La Fortune

Glorim Cortis and his pioneer squadron have finally reached the New World, and it’s not long before they begin to run into obstacles beyond their wildest imaginings. Not only are they tested by external challenges, but also by the increasing discord and frustration within their ranks. Will their quest ever come to an end?

After a botched robbery that claimed the life of his lover, an American outlaw crosses the border into Canada. As he’s already left nearly a dozen dead bodies behind, Sergeant Trent is sent to intercept him. But instead of the expected bloodthirsty murderer, it’s a sensitive young man that the Mountie finds, a free spirit with a deep love of French poetry. How is Trent going to reconcile doing his duty with his nascent liking for the kid?

In 1933, folklorist John Lomax and his eighteen-year-old son, Alan, embarked on a tour of the American South with a modest budget and a lofty aim: to preserve America’s folk heritage. Together, they visited churches, plantations and penitentiaries under the auspices of the Library of Congress, seeking out and recording the very best folk songs, gospel, and blues. Among their discoveries were the Delta bluesman Son House and the jailed singer Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. On this, their most ambitious musicological expedition, John and Alan Lomax saved for posterity thousands of songs that might otherwise have vanished without a trace. More than that, they amassed an archive of recordings that would shape the blues-driven rock ’n’ roll of the 1960s and beyond. As George Harrison once remarked, “No Lead Belly, no Beatles.”

The shipyard shuts down, Marco becomes a father, his mother learns how to live alone, a man dies in the countryside, and a journalist flies off the handle. Through the little things, marked moments and commonplace sadness, Manu Larcenet concludes his portrait of an ordinary man, and the imperfections that we’re all familiar with. Thus ends one of the greatest successes of contemporary European comics.

Marco’s left town for the countryside. He’s left his psychologist because he feels he’s doing better. He’s quit his job as a reporter because he’s had enough of photographing corpses. He gets himself a little cottage in the heart of rural France, where he lives with his cat, Adolf. He throws out all his work, and cuts ties with his employer. That night, he has his first panic attack.

It’s not long before he meets the lovely Emilie, and also the wise and good-natured old man who lives in the cottage just across the way… but who, it turns out, isn’t exactly what he seems…

It all starts in a school playground, and then it moves to a classroom, where Larcenet’s superb graphic camera zooms in on two ten-year-old kids: Gildas and Martina. The pair of them are ever so slightly obsessed with Sci-fi. To the extent they think they’re surrounded by robots and aliens. As far as they’re concerned, their entire world is made up of false appearances, and they’re soon to be the victims of a huge intergalactic plot! You read, you smile, you snigger. But then suddenly, it’s all turned on its head…

Everything seems to be coming together for the terrifying Haazheel Thorn, the Grand Master of the Black Moon, and arch-enemy of the Empire. As he gathers his forces, he sets a dark and duplicitous plan in motion to develop his greatest weapon: Wismerhill. Wismerhill’s powers are growing stronger by the day, especially so under the influence of his smoldering demoness lover. But whether these powers will be used for good or evil all depends on how much tragedy the young man can take…

Following dramatic events they’d rather forget, Dixie and her parents are on the road. On their way they run into the midst of a feud between a group of workers and their employer, Mr. Duchamp, which Dixie’s father soon resolves with a large wad of cash. Of course, this random act of kindness attracts the authorities’ attention. The Joneses will once again have to watch their backs…