This batch of drama features a reclusive piano superstar, the sad story of Red Rocket and Kid Cosmo, an Iraqi girl's struggles to survive, a young artist going blind, and a new collection of Tillie Walden's fantastic work.
BALLAD FOR SOPHIE GN
(W) Filipe Melo (A/CA) Juan Cavia
A young journalist prompts a reclusive piano superstar to open up, resulting in this stunning graphic sonata exploring a lifetime of rivalry, regret, and redemption.
1933. In the small French village of Cressy-la-Valoise, a local piano contest brings together two brilliant young players: Julien Dubois, the privileged heir of a wealthy family, and François Samson, the janitor's son. One wins, one loses, and both are changed forever.
1997. In a huge mansion stained with cigarette smoke and memories, a bitter old man is shaken by the unexpected visit of an interviewer. Somewhere between reality and fantasy, Julien composes, like in a musical score, a complex and moving story about the cost of success, rivalry, redemption, and flying pianos.
When all is said and done, did anyone ever truly win? And is there any music left to play?
Features:
-Sweeping, ambitious storytelling that spans seven decades, from the German occupation of France through the wild 1960s to the modern era
-Exquisitely dynamic artwork, bursting with life and perfectly suited to the unique and slightly off-kilter story
-Equally appealing to classical piano lovers and fans of sprawling literary/historical fiction
Praise for the creators:
"Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia form what is probably the most talented and productive duo in the recent Portuguese graphic novel scene." -- José Mário Silva, Expresso
MAY210433
Why this caught my eye:
Cavia's art is the big draw for me here, and the story sounds like an engaging piece of historical fiction as well.
BETTER PLACE GN
(W) Duane Murray (A/CA) Shawn Daley
This sidekick misses his superhero... After hearing that his grandfather has gone to a "better place," a boy sets off on a grand adventure to find him, dressed as his favourite comic book character. Dylan just moved to a new house, with no friends, and a mother who doesn't have time for him. Luckily, he has his grandad. Together, they are Red Rocket and Kid Cosmo, who save the world from evil every day with the power of imagination! But one day, Dylan learns that his grandad is suddenly gone... to a "better place." Now, Kid Cosmo will have to save the day, all by himself.
Debut author Duane Murray joins artist Shawn Daley (Samurai Grandpa) for a touching story about family, grief, change, and growth.
APR210626
Why this caught my eye:
Ah yes, this looks sufficiently sad and emotionally gut-wrenching. Gotta hit that regular soul crushing quota in my comic reading.
YASMEEN TP
(W) Saif A. Ahmed (A) Fabiana Mascolo
Split between two periods in her life, this is the story of an Iraqi girl's struggles to survive slavery in ISIS terrorist regime in Mosul. Yasmeen was a happy 16-year-old when she was captured by ISIS invading army and is forced to find the courage within herself to endure slavery. Then, after surviving long two years in captivity, she is freed but has become a different person. Unable to connect to the things that she loved before, she must go through a different kind of struggle as she tries to adjust to the normal life with her family as refugees in a foreign country, America.
Collects issues #1-6.
APR211902
Why this caught my eye:
I was really impressed with the first chapter so I'm really glad that this is arriving soon in TP format.
IMPENDING BLINDNESS OF BILLIE SCOTT OVERSIZED ED
(W) Zoe Thorogood (A) Zoe Thorogood
Billie Scott is an artist. Her debut gallery exhibition opens in a few months. Within a fortnight she'll be completely blind. Zoe Thorogood's first graphic novel is a story about what it's like to get something you want, have it immediately taken away from you and then how you put it all back together again. Set in a world of people down on their luck from Middlesbrough to London, it's a graphic novel that speaks of post-austerity Britain and the problems facing those left behind.
MAY211191
Why this caught my eye:
This popped up on my radar last year when Broken Frontier reviewed a copy. It looks really engaging and I like Thorogood's art a lot.
ALONE IN SPACE A COLLECTION HC
(W) Tillie Walden (A/CA) Tillie Walden
A collection of Tillie's three longform comics with Avery Hill: "I Love This Part," "The End of Summer," and "A City Inside." Plus the early sketches, short comics for magazines and webcomics such as "What It's Like To Be Gay In An All-Girls Middle School" that shot her to fame on both sides of the Atlantic and have never been collected before.
APR211516
Why this caught my eye:
Any Walden project should be highlighted, and it's great to get these stories merged into one nice hard cover edition for easier accessibility. Plus it's great to get the the extra never-before-collected material finally.
That's it for this batch, we'll hit manga next!
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