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mediatoon February 2021
 
When the going gets tough
 
Last year surprised us with all kinds of unexpected and tragic events. But when you scroll through the list of our latest releases, you’ll see that our comics heroes aren’t any luckier than the best of us. Catastrophe and adversity of one kind or another are never far away…

In Akkad, for instance, five teenagers with superpowers will have to deal with an alien invasion, while in Yojimbot a man-made crisis destroys all traces of life and Earth is populated by android samourais. But tragedy is also a very personal affair, as it is for Chen in Le Reveil du Tigre (Tiger Awakes), who fights post-traumatic stress after fighting in the American Civil War. The same can be said of Nicolas Keramidas, who in A Coeur Ouvert (Open-Hearted) recounts having heart surgery as a child and again as an adult.

Luckily, these characters will find the strength and courage to surmount setbacks and face misfortune. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

Compilations & special editions

BEST-SELLERS

 
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Zombillénium

Vendredi noir (5)

By Arthur De Pins

Mainstream Comics
Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Fantasy & Esoteric, Humor 

The Zombillenium theme park is hiring… for all of eternity. Led by vampire Francis von Bloodt, Zombillenium and its sinister personnel welcome all comers for the time of their lives. The park isn’t free from the financial crisis that’s rocked all sectors of the economy, but its savior just might be on the way, the likes of which no one has ever seen… An impeccable black comedy from author Arthur de Pins.

Available in print in English from NBM Publishing

 
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Michel Vaillant – Nouvelle Saison

Duels (9)

By Benjamin Benéteau, Vincent Dutreuil & Denis Lapière

Mainstream Comics
Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Action & Adventure 

Created in 1957 by Jean Graton, Michel Vaillant embodies an ideal: an honest, loyal, brave motor racing champion. A member of team Vaillante, founded by his parents, he is an exceptional driver who’s always prepared to put himself in danger in order to help others, denounce an injustice or unmask cheats and crooks. Jean Graton, who is always well-informed about the latest technological innovations and very much acquainted with the world of racing circuits and teams, has developed a popular series, which to this day remains a reference through the generations for those with a passion for motor sports.


Graphic novel

 
 
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Un papa une maman une famille formidable (la mienne !)

Un papa une maman une famille formidable (la mienne !) (One-shot)

By Florence Cestac

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Biography & Memoirs 

“The reason I got married was to be waited upon!” This line kicks off Florence Cestac’s latest autobiographical comic. In her inimitable way, she tells the story of her childhood and her tumultuous relationship with her father. He’s a provincial, middle-class man of his time (the pre-late 60s); even as a child, she’s an artist rebelling against all forms of authority. Between her and a hot-headed father for whom saying “I love you” is a sign of weakness, the sea of life was often stormy. Daniel Pennac provides the preface for this tender, funny work by a master of Franco-Belgian comics.


 
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La Sirène des Pompiers

La Sirène des Pompiers (One-shot)

By Zanzim & Hubert

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Humor 

Paris, end of the 19th century. A mediocre painter finds inspiration after meeting a real mermaid, who agrees to become his model. His sudden success arouses the suspicion of an art critic, who starts an investigation.

This atypical, clever one-shot is one of the all-time treasures in Dargaud’s “Poisson Pilote” collection, re-released here in a new format.


 
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Le réveil du tigre

Le réveil du tigre (One-shot)

By Olivier TaDuc & Serge Le Tendre

Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Historical fiction, Western 

Chen is a Chinese man who fought with the Northern Army in the American Civil War. Traumatized by this experience, he has turned to opium for relief. Matt, a detective for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, is tracking down a serial killer. When the two men cross paths during a deadly shoot-out, it becomes blindingly obvious that Chen is Matt’s father. But what can you share with a son that you didn’t raise?
Author Serge Letendre and illustrator Olivier Taduc return to their favorite archetype: a character from far away plunged into a very different culture.

This one-shot is the sequel and last chapter of the series Chinaman.


 
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À coeur ouvert

À coeur ouvert (One-shot)

By Nicolas Keramidas

Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Biography & Memoirs, Non-Fiction 

Once an animator at Disney Studios, Nicolas Keramidas now makes a living as a cartoonist in Grenoble. He’s married to a wonderful woman, Chloé, has two energetic sons, and plays soccer every Sunday with his pals. He was also born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare combination of four heart defects that in 1973 made him one of the youngest children ever to undergo open-heart surgery. Forty-three years later, when his congenital condition stops him short during a soccer game, he’ll have to face surgery again, a saga he details in this moving, humorous, and above all, very human memoir.


 
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POLICES LES METIERS

Police Les Métiers (One-shot)

By Gérard Berthelot & Duc-Anh Duong

Publisher: Petit à Petit BD
Genres: Non-Fiction 

Are you finding it hard to decide which job you would like to do later on? This new collection’s goal is to help teenagers make this important decision by showing them the everyday lives of people with different job titles. The first volume provides enlightening anecdotes and facts about police officers.


Mainstream

 
 
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AKKAD

AKKAD (One-shot)

By Clarke

Publisher: Le Lombard
Genres: Sci-Fi 

An alien invasion is wreaking havoc on Earth. Conventional weapons don’t seem to be having any effect. In desperation, the U.S. government has begun experimenting with a chemical treatment on five teenagers. The idea is to boost their intelligence to a superhuman level, so that they can then invent the weapon that will save us all. Unless they themselves become uncontrollable…


 
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Yojimbot

Yojimbot (1)

By Sylvain Repos

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Sci-Fi 
Hoki Province, Japan, 2241. The island is populated by androids who tirelessly reenact the same samurai battles… The 3rd “Crisis of Man” destroyed all traces of life. Among the ruins of a feudal Japan rebuilt from scratch, the few machines that survived continue to reproduce scenarios that are thousands of years old. While humanity was thought to be unable to survive on the surface, one of the robots – a Yojimbot – comes face to face with a survivor, a child, threatened by a heavily armed troop… Overcoming the basic rules of robotics by prioritizing one life over another, this Yojimbot will kill every member of the squad in order to save the child.


 
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Les Lames d’Ashura

Osman. Les Lames d’Ashura (One-shot)

By Baptiste Pagani

Publisher: Ankama
Genres: Action & Adventure 

The newest one-shot by Baptiste Pagani — author of DoggyBags11 and The Golden Path — takes its characters on a rail journey throughout an imaginary steppe. A group of bandits called the “Ashura Blades” plan to steal a Golden Bouddha, a valuable relic. But the bandits are disrupted by the attack due to Captain Ashura’s death and the subsequent betrayal of Shota, of the most promising members of the group. The story deals with the triangular relationship between Shota and Ricki, the two “descendents” of Ashura and Osman — the only man in the group. It’s Mad Max, taken over by the fairer sex!


 
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Le Roi de Paille

Le Couronnement de la Reine morte (2)

By Isabelle Dethan

Publisher: Dargaud Benelux
Genres: Historical fiction, Action & Adventure 

In Egypt, Neith, daughter of the pharaoh, is noticed by her father as she prepares to dance in a sacred ritual. One of her sisters warns her: her performance had better be a failure unless she wants to end up in their father’s bed… But Neith is incapable of appearing clumsy and foolish. When her half-brother informs her that he intends to secretly leave the palace, Neith asks him to take her with him. Captured by slave merchants, they are brought to the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II.


 
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Le Lion de Judah

Le Lion de Judah (2)

By Hugues Labiano & Stephen Desberg

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Action & Adventure, Crime & Mystery 

1920s Nairobi. When two Africans are found gruesomely murdered, all signs point to John Wallace, a promising young plantation owner with a bright future ahead of him and a beautiful bride-to-be. What drove him to kill these men? His silence and a corrupt system lead to internment, without a trial, in a vicious Kenyan prison camp. But sadistic guards, conspiring cellmates, and harsh desert labor are no match for the suffering that Wallace feels inside over the life he lost, and how best to get it back. He’s willing to do anything for revenge—even loose the mysterious beast lurking within…


 
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Louisiana, la couleur du sang

Louisiana, la couleur du sang (2)

By Gontran Toussaint & Léa Chretien

Publisher: Dargaud
Genres: Historical fiction, Drama 

Louisiana, 1961. The elderly Louise shoos away questions from granddaughters eager to know more about the family’s distant past. But what is she hiding? As she unburdens herself to Hazel, the maid, memories and legends come pouring out from the years following the birth of the American nation: a sugarcane plantation, an abusive patriarch, a fearful wife, a headstrong daughter, and a mysterious voodoo priestess. What other dark secrets lurk, long-repressed, in the recesses of history? Léa Chrétien and Gontran Toussaint deliver a vivid, atmospheric story of generations of strong women and the secret things they do to survive, from the Civil War to the civil rights era.


 
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TALLI FILLE DE LA LUNE

TALLI FILLE DE LA LUNE (3)

By Sourya

Publisher: Ankama
Genres: Fantasy & Esoteric 

In ancient times, a people known as the “Handlers” lived in harmony with humans. Among their powers, these beings had the ability to invoke and control chimeras. But as humans’ fear of them grew, mankind decided to eradicate this other race, setting off a centuries‐long persecution. Talli, a descendent of the Handlers, was saved by Lord Koska when she was just a newborn. He decided to adopt and protect her, and she now lives within his castle, hidden away from the outside world.


Petit à Petit BD
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CATAMOUNT

La rédemption de Catamount (4)

By Benjamin Blasco-Martinez, Albert Bonneau & Gaet's
Western
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Le Lombard
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Sisco

Roulette russe (12)

By Legrain & Benec
Suspense & Thrillers
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Children's & family

 
 
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ANUKI

Le Grand voyage (10)

By Stéphane Sénégas & Frédéric Maupomé

Publisher: Editions de la Gouttière
Genres: Action & Adventure, Picture Books 

Anuki is a little American Indian boy who bravely faces dangers and adventures and never gives up. In each volume, the hero learns something important about life: solidarity, sharing, tolerance and respect… With his stylish brushstroke, Stéphane Sénégas creates realistic natural atmospheres, thrilling action sequences and humorous scenes akin to cartoons. The renowned French publisher L’école des Loisirs has chosen to co-publish the first episode in paperback.


 
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Raowl

Peau d’Âne la princesse qui pue (2)

By Tebo

Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Action & Adventure 

Raowl is not a hero for the faint of heart: he slices, dices and decapitates anyone standing between him and a kiss from a princess. Unfortunately for Raowl, the first princess he encounters doesn’t find him to her liking. Happily, he rescues a second princess and as it turns out, the two have a lot in common! Raowl’s rage is all the greater when the princess is kidnapped and taken to a castle full of cannibals, and he doesn’t waste any time leaping into the mouth of the beast! A rollicking rewrite of classic fairy tales, filled with guts, quips and colorful characters.


Compilations & special editions

COMPILATIONS AND SPECIAL EDITIONS

 
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Chinaman – L’intégrale

Intégrale (3)

By Olivier TaDuc & Serge Le Tendre

Mainstream Comics
Publisher: Dupuis
Genres: Western 

The complete collection. In the second half of the nineteenth century, a Chinaman travels the plains of Western America. Rejecting the yoke of the triads, John Chinaman, a former mercenary with a fierce love of liberty, leaps into the discovery of a new world.


Le Lombard
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Intégrale Bob Morane nouvelle version

Intégrale Bob Morane nouvelle version (17)

By Coria & Henri Vernes
Action & Adventure
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Dupuis
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Baudelaire – Cahiers

Baudelaire – Cahiers Tome (2)

By Yslaire
Non-Fiction
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