The Best Of Euro Comics: Cinebook’s Titles For September

Every month the publisher Cinebook brings us the very best of the incredibly rich and diverse world of European comics, and we’ve got the previews of their September titles right here…

Time to look at this months releases from the comic company dedicated to bringing us English readers the very best in Franco-Belgian bandes dessinées, Cinebook.

Since 2005, Cinebook have been putting out English translations of so many fine, fine Euro books. Indeed, their backlist now easily acts as a perfect introduction to Euro comics, embracing the diversity of genres in an area of the medium that’s never been constrained by one dominant genre as American comics have.

This means that there really is something for everyone there. And that’s perfectly illustrated this month by three completely different books – an all-out action drama of air aces with Buck Danny Classics, the historical magical mystery of Emilie’s Inheritance, and another delightful all-ages tale of Yakari from the Great Prairie.

So… let’s take a look at that trio awaiting you at the end of the month…

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BUCK DANNY CLASSICS VOLUME 7 – SEA DART

By Frédéric Zumbiehl and Frédéric Marniquet; illustrated by André Le Bras
Published by Cinebook on 26 September

Another long-running and hugely successful series that’s been running since its creation 1947 by Georges Troisfontaines, Victor Hubinon, and Jean-Michel Charlier, with Francis Bergèse later taking on writing and drawing. It’s all about the world of military aviation, featuring the exploits of the daring Buck Danny. Interestingly, it’s not constrained by time, with the stories taking place throughout modern military history from WW II onwards, with this latest volume taking place in 1953, as the echoes of the war reverberate through the world…

Here’s what Cinebook have to say about it…

“From the bloody episodes of WWII in the Pacific to the most modern developments in aviation, going from adventure to adventure, the aviator Buck Danny and his colleagues cross a half-century of American and world history. Joining an extraordinarily accurate sense of detail with the inspiration of great epics, Buck Danny’s adventures keep us in suspense and show us the hidden side of global geopolitics.

1953. Buck, Sonny and Tumb have been sent to the Patuxent River Flight Test Centre to help design and test the Sea Dart, a seaplane jet. Meanwhile, a former SS general previously in command of Nazi special projects, Hans Kammler, has been spotted in Argentina by an American agent – who is then promptly murdered along with every member of the local CIA network. The task of locating a potential secret Nazi base then falls to Buck, his friends … and the Sea Dart.”

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EMILIE’S INHERITANCE VOLUME 2 – MAEVE

By Florence Magnin
Published by Cinebook on 26 September

The first volume of this one was rather great, showing us a beautifully drawn Paris where Emilie is working the nightclubs, only to find that she’s come into an unexpected, and mysterious, inheritance, including the Hatcliff Estate in deepest Ireland.

We’ve seen some of the history of the place, finding out that Hatcliff’s fortune was built on ill-gotten gains from a fantastical adventure, one that you know is going to ensnare Emilie as things go on.

Full of gorgeous artwork, and pointing towards plenty of faerie-like interference to come, Emilie’s Inheritance looks perfect for those of us who enjoy this sort of well-done fantasy tale.

Again, here’s the Cinebook PR for this one…

A young, penniless Frenchwoman inherits an estate in Ireland – and discovers there a slew of secrets that’ll take her beyond space and time.

After a less than restful night spent in the Tinker camp, Emilie finally enters the estate she’s inherited. There, she soon meets the residents – half caretakers, half parasites, and all extremely strange. Through conversations with members of that eclectic group, and her own explorations, the young woman begins to discover the surprising history of her ancestor, Hatcliff, and the estate that bears his name – along with the apparently very real magic that permeates the place.

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YAKARI VOLUME 22 – YAKARI AND THE PRONGHORNS

By Derib & Job
Published by Cinebook on 26 September

An absolutely delightful all-ages saga from Derib & Job, all about the adventures of brave and thoughtful Yakari and his exploits on the Great Prairie. Created in 1973 and already adapted twice, into a TV cartoon series and a 2020 animated movie, it’s another huge series in Europe yet criminally under-appreciated in both the US and Britain.

It’s full of gentle tales with an environmental theme, as Yakari and her tribe live in balance with nature.

Again, here’s what Cinebook have to say about this one…

Yakari is a little Indian, courageous and generous, whose happy life all children would like to share. Astride Little Thunder, his faithful mustang, Yakari gallops across the Great Prairie, where people and animals live in harmony and migrate according to the seasons. Endowed with the wonderful ability to talk with all the animals, Yakari comes to know their way of life and their environment. Through his encounters and discoveries, Yakari passes on to young readers of his fascinating adventures a sense of respect, tolerance, justice, and solidarity. With humour and kindness, Yakari also teaches how to take advantage of lessons about life revealed by Mother Nature… Angoulême 2005: Yakari won the “youth prize 7-8 years.”

On a lovely spring day, Yakari happens upon Quiet Rock, the tribe’s elder, busy admiring a Pronghorn – an American antelope. The young Sioux then spends a few days with the Pronghorn’s family, learning about their everyday life. With the help of several of his animal friends, he even helps them through several incidents – from coyote attacks to prairie fires – and learns a valuable lesson about humility while he’s at it.