French comics

Anyone into any of these? I always was impressed by the sheer volume France makes in its own comic industry. I was particularly fond of Asterix and Tin Tin.

Isn't Tintin belgian?

Hourglass wrote:Anyone into any of these? I always was impressed by the sheer volume France makes in its own comic industry. I was particularly fond of Asterix and Tin Tin.

Moebius, for me. The great Jean Giraud I wish there were more English translations of his work.

felneymike wrote:Isn't Tintin belgian?

Yep, created by Georges Remi (Herge). And the strip was the inspiration for 1980s band The Thompson Twins. You really wanted to know that, right?

Wow never knew that. it was so big in france when I was last their I took it to be french.

Hourglass wrote:Wow never knew that. it was so big in france when I was last their I took it to be french.

Tin Tin is pretty massive throughout Europe, I think. Has been since the thirties. It's more successful in terms of copies sold than even the biggest selling American comic.

Huh you learn something new every day.

I love Asterix! But apart from a bit of Moebius, that's about me lot, French-wise.

Spiff_B wrote:I love Asterix! But apart from a bit of Moebius, that's about me lot, French-wise.

The best thing about Asterix is the supporting characters, I think. I loved Getafix the Druid and Chief Vitalstatistix (though I have no idea what their original French names are).

There was a game I played, think XIII which is based on a french comic. It's a detective/gangerster one, quite good, I'll try get some info on it.

tony ingram wrote:

Spiff_B wrote:I love Asterix! But apart from a bit of Moebius, that's about me lot, French-wise.

The best thing about Asterix is the supporting characters, I think. I loved Getafix the Druid and Chief Vitalstatistix (though I have no idea what their original French names are).

There's a Wiki page here that explains other languages' puns for some of the main character names.

Spiff_B wrote:

tony ingram wrote:

Spiff_B wrote:I love Asterix! But apart from a bit of Moebius, that's about me lot, French-wise.

The best thing about Asterix is the supporting characters, I think. I loved Getafix the Druid and Chief Vitalstatistix (though I have no idea what their original French names are).

There's a Wiki page here that explains other languages' puns for some of the main character names.

Interesting-thanks for that. I'd wondered how those punning names worked in multiple languages; clearly, they don't!

I can't remember the nationality of supporting characters whose names ended in 'oss' -- one of them called (correct spelling? who knows!) Mykingdomforahoss. Any ideas?

Spiff_B wrote:I can't remember the nationality of supporting characters whose names ended in 'oss' -- one of them called (correct spelling? who knows!) Mykingdomforahoss. Any ideas?

Weren't they the British guys? Or saxons or whatever they were supposed to be...

I seem to recall they drank warm water with milk and sugar, since tea hadn't yet been imported.

tony ingram wrote:

Spiff_B wrote:I can't remember the nationality of supporting characters whose names ended in 'oss' -- one of them called (correct spelling? who knows!) Mykingdomforahoss. Any ideas?

Weren't they the British guys? Or saxons or whatever they were supposed to be...

I seem to recall they drank warm water with milk and sugar, since tea hadn't yet been imported.

Good memory! So, Asterix in Britain worth browsing, when I can find it.

Spiff_B wrote:

tony ingram wrote:

Spiff_B wrote:I can't remember the nationality of supporting characters whose names ended in 'oss' -- one of them called (correct spelling? who knows!) Mykingdomforahoss. Any ideas?

Weren't they the British guys? Or saxons or whatever they were supposed to be...

I seem to recall they drank warm water with milk and sugar, since tea hadn't yet been imported.

Good memory! So, Asterix in Britain worth browsing, when I can find it.

I think my favourite was Asterix and Cleopatra, but Asterix in Britain is pretty good. As I recall, Julius Caesar has succeeded in conquering Britain because the British stop fighting every day at five o'clock and won't fight at all on the weekends, so Caesar invades over the weekend.

tony ingram wrote:As I recall, Julius Caesar has succeeded in conquering Britain because the British stop fighting every day at five o'clock and won't fight at all on the weekends, so Caesar invades over the weekend.

Brilliant!

I've got most of the Asterix books but haven't read any of them more than once... Something else that's on my 'must-read' list!

i've not read asterix, but i've been very curious about it. i might have to bump it up on my "to get" list.

i just picked up a hardcover of jodorowsky and moebius' the incal tonight. i'm a fan of jodorowsky, but this is the first book i've bought that has moebius' art. and i have to say -- his work is beautiful. i could've sworn i'd seen his art before but, if i have, it just never clicked the way it did while flipping through it at the shop tonight.

I first came across Moebius when he did a Silver Surfer one shot for Marvel; the Surfer has never looked so good! That prompted me to try The Airtight Garage and it was something pf an eye opener...

i found a few places on line where i can get the issues of airtight garage for a good price. once i finish the incal, i think i'll pick them up.

and i saw that the silver surfer story seems to be being reissued later this year. i'll definitely be grabbing that!

I hadn't heard it was being reissued! When? I lost my copy years ago, as I recall. I'd love to get it again!

may 16 according to amazon.

freedumbdclxvi wrote:may 16 according to amazon.

Noted and added to my wish list, many thanks!

i'm about a third of the way through the incal, and it's been insanely good. i'm really digging this story.

I haven't read it since the early 90's but I'll have to dig it out again. I seem to recall being baffled by the first book, but pretty much addicted by the tim e I was into the second. There was a TV documentary on Giraud a few years ago in which he talked about it a little, though he doesn't seem inclined to dwell on his past work much. A fascinating man...

i don't know much about him, but i would love to learn. i think, once i get a few more of his books, i'm going to look into picking up a biography or documentary on him.

I find it fascinating, living in a country where comics are traditionally regarded as worthless juvenalia by the majority of the general public, that the French seem to see them as not on ly a legitimate art form but a fairly prestigious one. Where did we go wrong?

A page from the Epic Comics 'The Elsewhere Prince' #3, a story of the Airtight Garage (co-)written by Moebius and RJM Lofficier but drawn by Eric Shanower. Epic translated several of Moebius' stories into English in the eighties and then used his concepts for several original stories. Sadly, it was an experiment that didn't last long.

what other french comics would you recommend? based on a recommendation on the dc boards, i picked up blacksad. i won't be starting it for a few days yet, but i am looking forward to it.

that page looks great. i'm going to start keeping my eye out for the airtight garage.

freedumbdclxvi wrote:that page looks great. i'm going to start keeping my eye out for the airtight garage.

I think you'll enjoy it, but read the stories in publication order if you can. Are you reading in French, or the translations?

the translations. i used to be able to read some french, but i haven't in years. i would love to get back into it. his work would give me a wonderful reason.

freedumbdclxvi wrote:the translations. i used to be able to read some french, but i haven't in years. i would love to get back into it. his work would give me a wonderful reason.

Ah. Me, too: I thought for a while there that I was going to have to be deeply envious of your multilinguality (is that a word? Posibly multilingualism...) but evidently we're all too lazy too learn any language other than English...

lol apparently. and actual word or not, i like that: multilinguality. it flows nicely.

i finished the incal, and that was one of the best stories i've ever read, no matter what medium. i'd highly recommend that book.

freedumbdclxvi wrote:i finished the incal, and that was one of the best stories i've ever read, no matter what medium. i'd highly recommend that book.

Are you intending to delve deeper into that universe?

yep. i plan on picking up the metabarons series in the next few days and, if they are as good as i anticipate they will be, i'll be tracking down the technopriest books.

today i read the first story in the blacksad hardcover, and that was a well written detective pulp yarn. i'll see how the other two are but, if they maintain the quality, i'll say it's a book definitely worth checking out.

(and on that, dark horse is doing some amazing reprints. i'll be looking a bit more carefully at their catalog going forward.)

Curiously, my LCS doesn't seem to get in a lot of Dark Horse stuff even though their indie section is usually otherwise pretty well stocked. I'll have to check them out.

just to follow up on blacksad, all three stories were outstanding. i've never personally been too into anthropomorphic animal comics, but this one handled it incredibly well. (instead of everyone being one race/species, the individuals tended to be an animal that reflected their own character.) not sure it's changed my view on the idea as a whole, but it worked beautifully in this book.

Have you ever read Bryan Talbot's Grandville books? That is one morph series I'd really recommend to anyone!

i have not. i actually was considering picking up his luther arkwright, but my lcs did not have it yesterday. have you read that series and, if you have, which would you recommend first?

They're totally unconnected and very different in subject matter and tone. Arkwright is a long, meandering epic, the Grandville books are self contained stories. I would start with Grandville, personally.

then i'll probably pick that one up, once i finish metabarons.

i finished the first volume of the metabarons last night. i thought it was pretty dang good. not quite as good as the incal, but still very enjoyable. at first, the robotic narration wasn't working for me but, as the story progressed, i started getting into it. and othon was just one helluva character.

Have you ever come across a series called Popbot?

i've heard of the series but never checked it out. is it an anthology?

No, it's...well, it's kind of hard to categorize or explain, really...
It's about a robot, who used to be a roadie for a punk band but then became a bodyguard to Kitty, a cat who was the lead singer in the aforementioned band but made a lot of enemies who teamed up to hunt him and then...it gets complicated...

Well, I said it was hard to categorize. It's sci-fi. It's weird. It's kind of...compelling.

interesting. i will have to check it out.