European hardcovers in English at $10 a pop!

[XIII]

Hi, Augie, I see that you've been showing an increasing interest in European comics, and you'd like to see more of them in English and in their original format, so I wonder if you purchased the just released first volume of the series "The Third Testament", by Xabier Dorison (Humanoids' Ante Genesem and Sanctum) and Alex Alice, launched by the Hong Kong-based HK Comics.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/9889843757.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9889843757/102-3550029-7034543?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

THIRD TESTAMENT VOLUME 1: Mark, The Lion Awakens
by X. Dorison & A. Alice
HC, 9x12, 48pgs, FC SRP: $9.95

I got it today and it's one of those things that has to be seen to be believed. Hardcover, oversized, with glossy paper and a dust-jacket to boot, for only 9 dollars and 95 cents.

I can't comment on the quality of the translation since I haven't read it yet, but I leafed through the pages and it seemed correct.

I don't hold great hopes for commercial success in this initiative, but anyone interested in seing more European comics published in English should support it.

----------------
More info: Diamond promoted the book in its website as one of the "Staff Picks" of the June Previews catalog:

THE THIRD TESTAMENT

Recommended by Rob Randle
The Name of the Rose is one of my all-time favorite movies. Haven't seen it? Check it out (and the book's even better). Did you like The Da Vinci Code? (Haven't read it? Check it out). How about Stigmata? Liked Preacher? Read Fortean Times? Anyway, I love a good speculative religious story: the discovery of some lost knowledge that will shake the Church to its very foundation and the struggle between those who want to bring the truth to light and those who want to keep the secret hidden. And The Third Testament does this, and does it beautifully. The art is superb and the story-telling compelling. To some it's a real testament to its ability that HK Comics - a Hong Kong based publisher known for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - was so impressed by this French graphic novel that they sought to publish it for the English-speaking audience. Look for this epic tale of Catholic Fantasy right next to Li Mu Bai in the Comics Section.

Also, it was featured in the News and Notes section:

Testaments from Hong Kong
• The publisher that brought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to the U.S. now brings us Catholic fantasy with the acclaimed French comic The Third Testament. At the dawn of the fourteenth century, a disgraced inquisitor and his young disciple find themselves at the heart of a struggle for power between medieval Europe's occult powers. From the halls of Notre Dame to the most distant abbeys, they embark on a quest for the greatest mystery of all: the Third Testament.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

In all honesty, it doesn't sound like my kind of story, but at that price point it's impossible to ignore. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it and ask my retailer about it.

Thanks for the heads up!

-Augie

[XIII]

In all honesty, it doesn't sound like my kind of story, but at that price point it's impossible to ignore. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it and ask my retailer about it.

Thanks for the heads up!

-Augie

You're welcome. It's okay if it's not your cup of tea, but it's easy to understand why they chose this particular series among the vast catalog of Glenat (http://www.glenat.com/dyn/glenat/pagesasp/02foreignrights/accueil.asp), the biggest and most prolific French BD publisher. It looks like an astute attempt to cash in on the wider "Da Vinci Code" phenomenon -- comics existing in conjunction with wider publishing phenomena are habitual in the European comics market -- although make no mistake: The Third Testament, first published in 1997, predates the famous novel by 7 years.

The important thing is that if this book is profitable enought, it could open the gates for more European imports from this publisher in the same bargain-priced deluxe format. Hence the importance of supporting it.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I'd love to see Titeuf: http://www.glenat.com/dyn/glenat/pagesasp/02foreignrights/couvertures.asp?EDITEUR=088&SERIE_ID=000000002774

(The first volume's cover might not be safe for work, but it's small enough to not be terribly noticeable.)

I like the design and the cartooning I've seen on it.

So, yes, everyone please go find those books and buy them up quickly. =)

-Augie

[XIII]

Titeuf is huge in France (2 million copies was the print run of the latest album). In the USA, Ibooks was supposed to publish What's Going on Down There? : All The Stuff Your Body Won't Tell You About Sex (http://www.komikwerks.com/ibook.php?ib=31) in June.

http://www.komikwerks.com/content/ibooks_previews/smallimages/31.jpg (http://www.komikwerks.com/ibook.php?ib=31)

It's not one of the albums of the series, but a sort of companion book.

[dancj]

In all honesty I find it hard to see $10 for a 48 page book as a good deal. Hardcover does nothing for me and the oversize pages don't do that much. For my tastes, DC had the best format with two or three volumes shrunk down a bit (but not shrunk down nearly as far as the Humanoids Metabarons volumes) for $15-20

Dan

[XIII]

For $10 dollars it's even cheaper than in Europe, where this is the standard format for comics, and the medium is in far better shape than in the USA. IMO, all comics should be reprinted in the format they're intended to be read as originally published.

Anyway, I just found an spectacular trailer of The Third Testament, in Cinemascope and Dolby Surround:

http://www.glenat.com/pageshtm/07dossiers/ttestament/teaser.swf

It's not very big, 625 KB, so it doesn't take too long to load, even with a dial-up connection, but you have to click on the right button of the mouse and then click "Play" to put it in motion.

Or you can go to the series' mini-site and click on "Teaser":

http://www.glenat.com/pageshtm/07dossiers/ttestament/

[XIII]

The new Previews offers a softcover edition of this book for only 8 dollars:

HK COMICS LTD

DEC05 3040 THIRD TESTAMENT VOLUME 1: MARK THE LION AWAKENS SPECIAL EDITION SC
by X. Davison & A. Alice
At the dawn of the fourteenth century, a disgraced inquisitor and his young disciple find themselves at the heart of a struggle for power between medieval Europe's occult powers. From the halls of Notre Dame to the most distant abbeys, they embark on a quest for the greatest mystery of all: the Third Testament.
MATURE THEMES
DEC05 3040 SC, 9x12, 48pgs, FC SRP: $7.95

The new Previews also presents a new English publisher that has begun to reprint European albums in softcover for 10 dollars:

http://www.cinebook.co.uk/contact_clip_image002.jpg

CINEBOOK (http://www.cinebook.co.uk)

http://www.cinebook.co.uk/cat_images/clifton_couv1_s.jpg (http://www.cinebook.co.uk/catalogue~cat~A-3B.asp)

CLIFTON VOLUME 1: MY DEAR WILKINSON GN (http://www.cinebook.co.uk/catalogue~cat~A-3B.asp)
First English Language Edition! Ex-agent of the secret service and colonel to the queen, Sir Harold Wilberforce Clifton has become an amateur detective. One evening, after becoming engrossed in a horror story, Clifton's house experiences strange goings on. Could the house be haunted? His investigations lead him to an artist, Mr. Wilkinson. A few days later, an unexplainable theft occurs. Could Wilkinson be involved, or is it something more supernatural?
SC, 8x11, 48pgs, FC SRP: $9.99

http://www.cinebook.co.uk/cat_images/yakari_couv1_s.jpg (http://www.cinebook.co.uk/catalogue~CAT~A-5B.asp)

YAKARI VOLUME 1: YAKARI & GREAT EAGLE GN (http://www.cinebook.co.uk/catalogue~CAT~A-5B.asp)
by Job & Derib; translated by Erica Jeffrey
Yakari is a happy Sioux child; courageous and generous, who is endowed with the power of speaking and understanding the language of all animals. Astride his faithful mustang, Little Thunder, he gallops across the Great Prairie meeting new animal friends and helping them with their problems.
SC, 8x11, 48pgs, FC SRP: $9.99

There are 2 volumes of each one of these series already published in the UK and the 3rd one is announced in their web page. They also publish an adaptation of Wind in the Willows.

In their webpage, they make clear what their audience is:

"What better way than beautiful comic art to get kids excited about reading!

Stunning graphics are the best way there is to entice children into discovering the joys of reading; comics make learning fun.

Cinebook is the British publisher of the 9th Art, bringing you a range of exclusive comic strip titles.

These beautifully illustrated educational stories are translated from the original French to bring the wonderful characters to life for British children.

Not only do these books offer genuine value for money and endless hours of enjoyment for your children, we also offer free UK delivery on all orders of 4 books or more!

Did you know that the comic strip is the Ninth Art?

(Plastic Art list: 1st-Architecture; 2nd-Painting; 3rd-Sculpture; 4th-Engraving; 5th-Drawing;6th-Photo; 7th-Cinema; 8th-Television; 9th-Comic books)

With sales of 43.3 million, comic strips represented more than one in every eight books sold in France in 2004.

CINEBOOK is the British publisher of the Ninth Art. For educational purposes, our books are translated from the original French for British children in order to be faithful to the language of the United Kingdom .

For our launch, we have also selected an adaptation of the beloved British classic, The Wind in the Willows which, in its comic book form, has received four awards in France , including a best Children’s Literature award.

In order to initiate our younger readers into the joys of reading, we have chosen the first two adventures of two endearing characters who will accompany them through childhood: The little Sioux Indian character, Yakari will entice the youngest readers of the (60,000 young European children have already bought each of Yakari’s adventures!).

And the investigations of Colonel Harold Wilberforce Clifton, former agent of the British MI5, will fascinate a slightly older age group."