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mediatoon August 2021
 
An historical summer
 
Many would say that we are living through a watershed moment in history with everything going on in the world, from the pandemic to global warming. Which makes it a good time to recall some other significant periods that shaped our modern world.

World War II is of course an era the world will long remember. It is important to keep the memory of these dark times alive thanks to stories like Madeleine, Résistante (Madeleine’s Resistance) and also to teach our children with series like Les Enfants de la Résistance (Children of the Resistance) whose huge success speaks to readers’ high level of interest in historical subjects.

Finally, let us hearken back to the industrial revolution with Renault. The story of French automotive pioneer Louis Renault mirrors that of many modern entrepreneurs with his push for constant innovation and his drive to beat the competition.

The MFR Team

Compilations & special editions

BEST-SELLERS

 
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Escape Game - Les Enfants de la Résistance

Escape Game – Enfants de la Résistance (one-shot)

By Ers, Rémi Prieur & Mélanie Vives

Children's & Family
Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Historical fiction, Drama 

The Children of the Resistance are on a new mission… And this time, they need you! In the escape book based on the comics series, you must help an allied pilot escape occupied France and fly back to England, a task that will involve deciphering encrypted messages and planning aerial escape routes. Discover a popular new kind of game book that will test your wits and problem-solving skills, in an interactive and thrilling experience created with the authors of the renowned series.


 
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RIP

Albert – Prière de rendre l’âme soeur (4)

By Julien Monier & Gaët’s

Mainstream Comics
Publisher: Petit à Petit BD
Genres: Suspense & Thrillers, Drama 

People sometimes die to widespread indifference. People who have no family or friends. They can stay a long time at home before they’re discovered. Fortunately, the company hiring Derrick and his colleagues is in charge of cleaning up gruesome scenes before families come over. What they discover sometimes is not a pretty sight…


 
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Undertaker

Salvaje (6)

By Ralph Meyer & Xavier Dorison

Mainstream Comics
Publisher: Dargaud Benelux
Genres: Western 

Undertaker Jonas Crow is the most sought-after criminal in the West, despised for the massacre he was responsible for during the Civil War. As his associate, he takes on the young and puritanical English girl, Rose Prairie, who is accompanied by Lin, her housemaid. Together the trio sets off on a journey across the country, running into plenty of gruesome adventures along the way.


Dargaud – Zéphyr
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Une aventure Classic de Tanguy & Laverdure

Le Pilote qui en savait trop (4)

By Matthieu Durand, Patrice Buendia & Hubert Cunin
Action & Adventure
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Dupuis
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Game over

Deep impact (20)

By Midam
Action & Adventure
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Graphic novel

 
 
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Quelqu'un à qui parler

Quelqu’un à qui parler (one-shot)

By Grégory Panaccione

Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Drama 

The day of his 35th birthday, Samuel sits alone, surrounded by empty plates and empty chairs. Teetering on the edge of depression, he decides he needs to talk to someone. But when he picks up the phone, he realizes that he has nobody he can call. Only one number springs to mind: his childhood phone number, conjuring up memories of a happier time, long since past.
With nothing better to do, Samuel dials the number. To his surprise, someone answers. And to his even greater surprise, that someone is himself, Samuel, aged 10. What do you say to your childhood self from 25 years ago?
Evening after evening, Samuel will ask himself questions over the phone. Would the ten-year-old me be proud of how I’ve turned out? Would he want to grow up to be the person I am today? Have I let him down?
With the help of these extraordinary conversations, Samuel will slowly begin to take his life into his own hands and finally move forward.
An adaptation of the novel Quelqu’un à qui parler by Cyril Massarotto (XO Editions).


 
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Animal Social Club

Animal Social Club (one-shot)

By Hervé Bourhis

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Humor 

When a pair of thirtysomething, Parisian screenwriters tries to produce a bankable film after the COVID pandemic, they find themselves on an obstacle course through the amusing yet repugnant microcosm of the movies! Our two hip yuppies encounter an overly-tan, overly-smiley producer in a white shirt, a creepy director in his eighties, indifferent regional financing committee members, a young youtuber with 3 million followers–the frontrunner for the title role–and a legendary actress from the 60s as quirky as she is drunk! All that plus too many sidewalk cafés and too many train trips.
In the same vein as The Teckel, a satirical farce about cinema, largely inspired by Hervé Bourhis’s attempts to get one of his books adapted for the screen!


 
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Madeleine résistante

Madeleine résistante (1)

By Dominique Bertail, Madeleine Riffaud & JD Morvan

Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Biography & Memoirs 

The sequel to the 1939-1945 Madeleine case that was opened with the signed permission of Madeleine Riffaud, the heroine of this true story.
The first part of this story traced the rather dramatic experience of a young girl who, aged just 16-18 years old during the Occupation, was sentenced to death by the Gestapo for shooting a German soldier in the middle of Paris. In this second and final part, that same girl will go on to help liberate Paris by leading the Saint-Just military company. You can learn more about this 20th-century heroine’s inspirational life on Wikipedia.


 
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Renault

Les Mains noires (one-shot)

By Benéteau & Antoine Lapasset

Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Biography & Memoirs, Historical fiction 

Starting from a small backyard workshop, where he tinkered with his motors, the French engineer Louis Renault built an empire. The iconic Renault factory in Billancourt ‐‐ as the saying goes, when it sneezes, all of France catches a cold ‐‐ was destined to soon become the biggest industrial fortress in the country.
Looking back on the life of Renault means rediscovering the first half of the 20th century. Fifty years of dazzling transformation around the world, driven by technological progress without limits. And fifty years marked by devastating ideological conflicts, including two world wars. If the first helped propel Renault to the top, the second would be his downfall.


 
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Tremen

Tremen (2)

By Pim Bos & Marc Caro

Publisher: Dargaud Benelux
Genres: Sci-Fi 

In a grey, futuristic and apocalyptic world, a strange traveler and his mount wander through destroyed lands. Forced to replenish their energy stores, they cannot stay away from civilization for long stretches of time. Although other creatures live there, the city is as inhospitable, empty and gloomy as the vast expanses of desolate country that surround it. But wherever the traveler goes, things malfunction, machines lose their minds and create chaos. He must leave town and set forth once again, alone, to explore another barren wasteland.


Mainstream

 
 
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Circé

La Magicienne (one-shot)

By Gabriel Delmas & Richard Marazano

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Esoteric 

According to legend, Ulysses and his men wash up on the island occupied by Circe, the skilled sorceress who transforms men into animals. Under the charm of the sorceress, Ulysses’ companions take her potion and transform. Only Ulysses, whom Hermes had given the antidote, manages to escape and overcome Circe. He makes her promise that she will no longer attempt to kill him before lying with her and releasing his companions. He then leaves her… pregnant.
In Homer’s poem, Circe is presented as a femme fatale who uses pleasure to corrupt men. But seen through her eyes, she is merely defending herself from the combative violence of men. In order to retain her independence and protect herself from the violence of humans that she knows all too well, Circe must heal the men by returning them to their animal nature. But these transformations also close her off from the men and prevent her from building relationships with them or from loving them. The forced union with Ulysses fills this void and liberates her from her solitude while imprisoning her forever within her femininity.
This album scrupulously follows the chronology established by Homer, but from the point of view of Circe, a woman subjected to symbolic violence and masculine oppression.


 
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Les Nouvelles Aventures de Barbe-Rouge

Les Chiens de mer (2)

By Stefano Carloni & Jean-Charles Kraehn

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Action & Adventure 

Redbeard must stop a French pirate who’s robbing the plantation owners of the New World. Along with Eric, Baba, and Tripod, they head out after “The Ghost.” But their prey is hardly what it seems… Written by Jean-Charles Kraehn and illustrated by the young virtuoso Stefano Carloni, the strong winds of adventure infuse this two-part story that would make the original creators Jean-Michel Charlier and Victor Hubinon proud.
Jean-Charles Kraehn has a fantastic knowledge of the sea, from boats to the history of piracy and the series originally created by Jean-Michel Charlier and Victor Hubinon in 1959 in “Pilote” magazine. Situated within the original creators’ timeline (which has since been continued by Jijé, Gaty, and Ollivier), the writer of “Tramp” weaves a two-part tale worthy of the best pirate stories. Virtuoso Stefano Carloni respects the graphic codes of Victor Hubinon’s characters and paints a dynamic and spectacular stage. Realistic and meticulously referenced naval scenes embellish an adventure story in the purest dramatic tradition so near and dear to Jean-Michel Charlier’s heart.


 
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MUTAFUKAZ 1886

Mutafukaz 1886 (4)

By Hutt & RUN

Publisher: Ankama
Genres: Action & Adventure 

What if Mutafukaz had taken place in 1886, after the West was won? Enter Mutafukaz 1886, the re-writing of Vinz and Angelino’s adventures à la western. In this alternate history drawn with the warm colors so typical of westerns, Vinz and Angelino are prey to the Machos, cosmic beings born out of the world’s dark matter, and who have just seized the mining companies recently sprung up in California.


Zéphyr Editions
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Ciel sans pilote

Dans l’ombre du V2 (3)

By Stephan Agosto & Wallace
Action & Adventure
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Zéphyr Editions
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Team Rafale

Rafale contre Rafale (13)

By Olivier Jolivet & Frédéric Zumbiehl
Action & Adventure
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Children's & family

 
 
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Droners

Tales of Nuï (1)

By Nicolas David & Sylvain Dos Santos

Publisher: Kana
Genres: Action & Adventure 

Corto, Enki, and Mouse are Droners who come from Nuï, an island paradise threatened by the rising oceans. In order to save their island, the trio decides to take part in the Whale Cup, the wildest drone race on Terraqua. The winners will get to meet Whyatt Whale, Terraqua’s savior and an incredible genius, whose inventions include a revolutionary source of energy.


 
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Coeur Collège

Secrets d’amour (1)

By Maya & BeKa

Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Drama, Humor 

Linon and Garance, both eleven-years-old, have a lot of questions about Love. To satisfy their curiosity, they decide to carry out a survey of the school’s older students. Turns out there are some surprises in store! The more they discover, the more they learn never to judge a book by its cover.


 
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Urbex

Villa Pandora (1)

By Clarke & Dugomier

Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Action & Adventure 

Alex and Julie have been friends for as long as they can remember. After school, they like to meet up and explore abandoned buildings. One day, these two daredevils find their way into a big old deserted mansion, where they’re confronted with disturbing visions of the past… but they can’t work out what they mean. Alex and Julie have no choice, they have to find out more.


 
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Magic

La Fillette aux cheveux violets (1)

By Audrey Molinatti & Lylian K.

Publisher: Dargaud Benelux
Genres: Fantasy & Esoteric, Action & Adventure 

Accused of a crime that she didn’t commit, a fortune teller-witch dies in the flames as her house burns down. Nobody knows, however, that the witch had secretly helped a woman named Lila to conceive a child. Months later, Lila brings a charming baby girl into the world. Upon seeing her, the girl’s father is furious; the newborn has violet hair, a sign of potential ties with the strange and disturbing world of magic and witchcraft. He takes the child from her mother and sends her to a convent far away. The young girl embarks on a life full of adventures in the world of witches and sorcerers as she gradually learns the mysterious circumstances surrounding her birth.


Dupuis
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Absolument Normal

Tous seuls (2)

By Alessia Martusciello, Alberto Aurelio Pizzetti & Kid Toussaint
Fantasy & Esoteric
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Dupuis
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Créatures

La Grande nuit (2)

By Djief & Betbeder
Fantasy & Esoteric, Action & Adventure
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Compilations & special editions

COMPILATIONS AND SPECIAL EDITIONS

 
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CH Confidentiel - Compilation

CH Confidentiel - Compilation (one-shot)

By Ceppi

Mainstream Comics
Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Crime & Mystery 

The adventures of a special section of the Swiss police, dedicated to tracking down financial criminals. Their first investigation will lead them into a race against time, as they try to stop a highly organised and minutely planned terrorist attack.
Thanks to rich documentation and privileged contacts inside the Swiss police, Ceppi presents an accurate and highly realistic picture of crime in the world of European high finance, and the constant battle against it.


 
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Ducobu - Compilation

La Compil’ de la rentrée (one-shot)

By Godi & Zidrou

Children's & Family
Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Humor 

Ducobu is a loveable clown, a bit of a rascal, and notoriously lazy. A ‘quality’ that is not without its downsides… You have to be smart to avoid the humiliating dunce’s hat! And, of course, his neighbor Leonie knows everything about everything. But this little madam detests copiers… so making eyes at Leonie won’t get him the answers, leaving Ducobu with no choice but to invent ever more ambitious cheating strategies. Brilliantly intelligent and full of imagination, Ducobu could of course study just a little bit…but that would just be to easy!
With a collection of irresistable gags, Godi and Zidrou have managed to create a touching series which is a true ode to freedom and imagination.


 
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Vasco - Compilation

Vasco - Compilation (10)

By Dominique Rousseau, Defachelle & Révillon

Mainstream Comics
Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Historical fiction 

1387. The time for the Renaissance has not yet come, but, already, the time of the Knights is ending. The real lords of medieval Europe are the bankers. Fiery, charming, sensual and as Italian as you can get, Vasco belongs to this powerful circle of financiers. In the name of his uncle, the wealthy banker Tolomei, he travels through this medieval world filled with poverty and conflict. Running for almost thirty years, Vasco has been one of the greatest historical series in the comic book world. Gilles Chaillet skillfully blends historical accuracy with complex drama, creating an enchanting portrait of an era that we still know so little about.