe. A masked hero leads operations against the elven occupiers, who imprison and kidnap children… But in doing so, our hero awakens a sleeping Evil. But in this post-war period, all the resentment remains to be purged… How can we stand up? A t1 full of good surprises!
The Lombard. €15.95

When our plates empty the seas of Africa

How can we ensure supplies to countries rich in fish? By going to help yourself where fishing is almost uncontrolled. In Africa. The Atlantic coasts are the subject of real pillage, and not only because of Chinese factory ships. Everyone sees their interest in it. Here, quotas are a sweet dream. But for the resource, the pressure of this intensive fishing is unbearable. And for the populations who make a living from coastal fishing, whether for employment or food, the situation is untenable. At the root of evil, corruption, and the greed of big companies.

Looting relates the behind-the-scenes of this mass prevarication currently at work. Africa is an example: other parts of the world are suffering the same fate.

But the investigation of this doc-fiction, carried by the stories of various protagonists, who play “stock characters” here, is particularly detailed and enlightening. On the drawing inspired by Renan Coquin, Maxime de Lislea member of environmental defense NGOs, a sailor himself, puts his practical knowledge of this ecological, social and economic problem into perspective.
Delcourt. €26.50

Read also

Titans – 1. Iris

Iris is a warrior from Sparta. The best, supplanting the men of his people in the struggle and the art of war. When it is necessary to represent Sparta at the Games, it is Iris that her father, sovereign of the city-state, presents against the champion of the Athenians. But the statuesque Iris is having a hard time… Banished from Sparta, she sinks into alcohol when a strange friend comes to her aid.

Combat, defeat, comeback, all against a backdrop of largely revisited Antiquity, this epic is intended to be 100% action. Let yourself be carried away. Oxymoron. €15.95.

Send the army!

A problem with the neighbor’s dog? Problems with young people? A presidential concern? The answer is obvious: Send the army! Fabrice Erre shoots the bad guys with red cannonballs and goes to war with all kinds, without sparing the politicians in the process.

Gags with simple and effective graphics, more or less short, which hit where it hurts, and especially where it makes you laugh. Delcourt. €13.50