The year is coming to an end, but the comic book releases are linked, with some nuggets to slip in extremis at the foot of the tree.
2021 ends. Before a year 2022 which already promises to be literary, here are some gift ideas to slip under the tree at the last minute. Books for dreaming, laughing or thinking, which are among our favorites at the end of the year.
In the palace of mirrors
Screenplay and drawing by Liv Strömquist, color by Karin Cyrén – 176 pages
Published on October 22, 2021 by Rackham editions – € 22
From Sissi the Empress to the Instagram empire founded by the Kardashian sisters, the image that our bodies convey to us has always occupied a significant place in our relationship with others. After attacking capitalism (Rise & decline) and the age difference in Hollywood couples (The reddest rose blossoms), the brilliant Liv Strömquist returns this year with a new book of which only she has the secret. Acerbe, funny and critical, In the palace of mirrors questions our ambivalent relationship to the physical, from the tales of our childhood to the dictates imposed by social networks. A public utility comic, at a time when Facebook files accuse social networks of harming the mental health of young people.
Discover In the Palace of Mirrors
Cuphead “Cabrioles and other curiosities” (volume 1)
Screenplay by Zack Keller, drawing by Shawn Dickinson – 68 pages
Published on December 3, 2021 by PixnLove editions – € 14.50
Four years after its release on PC and Xbox One, the adorable Cuphead returns, this time on glossy paper. With its level of difficulty to make even the most seasoned players pale, its scathing humor and its masterful artistic direction, straight out of Disney studios in the 1930s, the independent shoot’em up had caused a stir at the time. Its arrival in comic book format at Pixnlove already promises to experience the same enthusiasm. Sublimated by awesome illustrations by Shawn Dikinson, Mugman’s new adventures are a feast for the eyes, which it is definitely hard to get tired of.
Discover Cuphead volume 1
Sandman death
Screenplay by Neil Gaiman, collective illustrations – 368 pages
Published on December 3, 2021 by Urban Comics editions, € 35
Announced earlier this year, Sandman death is an event for fans of Neil Gaiman (to whom we owe, among many others, the excellent series Good omens). First, because it is the first time that the two spin-off mini-series around the goddess of death have been published in French in their entirety. Then because this is a prime entry point for the imposing epic of the prolific author. Published in seven volumes by Urban Comics editions, Sandman is a monument of pop culture. With its nuanced characters and mature plot, the graphic novel published in 1989 is the only one of its kind to have won the World Fantasy award. A colossal work, the main frame of which alone has more than 2000 pages. A must-have for comic book fans, but also for all those who would like to discover the saga before the series’ release, scheduled for 2022 on Netflix.
Discover Sandman Death
Lone Wolf & Cub (volume 1)
Screenplay by Kazuo Koike, drawings by Gôseki Kojima – 688 pages
Published on December 8, 2021 by Panini Manga editions – € 32
After the massacre of his clan, Ogami Itto finds himself alone with his very young son Daigoro. If the character seems determined to take his role as a father to heart, he is nonetheless a relentless hitman, thirsty for revenge. Become rônin, the masterless samurai of Koike and Kojima gives us a astonishing mixture of fiction and realism, in a massive work whose influence has largely gone beyond the borders of the Japanese archipelago. First volume in a series of 12, this imposing prestige reissue signed Panini stands out as a beautiful editorial object, with awesome monochrome illustrations in black ink.
Discover Lone Wolf & Cub 1
The Little Dickie Illustrated (volume 2)
Scenario and drawings by Pieter de Poortere – 168 pages
Published on December 1, 2021 by Glénat editions – € 25
Crazy, sometimes absurd and always irreverent, Dicky returns this year for the second volume of his complete works, published by Glénat editions. The opportunity to (re) discover the character and her female alter ego Vickie, through their cruel and politically incorrect adventures. Through nearly 200 strips, some of which are unpublished, Pieter de Poortere still handles the art of silent gagging just as well. For his part, Dickie has not really changed since 2001. After a trip to space and a career in Hollywood, Hitler’s son completes his first full-length first published in 2011, with a acid compilation grouping together his various appearances between 2011 and 2021.
Discover Le Petit Dickie illustrated 2
A world of games
De Oriol Comas i Coma – 208 pages
Published on November 24, 2021 by Ynnis editions – € 29.90
From chess to the game of Go, including Monopoly and Scrabble, board games are not new. If they have experienced a real resurgence in popularity in recent years, especially with the release of new modern titles that dust off the genre, the art of the board game is almost as old as Humanity. It is in a rich and fascinating retrospective that Oriol Comas i Coma, playful author – to whom we owe in particular Dragons and Gaudi, the game of slabs, returns to the subject. An exhaustive book, to offer to enthusiasts lover of rule books.
Discover A World of Games
