Cinebook Ltd: BILLY & BUDDY 9 - SYMPHONY IN BUDDY MAJOR

 

Authors: By Christophe Cazenove, illustrated by Jean Bastide
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: March 2024

ISBN: 9781800441293

£8.99 incl VAT

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/billy-buddy-9-symphony-in-buddy-major-p-4543.html?osCsid=mqqggmbjluu30v75ijoa493j56

Music soothes the wild beast – it’s a well-known fact. Though you have to admit it very much depends on the music. Dad’s bagpipes tend to give people murderous ideas, Billy’s flute is torture on all delicate ears … and as for Buddy’s various artistic forays, they generate far more noise than harmony. When all’s said and done, though, there’s nothing like a family jam session to have jolly good fun!

Well, I saw this and thought "Oh...how long ago was the last book out?!" In fact volume 8 was out in 2022. Then I realised that it doesn't matter. Why? In December 2022 I wrote that:

"With a book like this having to wait between volumes is no problem as they are all self contained stories. The style is close enough to Roba that unless you pay VERY close attention you will not notice the difference.

The art is lively and the colour work of Luc Perdriset and Jean Bastide make it even more so. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked Buddy to help me put my toys away?" sums it all up. This is fun and I think we all need a fun read these days in between checking if the UK has another new Prime Minister yet.  Supposedly for youngsters this series is also a treat for adults of an immature mindset!"  

And I stand by that.  The art is lovely and the colour work by Luc Perdriset and Jean Bastide really makes the art stand out even more and that colour work really "makes the eye smile" as someone once wrote (it sounds so dumb it may well have been me).  It just gives you that buzz of innocence from when you were a kid and picked up a comic and it was all new and escapism from the every day greyness of a working class life (ooh, hark at me getting all artsy!).

But for sheer fun and joy and smiles I do recxommend this book...or series!

Hexagon Comics: Guardian of Senegal

 

 Story: Mouhamadou Moustapha Sy - Art: Narotam

Cover: Narotam

Editor: Jean-Marc Lofficier

7x10 squarebound comic, 

52 pages b&w

ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-269-2. 

$12.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-the-guardian-of-senegal.html

Kanta, the Guardian of Senegal, made his first appearance in The Partisans #2, a story that took place in 1942, pitting him against Nazis and emissaries of the evil god Set, and aided by Baroud, the amazon Antales and a young Tanka. However, his origins were not detailed until now.

it took two years to put together the authentic Senegalese writer-artist team who produced this issue. Writer M. M. is the author of Sapiens Vampiris, a novel published in 2021 to critical acclaim. Artist Narotam works as a political cartoonist for the Senegalese newspaper, Le Politicien.

The story spans the period between 1914 and 1938 and features the Senegalese Tirailleurs (“Riflemen”), a corps of infantry created in 1857 who fought courageously during World War I.

The artwork may not be polished Marvel or DC artwork but then even those two companies fail to maintain that standard. This is an art style I have seen before and mainly in Independent comics where creators are given a chance to show off what they can do. As someone who basically draws satirical cartoons for a newspaper Narotam has not done a bad job. The grey tones work and it will be interesting to se how he develops his style.  The story written by Sy works well and it was enjoyable.

To give more background here is the press piece I did back in January:

THE GUARDIAN OF SENEGAL

 

Story: Mouhamadou Moustapha Sy

Art & Cover: Narotam

Adapted into English by Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier

The Guardian of Senegal, made his first appearance in The Partisans #2, a story that took place in 1942. Jean-Marc Lofficier, EIC of Hexagon Comics, had wanted to include an authentic African hero rising from the ashes of the French Western African colonial empire.

However, Lofficier felt that the degree of authenticity that he sought would be better served if a Senegalese artistic team could craft his origins.

“I should state that I do not agree, in principle, with the notion that only writers of a certain ethnicity or origin can or should write characters of that same ethnicity, etc.” said Lofficier. “I think talent, research and an open mind can be adequate substitutes. Nevertheless, I can see the wisdom of entrusting Black American heroes such as Luke Cage or Black Lightning to talented Black-American creators, and the results have certainly more than justified that choice.

“However, I confess that I fail to see how the same applies to Black Panther, a character from a fictional Eastern African country. To me, the versions of that character crafted by Don McGregor, Peter Gillis and Jonathan Maberry are just as noteworthy as those produced by Christopher Priest, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nnedi Okorafor, but still a product of American culture. In my opinion, it would have been more interesting to see what might have happened if Marvel had looked for creators from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, or South Africa. It took me two years to put together a Senegalese writer-artist team to produce this issue.”

Writer M M Sy is a young Senegalese engineer who first wrote fanfiction before being published professionally. His first novel, Sapiens Vampiris, was published in France in 2021 to critical acclaim. Artist Narotam works as a cartoonist for a Senegalese newspaper.

The story spans a period ranging from 1914 to 1938 and draws on the history of the Senegalese Riflemen who fought during World War I, 30,000 of whom were killed in battle. The keystone is a tragic friendly fire incident that happened at Chateau-Thierry on June 1st ,1918,” explains Lofficier. “American machine gunners mistakenly fired on what they believed to be a night attack by German troops. Instead, they were soldiers of the French 10th Colonial division from Senegal, who had been trying to get back across the river.”

There, now you know as much as I do but...you need to buy the book to catch up with me. 

Did we ACCIDENTALLY make a Successful Miniature Company?

Cinebook Ltd: BEAR'S TOOTH 6 - SILBERVOGEL

 

Authors: Yann & Alain Henriet
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 64 colour pages
Publication: January 2024

ISBN: 9781800440883 IN STOCK 

£11.99 inc. VAT

Everything is in place. The radio guidance relays are active, the Silbervogel, the intercontinental bomber, is operational, and Anna is ready to fly it to America – a suicide mission. As for Werner, he seems incapable of fulfilling his mission and killing the beautiful test pilot, in whom he still sees his childhood friend. The arrival of Soviet forces, along with the courage of a handful of prisoners and partisans, will give them both one last chance to do the right thing … Can they seize it?

Seven years ago... That's when this started. I had trouble remembering what had gone on before when it came to volume 5 so volume 1?!  Anyway, I did a deep search on CBO and it took a while since the posts were that far back Blogger will not show them in searches and here are the reviews from volumes 1-5:

2018

vol.1  https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2018/03/cinebook-9th-art-bears-tooth-1-max.html

vol.2  https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2018/10/bears-tooth-2-hanna_32.html

2019

vol. 3  https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2019/02/cinebook-9th-art-bears-tooth-3-werner.html

2023

vol. 4  https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinebook-ltd-bears-tooth-4-amerika.html

2024

vol. 5

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinebook-ltd-bears-tooth-5-eva.html

I know what you are asking -"How did it end?" You want that big a spoiler?!  Get out of here!! Everything I would want to say about this book is covered in all the other reviews. The art is wonderful and the uniforms, vehicles and settings are all spot on as is the history where it isn't fiction (these days I find it hard to tell them apart). The artwork cannot be faulted.

And the story? Well, as you might expect there are plot twists, things happen you were not expecting and there are some very nice twists that keep you guessing. I did love the touch of a naval diver named  Crabb and if you wonder why that caught my attention then look up the mystery of  Lieutenant-Commander Lionel Kenneth Phillip Crabb, OBE, GM (28 January 1909 – presumed dead 19 April 1956), known as Buster Crabb,  a Royal Navy frogman and diver who vanished during a reconnaissance mission for MI6 around a Soviet cruiser berthed at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1956.  My past catching up with me memory-wise.

The series ended "well" you might say but it is difficult to give anything away but now that you can buy volume 1-6 completed I would recommend it. Recommended especially if you are into war comics -there are elements here of triple cross agent Zigzag -Edward Arnold Chapman and Operation Crossbow (there was a film with George Peppard based on and titled Operation Crossbow in 1965 and Christopher Plummer played Chapman in the 1966 film Triple Cross).

Recommended

Hunting for Comics (and Signatures) at the Best PURE Comic Book Show I’v...

Cinebook Ltd: YOKO TSUNO 19 - THE ASTROLOGIST OF BRUGES

 

 

Author: Roger Leloup
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: April 2024

£8.99 incl VAT

ISBN: 9781800441309

Yoko goes to Bruges, Belgium. She’s been invited there by a local artist, Van Laet, who wants to show the portrait of her he supposedly painted. Taking in the sights before their appointment, the young woman learns that the man has an unpleasant reputation – it is said he made a deal with the devil. 

When they finally meet, the painter produces the portrait and claims that Yoko posed for it … in the 16th century! 

Whooh!  "Come and see your portrait I painted -do you mind syringes or guns?"  We have all been there (or is it just me?)  Yes, Yoko and her pals go back in time to sort out the mystery and as you might expect get into other trouble. But with time travel there are consequences despite what you might see on Dr Who.

The art as always is lovely and detailed and the architecture in particular is finely detailed and well worth checking out panels individually. I believe it was Gil Kane (I know it was) who when asked why he never put backgrounds in the early Green Lantern comics responded that no one was interested in backgrounds just the fights. Well I am glad Leloup never had that attitude!

For a series I started out thinking was going to be a "kiddies comic" I soon found out that it is good story-telling, action and adventure with plenty of science fiction. Always recommended.

Review: My First Big Book of Utter (C)RAP

 

•  US Letter, 8.5×11 in, 22×28 cm
  Pages: 20

£5.00

https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/11910794-first-big-book-of-utter-c-rap?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR11wCNsZS29dm4UmM93SWpML_bQMNHdK0nj3WoypFS0GDRAlMLjt4_Wo54_aem_ATv8BppvDEGO4pcpAJm9HTYoG7vpBkP_eYTxyP-TJvuwAqEBsz80_f2Vdd7dgxPDfEwzroAoUiKzFUmeFBDWbhmX

Underground comic legend Richard Pester brings us a new magazine featuring his groundbreaking graphic novel Trials of the Cosmic Oddity, also featuring material from over three decades of art.

Just to explain (though it should be obvious) the title is a humorous play on the creator's initials -RAP- and (c) so "CRAP".  Some of our non-English readers might have wondered about that!

That does not tell you much but when I received this along with issue 2 the first thing that hit me were the covers -the image here does not do it justice at all. Then I did what I always do and that is look at the production quality from paper to printing and binding (old habits die hard). It is very nicely put together and the colour reproduction is as good as you'll get with, say, Cinebook Ltd.

Having seen the original Cosmic Oddity (all three parts) I was hoping that it might get combined into one book -it would be the British equivalent to Harvey Pekar's American Splendor. What I want and what I get are two different things, however -so my mother always said. In this abbreviated form it still works and this time in colour and that I was not expecting.

There is a text piece about The Cosmic Oddity and two pages of Pester's other character Derna and tracing her history.  Plus there is a homage to Saphire and Steel -possibly one of the best ever supernatural/sci fi ITV serials of the 1970-1980s. 

For me this was a breath of fresh air and at £5 well worth it. I have seen the second issue and it's just as good and will review it once the ordering details are to hand.

Above: Derna in colour along with Joanna Lumley and David McCallum as Saphire and Steel

Above left: The Cosmic Oddity has words with...The Cosmic Oddity and a little (above and below) slice of life in full colour.

Give yourself a treat and maybe some inspiration and try a copy because £5 these days is not a lot to spend on a comic especially one as unique as this.

Cinebook Ltd: A Homage To Morris's Lonesome Cowboy Untamed!

 

48pp

colour

A4 comic album

UK  £8.99

US $12.95

Lucky Luke enters a small town to drop off at the sheriff's office a young man who tried to steal Jolly Jumper. A few miles down the road, in the middle of nowhere, he suddenly finds himself threatened... by a little girl! Young Rose and her brother are currently alone in their cabin after the mysterious disappearance of their parents. Luke will have to investigate, but also take care of two particularly wild and undisciplined children!

Well this is why reviewing can be a pain in the bum. This album dos not appear on Cinebook's webpage so I cannot give a link to order from there. So I spend an hour scouring the internet and find details on Amazon -a company I prefer not to give any publicity to. However, it does state: "This title will be released on July 1, 2024."  I see what you did there, Cinebook....

Anyway, first thing I noticed was the cover and my first thought was "That is Lucky Luke?" 

Blutch, pen name of Christian Hincker (born 27th December, 1967 in Strasbourg) is a French comic book author. He is considered one of the main authors of French comics since the early 1990s. After studying at the École supérieure des arts décoratifs de Strasbourg, Blutch was discovered through a competition organized by the monthly magazine Fluide Glacial. He got his nickname from a classmate due to his physical resemblance to Corporal Blutch, one of the characters of the comic series Les Tuniques Bleues (or The Blue Coats if you read Cinebook's UK reprints).

Seeing another artist take over from one you already know is a little jarring but this book is not part of the regular Lucky Luke series but "A HomageTo Morris's Lonesome Cowboy" and once that is clear the old man with a beard can sit back and breath easily!

There is a good script with lots of comic bar fighting, gunplay and this crosses over to the always present visual gags and, to be honest the sheriff in Rubbish Gulch is not up to the job...or any kind of job other than...being held prisoner?

The gun-slinger having to take care of two troublesome kids is straight out of a 1960s Western movie (just substitute James Garner or Glenn Ford for Lucky Luke). It was an enjoyable read and a new style that worked so no complaints from me. The reader -you- well, you gotta wait til July😛

Recommended.

Hexagon Comics: KABUR #6: THE FIRES OF FORALUME

 

 by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Luciano Bernasconi; Roberto Castro, José Luis Ruiz Pérez; cover by Roberto Castro.

7x10 squarebound comic, 

96 pages 

b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-256-2. 

US$14.95.   GBP 12.99

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-kabur-6-the-fires-of-foralume.html

ARIANROD: THE SCOURGE OF THE TSUNABI by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro

24. SHANGA KHOUR by Jean-Marc Lofficier (based on a plot by Claude J. Legrand) art by Luciano Bernasconi

25. THE FIRES OF FORALUME by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by José Luis Ruiz Pérez

The SAGA OF KABUR continues!
 
After defeating the evil Ghool, Kabur and Arianrod suddenly find themselves pitted against the diabolical schemes of the witch SHANGA KHOUR and the mysterious TIME RIDER. To defeat them, Kabur will have to overcome the lethal traps of the ghostly town of N’THALEK...
 
KABUR and ARIANROD then reach the great harbor city of FORALUME, where Lagrid was once sold as a slave. Still on the trail of SELINOR PSAH, the powerful sultan-sorcerer who kidnapped LAGRID, they find themselves caught up in a deadly plot hatched by the SHAIKORTIN Reavers who seek to take over FORALUME…
 
In a third bonus story, the beautiful Fomore princess ARIANROD, after having left her home, unmasks a murderer and confronts the PLAGUE OF THE TSUNABI...

That cover is a poster or trading card in the making!  It's good to see Arianrod on the cover and in action since she has become as important a character in this book as Kabur.  The stories are pure sword and sandals barbarian goodness and some nice back history being established for the future., In this, as noted, Arianrod is the equal of Kabur rather as Red Sonja was to Conan. 

The lovely clean black and white artwork and whether in a city, dungeon or witches lair, spell-casting or sword play it all looks great and when you see the name of the artists involved it is bound to be. Lofficier keeps his steady hand on the stories as well as continuityu and what Roy Thomas was to Marvel Comics in its creative Bronze Age so Lofficier is to Hexagon in its age of power!

A must for barbarian comic fans or anyone liking a good set of action stories.

HEXAGON SPOTLIGHT ON... JOSÉ LUIS RUIZ

 

7x10 squarebound comic, 

48 pages

 color. 
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-261-6. 

US$12.95.

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-hexagon-spotlight-on-jose-luis-ruiz.html
 

José Luis Ruiz Pérez was a tremendously gifted artist and it is my greatest honor to have been able to work with him for these past eight years. It was Manuel Martín Peniche who introduced him to me, and I will be eternally grateful to him for that. Not only was his work superb, reminiscent of the great American artists of the 1960s, such as Dick Giordano or Carmine Infantino, but he was also a very kind and friendly man, judging from our correspondence.

He will be greatly missed, not only by us here at Hexagon, but by many, many devoted fans of his.

Perez died after a long battle with cancer in 2023 and this book is a fitting showcase of some of his work -pencilled, inked and full colour and just to give you a taster look at these:

This type of book is a real treat -no story just great artwork and from an artist not unknown to Hexagon comic fans so a fitting tribute.

Oh, please order directly from the Hexagon site if you are interested in this and other titles as that means the publisher gets the profit not the big selling companies.

Cinebook Ltd: THE BLUECOATS 17 - THE DRAFT RIOTS

 

Authors: Lambil & Cauvin
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages

ISBN: 9781800441248

£8.99 incl VAT

Publication: January 2024

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/the-bluecoats-17-the-draft-riots-p-4538.html

The Civil War rages on. Despite some much-needed victories, losses have been harrowing on the Union side, and volunteers are getting scarce. That leaves conscription, but it’s an extremely unpopular measure – especially because of the possibility to avoid it by paying a sum of money only the rich can afford. Yet the North has little choice but to maintain it … and this is how, in July 1863 in New York City, simmering resentment turns into bloody rioting – with Blutch and Chesterfield caught in the tragic events.

The one thing I like about The Blue Coats is that it could just have been another American Civil War series but they have chosen to delve into some little known aspects of the conflict -with Blutch and Chesterfield added of course. The Draft Riots may come as a surprise to many because people think a military draft is more modern era when in fact it is quite ancient. I have not seen any films based in this period where there is talk of military draft. In fact most films portray it as a volunteers only fighting for one supposed cause or another. Normal human beings do not really want to kill other human beings -sadly they are not in the majority.

To call the art "cartoony" is a little insulting because although the people are not really cartoony they do have that style used by European artists even in very serious stories. Look at the details in the cover -the buildings and cobblestones are quite detailed. Inside the backgrounds and scenes are equally detailed and it all works well together.   The colour work (by Leonardo who I will probably find is a digital service) really adds more to this book. I have seen printings in French as well as the original German (😂) and I have to say Cinebook's is probably the best quality I have seen -no surprise since printing technology has moved on over the last couple decades.

I think that this series is okay for younger and older readers and the books have so far not disappointed.