Best of 2013: Cinebook's Lament of the Lost Moors

Last year I had the pleasure of reading two books from Cinebook, publishers of English translations of Europe's finest comics, often called Bande Dessinée.  Bande Dessinée, or BD for short, means 'drawn strips'.  Comics are far more popular on the continent than in the UK, in fact Cinebook's website declares that 'one of every eight books sold in France is a comic book'.  I can only dream of such a situation in the UK!

Cinebook publish a wide range of European comics, from stuff created for kids to hardcore sci-fi, to fantasy, to romantic literature, to period drama and to crime.  You will find something for every taste in their catalogue.  All listings on their website give an age range as well, always helpful!

What follows is a short review of Lament of the Lost Moors: Siobhan.

 

Script: Jean Dufaux
Drawing: Grzegorz Rosinski
Colour work: Graza
Translator: Jerome Saincantin
Lettering and text layout: Patrice Leppert
Publisher: Cinebook

What's it about?
From the Cinebook website:
The land of Eruin Dulea is ruled by a powerful and merciless sorcerer. A generation ago, he defeated his last challenger to the throne, Wulf, in a titanic battle. Wulf’s widow, Lady O’Mara, and his daughter Siobhàn can finally stop hiding, though. By marrying Lord Blackmore, Lady O’Mara places herself under his protection. But Siobhan is a strong-willed young woman, more at ease with a sword than a spinning wheel, and Blackmore himself isn’t all he seems to be...

Best of 2013: Cinebook's Empire of a Thousand Planets

Last year I had the pleasure of reading two books from Cinebook, publishers of English translations of Europe's finest comics, often called Bande Dessinée.  Bande Dessinée, or BD for short, means 'drawn strips'.  Comics are far more popular on the continent than in the UK, in fact Cinebook's website declares that 'one of every eight books sold in France is a comic book'.  I can only dream of such a situation in the UK!

Cinebook publish a wide range of European comics, from stuff created for kids to hardcore sci-fi, to fantasy, to romantic literature, to period drama and to crime.  You will find something for every taste in their catalogue.  All listings on their website give an age range as well, always helpful!

So over the next few days we will publish two short reviews of Valerian and Laureline: The Empire of a Thousand Planets and Lament of the Lost Moors: Siobhan.

Disclaimer: Cinebook kindly provided a free review copy of The Empire of a Thousand Planets for me when I bought Lament of the Lost Moors (review coming soon) at the November 2013 Thought Bubble comic convention.  However I can assure you that all views are my own, positive reviews cannot be bought!

Writer: P Christin
Artist: J. C. Meziere
Colour work: E. Tranle
Translator: Jerome Saincantin
Lettering and text layout: Imadjinn
Publisher: Cinebook

What's it about?
This is a sci-fi book about two space travellers, Valerian and Laureline, sent to explore a planet called Syrte to discover whether the Syrtians could threaten earth.  Syrte is a bit of a strange planet - it's the capital of an empire (hence the title of the book) and is a key trading point.  You can buy absolutely anything you want there.  The planet is ruled by an ancient dynasty but there seems to be a powerful religious sect with a lot of influence.  Our two heroes have to pass as locals and navigate Syrtian society to fully explore.  Of course they can't quite manage this and that's where the adventure begins.

Berlin: The Seven Dwarves

Writer and artists: Marvano (also known as Mark van Oppen)
Colour work: Claude Legris
Translator: Jerome Saincantin
Letters and Layouts: Imadjinn

What's it about?
The story is set across two years: 1993 and 1943.  In 1943 seven men form the crew of the Lancaster S-Snowwhite.  It is called Snowwhite because it is black, like Snow White's hair, and has a crew of seven.  Their job is to bomb Germany.  In 1993 two women exchange a 50 year old letter.  The book focuses on the lives of the seven men aboard the plane - the realities of bombing raids, the threats from enemy fighters and the relationships formed on the ground.

It's suitable for history buffs and comic fans alike.

The Chimpanzee Complex

Script: Richard Marazano
Art: Jean-Michel Ponzio
Translator: Jerome Saincantin
Lettering and text layout: Imadjinn
Publisher: Cinebook

What's it about?
The Chimpanzee Complex runs over 3 books: Paradox, The Sons of Ares, and Civilisation.  It starts in 2035.  Helen Freeman is an astronaut and was going to be the first woman to set foot on Mars.  This was her life's ambition, so when the government cuts money to the space programme she is devastated.  Then a space module from the 20th century drops into the ocean.  As a trusted NASA employee Helen is sent to talk to the passengers.  What she is told seems impossible, a paradox.

Meanwhile back home, her pre-teen daughter is wracked with anger and jealousy over her mother's commitment to her work, which she interprets as a lack of love for herself.

In The Sons of Ares Helen leads a mission to Mars to discover the truth about the space module.  They find the Soviet Base and more besides.  Back home, her daughter Sofia grows ever more angry and scared.

In Civilisation the mystery is unravelled.  Crew members wake up from an extended cryosleep and yet again reality seems wrong.  Pieces start falling into place and an understanding is reached.  Their survival seems precarious and Helen dwells on her daughter and what she may have lost.

The Chimpanzee Complex of the title refers to the stress suffered by chimps when placed in space.  The chimpanzees are intelligent enough to have a limited understanding of their predicament, and so they suffer extreme stress through being in an experiment over which they have no control.