french comics

[algernoninc]

I'm putting this up because I'm going to Paris for a holiday in August, and i'm hoping you have some pointers to good french series.
In the seventies, american comics were not available in Romania, so I grew up with local issues and the great French PIF fanzine. Later I became a member of the French Library and read some good titles, beside Rahan and Asterix. But it was more than 10 years ago and I didn't write down the names.

Recently I enjoyed the Van Hamme modern adventure titles like : "Largo Winch" or "XIII", but I only found individual issues, not the whole story arc. Generally I like the quality of the french production [pencilers, colours] and the fact that men in thighs are not such a prominent feature.

I know this forum is concentrated on anglo-saxon productions, but any helpful hints will be appreciated.

[Noumenon]

Sorry to be coming to this a year and a half late, but...

I came across a copy of a, how shall I say, stand alone graphic novella called Murmur by (I think Frenchman) Jerry Kramsky and (I know Italian) Lorenzo Mattotti, who is an established artist generally and has also painted covers for magazines like Vogue.

Murmur tells the tale of a man without memory but with a strange, burning scar dominating his face, who finds himself in a strange coastal land he doesn't fully recognise. He is torn by attraction to a beautiful woman who lives in a house emblazoned with a sun painting and fear of a menacing figure who stalks the surrounding territory, terrorising the few strange inhabitants. It's a great piece of work - beautiful, painterly art with an intense, surreal story, but which is also quietly understated when it chooses to be, particularly in the closing pages.

The same pairing have also done an interpretation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which is very striking - "see inside" here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/1561633305/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link) for a taste of their style. With some adult content, more mentally than graphically, they are probably not suitable for the young casual reader, but as an interesting alternative to the conventional comic content they are worth seeking out - I see that Murmur, J&H and Fires (Mattotti alone and, I think, the title which made his name as a comics artist) are all available on Amazon currently, as well as other Mattotti collaborations.