Non Album Collections 288

The Winter of the Cartoonist (2020)

by Paco Roca  (Author). In 1957, Editorial Bruguera was one of Spain's largest publishing houses, putting out hugely popular weekly magazines and comics for young and old ― while retaining all rights and creative control of their artists' work. Spanish comics superstar Paco Roca investigates the true story of five cartoonists who, spurred by poor working conditions, arbitrary editorial edicts, and nationwide dictatorial rule, went on a quest for creative freedom. Little did they know that the corporation had begun actively trying to thwart their distribution and publishing efforts, turning their battle into a real-life David and Goliath tale. The Winter of the Cartoonist provides historical context and short profiles of these artists as they serve as everyday heroes for all of those who have chased a dream, no matter how high the obstacles that stand in front of them.  Full-color illustrations throughout.

Twists Of Fate (2018)

by Paco Roca  (Author). Miguel Ruiz is a Spanish veteran exiled in France who was a member of “La Nueve” ("The Nine"), a company of men that went straight from fighting for their homeland in the Spanish Civil War to battles spanning the globe in WWII. Their years-long trek across Europe and Africa was spurred on by their love for their country and their hatred for brutal dictatorships. Roca uses the composite character Ruiz’s “memories” to tell a story that’s an ode to a generation that bravely stood up to, and beat back, violent fascism. Full-color illustrations throughout.

Waves (2019)

by Ingrid Chabbert (Author), Carole Maurel (Illustrator). After years of difficulty trying to have children, a young couple finally announces their pregnancy, only to have the most joyous day of their lives replaced with one of unexpected heartbreak. Their relationship is put to the test as they forge ahead, working together to rebuild themselves amidst the churning tumult of devastating loss, and ultimately facing the soul-crushing reality that they may never conceive a child of their own.

Brain Drain

Certain details surrounding the death of Albert Einstein are so outlandish as to sound like urban legend: namely, the theft of his brain by Thomas Stoltz Harvey, the pathologist who performed the eminent physicist’s autopsy. From these historical events, Pierre-Henry Gomont concocts a picaresque road trip of a tale by turns farcical and moving, whimsical and melancholy, sweeping up in its narrative whirlwind the FBI, a sanatorium, neurobiology, hallucinogens, hospital bureaucracy, and romance. In his dissection of friendship and the forging of scientific reputation, the nimble cartoonist serves up a slice of lovingly rendered Americana for the ages.  Pierre-Henry Gomont (artist, cover, writer).

Non Album Collections 287

Women Discoverers - Top Women in Science (NBM 2021)

by Marie Moinard (Author), Christelle Pecout (Illustrator). From Ada Lovelace (computing) to Marie Curie (Physics and Chemistry), these exceptional women enabled the world to advance in all fields of science including space exploration (Mae Jemison), telecommunications (the actress also genius discoverer Hedy Lamarr), and Biology (Rosalind Franklin). An inspiration going counter to preconceived notions about women and science, presenting a diverse group from around the world.

Lovecraft - The Myth of Cthulhu (2018)

by Esteban Maroto  (Author). "The Nameless City" is considered the first story of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, detailing the discovery of an ancient city in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula built by an unnamed race of beings of reptilian appearance. In "The Festival" a man arrives at the sea town of Kingsport, Massachusetts during Christmas but finds a place eerily empty and centuries out of date. "The Call of Cthulhu" is perhaps Lovecraft's most famous story, describing a man who after finding the notes of his grand-uncle is lead on a journey around the world in search of this mysterious and disturbing phenomenon.

Jamilti and Other Stories (2008)

by Rutu Modan  (Author). Published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2007, Exit Wounds-a tale at once mystery and romance-introduced North American readers to the colorful and tightly woven narrative by Rutu Modan and was included in Time and Entertainment Weekly's "best of" lists. Jamilti and Other Stories collects the cartoonist's short works, which lead the reader through unexpected turns of plot and unusual character portraits. Some are darkly fantastical and unsettling, such as the unraveling of a serial-killer murder mystery, or her accounts of an infatuated plastic surgeon and his sanitarium, and a mother back from the dead with dubious healing powers. Others are more attuned to surprising discoveries that shape personal identity, as in the story of a tragic past that lies within a family's theme hotel, or that of a struggling musician who hopes an upcoming gig will be his big break. In "Jamilti," Modan addresses political violence with a suicide bombing that shakes up a day in the lives of a young couple.

Porcelain

As snow falls on a magical city, the urchin, Child, steals into the Porcelain Maker's garden. Captured by his alchymical porcelain automata, she charms her way into his life and he becomes the father she never had. He has only one rule; she must never, ever, open the workshop door.

More than a decade has passed since the events of Porcelain: A Gothic Fairy Tale, and Child has become Lady. Inheritor of all of Uncle's secrets and wealth, she has continued his work, becoming equally as isolated in her quest to refine the Porcelain and put right past mistakes.

With the Porcelain more sought after than ever, Lady comes to the attention of a ruthlessly ambitious General who desires inhuman soldiers for the war effort and won't take no for an answer. Other, more human, problems rear their head when a handsome young Captain discovers a secret part of Lady's life.

Faced with impossible choices, Lady must forge her own path through the complexities of love and war. Created by Benjamin Read, Chris Wildgoose.

Non Album Collections 286

The Stranger - The Graphic Novel (2018)

by Albert Camus  (Author), Jacques Ferrandez (Illustrator). The day his mother dies, Meursault notices that it is very hot on the bus that is taking him from Algiers to the retirement home where his mother lived; so hot that he falls asleep. Later, while waiting for the wake to begin, the harsh electric lights in the room make him extremely uncomfortable, so he gratefully accepts the coffee the caretaker offers him and smokes a cigarette. The same burning sun that so oppresses him during the funeral walk will once again blind the calm, reserved Meursault as he walks along a deserted beach a few days later—leading him to commit an irreparable act.

In Search of Lost Time - Swann's Way (Heuet) (2015)

by Stéphane Heuet (Adapter), Marcel Proust  (Author). In this first volume, Swann's Way, the narrator Marcel, an aspiring writer, recalls his childhood when―in a now immortal moment in literature―the taste of a madeleine cake dipped in tea unleashes a torrent of memories about his family’s country home in the town of Combray. Here, Heuet and Goldhammer use Proust's own famously rich and labyrinthine sentences and discerning observations to render Combray like never before. From the water lillies of the Vivonne to the steeple and stained glass of the town church, Proust's language provides the blueprint for Heuet's illustrations. Heuet and Goldhammer also capture Proust's humor, wit, and sometimes scathing portrayals of Combray's many memorable inhabitants, like the lovelorn Charles Swann and the object of his affection and torment, Odette de Crécy; Swann's daughter Gilberte; local aristocrat the Duchesse de Guermantes; the narrator's uncle Adolphe; and the hypochondriac Aunt Léonie.

Plutocracy - Chronicles of a Global Monopoly (NBM 2020)

by Abraham Martinez  (Author). 2051. The world's largest company, The Company, has seized power on a planetary scale and runs the world as if it were a business. In a plutocracy, the richer one is, the more powerful one is. In this context, an anonymous citizen becomes compelled to uncover how the world came to this situation, without paying any attention to the official version. Several members of the government end up encouraging him to carry out this investigation by giving him access to all information. He decides to discover the true history of The Company and the various interests that are trying to influence his investigation.

Bootblack

During the depths of the Great Depression, an orphan reinvents himself as Al Chrysler and strives to win the heart of the local grocer's daughter. In doing so, he falls in with a newly arrived petty criminal who soon has him and his friends working for the local mafia. As the stakes get higher, Al soon realizes he's gotten in too deep, and is caught up in a chain of events beyond his control. Created by Mikael.

Non Album Collections 285

Fruit of Knowledge - The Vulva vs. The Patriarchy (2018)

by Liv Strömquist (Author, Artist). From Adam and Eve to pussy hats, people have punished, praised, pathologized, and politicized vulvas, vaginas, clitorises, and menstruation. In this graphic nonfiction book, drawn in chunky, punky pen, Swedish cartoonist Liv Strömquist traces how different cultures and traditions have shaped women’s health and beyond. Her biting, informed commentary and ponytailed avatar guides the reader from the darkest chapters of history (a clitoridectomy performed on a five-year-old American child as late as 1948) to the lightest (vulvas used as architectural details as a symbol of protection). Like humorists Julie Doucet (Dirty Plotte), Alison Bechdel (Dykes to Watch Out For), and Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant), she uses the comics medium to reveal uncomfortable truths about how far we haven’t come. Full-color illustrations throughout.

The Life of a Coat (2019)

by Kadya Molodowsky (Author), Batia Kolton (Artist). When the father of a large family makes a beautiful winter coat, little does he know how much use it will get. Little Gedalia wears the coat with pride all year, but when it gets too tight for him―he’s a growing boy, after all―it’s given to his sister, Yeshaya. Thus begins the journey of the coat as it’s passed down from child to child, a charming portrait of a loving family. Drawn in a clean-line style with a muted color palette, The Life of a Coat is based on the beloved Yiddish poem by the Polish poet Kadya Molodowsky and will delight young readers and their parents. Full-color illustraions throughout

The Sea (2018)

by Rikke Villadsen (Author). A fisherman traversing the ocean is used to danger and surprise, but what happens when he pulls up his net and catches a newborn baby and a talking fish? Thus begins a story full of provocative symbolism and a madness that doesn't just bubble beneath the surface of the water, but drenches the sailor--and reader--like a tidal wave. Danish cartoonist Rikke Villadsen makes her English-language debut with this seafaring tale soaked in surrealism that is ultimately about the end of one life, the beginning of another, and a man, literally and figuratively, lost at sea.