If you’ve read parts one and two of this bandes dessinées recommendations series, you’ll have an idea of just how varied the stories and art styles can be. Part one ranged from historical fiction to crime solving, part two focused on superheroes and mythology, and now our final installment will be focusing on science fiction and fantasy. You have access to these materials through Hoopla, which is a resource used by many public libraries.
Hoopla’s Sci-fi and Fantasy BD collection is dominated by Chilean-French clown, mime, and artistic movement starter Alejandro Jodorowsky. He is the author of Megalex, Incal, and Technopères. His Incal series has even been called "the best comic book" ever written in The Pocket Essential: Alan Moore. High praise indeed, when included in a book about one of the heavy hitters of English-language comics and graphic novels like V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and Batman: The Killing Joke.
Some of these books were originally published in a language other than French - can you spot stylistic differences between the original francophone stories and the translations into French?
Histoire De La Science-Fiction is a non-fiction primer for this category! Interested in this history of the Sci-fi genre in BDs? This is the book for you!
Megalex is a planet where all nature has disappeared. The planet’s occupants are clones, with any individuality eliminated. That is, until one anomalous clone escapes and begins our adventure!
Final Incal has an entire universe of comics to explore, including its two prequel series, Avant l'Incal and The Incal (currently only available in English via Hoopla), and its cult spin-off Caste des Méta-Barons. These comics pit John Difool, a space detective, against the Metabarons, the universe's deadliest warrior, over a mysterious item called the Incal. It also involves one of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s other comics, which you can learn more about below. If vast space operas are your thing, these much-loved classics are definitely for you!
Technopères Spanning 8 volumes, this epic fable follows Albino as he wants to leave the family business in order to make video games. His mother sends him to his neighbor’s Technopriest training school, starting him down a path to power and the starting of a new society.
Le Quatrième Pouvoir One woman is poised to save her planet, even after its sun goes dark. With the help of four swords that have fallen from space, she embarks on a quest to position them and save the day, while grappling with ideas of history, revenge, and destiny.
Boulevard Des Monstres (in translation from English) When a mysterious light starts kidnapping monsters, Scare City stops feeling like the harmonious home it is to so many residents. Gina, a young zombie boulangère, steps up among increasing tensions between ancient clans to solve the mystery and save her community.
Légende des nuées écarlates (in translation from Italian) Poisonous wolves, hostile deities, ancient samurai warriors, an amnesiac protagonist - you name it, this series has it! Set against the backdrop of ancient, mythological Japan, Raido wanders through adventures in the search of a past he cannot remember.
L'Ange Aux Ailes De Lumière Far in the future, inhabitants of various planets have forgotten that their ancestors were originally Terran. Terran agents are tasked with exploring these planets in order to observe, not interfere. But when two such agents interfere to save a young pregnant woman, condemned to die for her union with an “angel with wings of light,” they have no idea what they are putting into motion.
Koma This series starts with a chimney sweep’s daughter and her almost fairy-tale, accidental discovery of an industrialized alien world at the end of a chimney. Will she and her unusual new friend be able to destabilize a system as thoroughly established as the world beyond the chimney’s end (not quite Alice’s Wonderland!)?
Carthago For fans of Jurassic Park and Shark Week, Carthago places mankind against a predator from the prehistoric times: the megalodon. Volume 1 follows a group of marine scientists and divers drilling for natural resources in underwater caves… only to be attacked by an 80 foot being of teeth and killer instinct thought to have long been extinct. Instead, the megalodon seems to be fighting to reestablish itself as the top of the food chain.
Hoopla’s bandes dessinées and graphic novel collection is borrowable for 21 days at a time through your local public library, giving readers plenty of time to get wrapped up in each installment! This post is part three of a three part recommendation series, so click back to part one and two if you’re looking for further reading material.
What has been your favorite installment of our bandes dessinées series?
Hoopla’s Sci-fi and Fantasy BD collection is dominated by Chilean-French clown, mime, and artistic movement starter Alejandro Jodorowsky. He is the author of Megalex, Incal, and Technopères. His Incal series has even been called "the best comic book" ever written in The Pocket Essential: Alan Moore. High praise indeed, when included in a book about one of the heavy hitters of English-language comics and graphic novels like V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and Batman: The Killing Joke.
Some of these books were originally published in a language other than French - can you spot stylistic differences between the original francophone stories and the translations into French?
Histoire De La Science-Fiction is a non-fiction primer for this category! Interested in this history of the Sci-fi genre in BDs? This is the book for you!
Megalex is a planet where all nature has disappeared. The planet’s occupants are clones, with any individuality eliminated. That is, until one anomalous clone escapes and begins our adventure!
Final Incal has an entire universe of comics to explore, including its two prequel series, Avant l'Incal and The Incal (currently only available in English via Hoopla), and its cult spin-off Caste des Méta-Barons. These comics pit John Difool, a space detective, against the Metabarons, the universe's deadliest warrior, over a mysterious item called the Incal. It also involves one of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s other comics, which you can learn more about below. If vast space operas are your thing, these much-loved classics are definitely for you!
Technopères Spanning 8 volumes, this epic fable follows Albino as he wants to leave the family business in order to make video games. His mother sends him to his neighbor’s Technopriest training school, starting him down a path to power and the starting of a new society.
Le Quatrième Pouvoir One woman is poised to save her planet, even after its sun goes dark. With the help of four swords that have fallen from space, she embarks on a quest to position them and save the day, while grappling with ideas of history, revenge, and destiny.
Boulevard Des Monstres (in translation from English) When a mysterious light starts kidnapping monsters, Scare City stops feeling like the harmonious home it is to so many residents. Gina, a young zombie boulangère, steps up among increasing tensions between ancient clans to solve the mystery and save her community.
Légende des nuées écarlates (in translation from Italian) Poisonous wolves, hostile deities, ancient samurai warriors, an amnesiac protagonist - you name it, this series has it! Set against the backdrop of ancient, mythological Japan, Raido wanders through adventures in the search of a past he cannot remember.
L'Ange Aux Ailes De Lumière Far in the future, inhabitants of various planets have forgotten that their ancestors were originally Terran. Terran agents are tasked with exploring these planets in order to observe, not interfere. But when two such agents interfere to save a young pregnant woman, condemned to die for her union with an “angel with wings of light,” they have no idea what they are putting into motion.
Koma This series starts with a chimney sweep’s daughter and her almost fairy-tale, accidental discovery of an industrialized alien world at the end of a chimney. Will she and her unusual new friend be able to destabilize a system as thoroughly established as the world beyond the chimney’s end (not quite Alice’s Wonderland!)?
Carthago For fans of Jurassic Park and Shark Week, Carthago places mankind against a predator from the prehistoric times: the megalodon. Volume 1 follows a group of marine scientists and divers drilling for natural resources in underwater caves… only to be attacked by an 80 foot being of teeth and killer instinct thought to have long been extinct. Instead, the megalodon seems to be fighting to reestablish itself as the top of the food chain.
Hoopla’s bandes dessinées and graphic novel collection is borrowable for 21 days at a time through your local public library, giving readers plenty of time to get wrapped up in each installment! This post is part three of a three part recommendation series, so click back to part one and two if you’re looking for further reading material.
What has been your favorite installment of our bandes dessinées series?
Ingrid Marquardt
Librarian
Ingrid began her passion for French through the immersion program in Milton, MA, and has followed it around France and the world. She took a break from this first love to pursue a B.A. in English with a minor in Irish Studies at Boston College and a Masters of Library and Information Sciences at Simmons College. She is thrilled to meld her excitement for libraries and French language and culture in her position at the Center!
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