Who is XIII? Cop, gangster, secret agent or mercenary? The stories concerning the amnesiac man with “XIII” tattooed on his shoulder written by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by William Vance ran to a total of 19 French albums with… Read More ›
British Comics – Books
In Review: Alpha – The List
Cinebook publish a number of spy or spy-like series including IR$, Lady S and Largo Winch, but the only CIA agent on (or rather in) their books is Alpha. The List was originally published by Le Lombard in 1999 as… Read More ›
In Review: Scared To Death – Malevolence and Mandrake
Horror comics for children have had an awkward time of it in the past so full marks to Cinebook being brave enough to translate the Belgian series Mort De Trouille into English for the first time. Written by Virginie Vanholme… Read More ›
In Review: Yoko Tsuno – The Dragon Of Hong Kong
Roger Leloup’s tales of the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female Japanese electronics engineer, began in Spirou magazine in 1970 and while set in the modern day they can veer between full on science-fiction and more realistic straight adventure. The… Read More ›
In Review: Valerian and Laureline – The City of Shifting Waters
The biggest science fiction comic strip in the French language world is not, as you might think, Barbarella but rather a series called Valerian and Laureline. Running for over 40 years it has reached a total of more than 20… Read More ›
Grandville, Manga Shakespeare shortlisted for Children’s Book Awards
Much to the author’s surprize, Bryan Talbot’s cracking steampunk-inspired graphic novel Grandville has been shortlisted for a Sheffield Children’s Book Award in the awards new graphic novel category, one of five titles topping a list of favourite comics based on… Read More ›
In Review: The Scorpion – The Holy Valley
Adventurer, womaniser, swordsman, thief, swindler, arrogantly self assured of his own survival, with blood ties to one of the most important people on the planet, and a woman whom he both hates and desires, and who appears to reciprocate those… Read More ›
In Review: The Art of Pho
By Julian HanshawPublisher: Jonathan CapeISBN: 9780224089845Out: 1st July 2010 The Book: The noodle soup called pho is the national dish of Vietnam. When Little Blue – having been dropped by a mysterious man with a red car and being told… Read More ›
In Review: IR$ – The Corrupter
The Corrupter is the second and final part of the IR$ story begun in Silica, Inc. which was reviewed on downthetubes when it was published earlier in the year. That first book left the reader wondering about a red haired… Read More ›
In Review: Largo Winch – See Venice… And Die
Largo Winch is the Eagle Award nominated series that follows the life, loves and tribulations of one of the richest men in the world. Written by Lady S, Thorgal and XIII’s Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by Philippe Francq, the… Read More ›