Graphic Novels

Wondering what’s new and newsworthy in graphic novels? Adam fell for the second volume of Cyril Pedrosa’s magnificent medieval epic L’âge d’or, and Miriam devoured Iris, deux fois, the first collaboration between the sisters Anne-Laure and Noémie Reboul. Take your pick!

Reading List

L'âge d'or by Cyril Pedrosa

Call me biased, but the bande dessinée genre is a difficult one for me to fully appreciate. Either I am not a fan of the images or the story falls flat or the skill of one outweighs the other; there are just so many ways that a BD can go wrong for me as a reader. Please feel free to set me straight on this one, but I am just being honest with you.

However, this unfortunate predisposition of mine means that when I do discover one that I truly enjoy, it is a rare and true pleasure. Such is the case with L’âge d’or–the two volume medieval epic recently released by Cyril Pedrosa and Roxanne Moreil. As evidenced by his previous Equinoxes, Pedrosa is an artist of astonishing talent who is capable of seamlessly weaving thoughtful and rich stories into dazzling imagery. Here, thanks to the writing talents of newcomer Roxanne Moreil, he has taken this talent to a new scale, incorporating her exceptional dialogue and rich storytelling into truly fantastic artwork.

Set in an imaginary medieval past, the story is that of a young dauphine whose child brother has seized control of the throne and forced her and a couple of her close allies to live on the run as they try to rally forces to fight back. The countryside is ravaged with inequality and injustice. As the story develops and the dauphine gains strength and courage in her purpose, the book’s qualities as a feminist political fable come more and more to the forefront.

This epic BD is a thrilling addition to my small bibliothèque of graphic work and will keep me motivated to discover more in the genre. I cannot recommend it enough!

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Iris, deux fois by Anne-Laure and Noémie Reboul

What is Iris’ true life? At first, we see a young and ravishing woman–a happy novelist who is about to accept the Prix Renaudot–in a perfect relationship with her editor lover in their beautiful Latin Quarter apartment.

But at night, Iris leads a second existence: that of a still young woman worn down by her husband’s alcoholism, her son’s troubles at school, and her grueling days at work. In her sad suburban house, within the constraints of a mournful existence, Iris is foundering.

What is the origin of this doubling? Dreams? Schizophrenia? A quantum flaw in the universe? It is up to the reader to make their choice among the many hypothetical reasons for Iris’ double life in this debut graphic novel by sisters Anne-Laure and Noémie Reboul (Sarbacane).

Iris, deux fois, a graphic novel by Anne-Laure and Noémie Reboul, Sarbacane.

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