Tag: loss of lives

Categories
Graphic novels and comics

The graphic novel Carcajou

The graphic novel "Carcajou".
The graphic novel “Carcajou”.

The “Carcajou (Wolverine in English)” graphic novel is one of the best buys I’ve made this year. The authors have created an almost perfect work, in terms of scenario, graphics and colors.

The vast forests of Alberta, a large province in western Canada, provide the backdrop for this tale. The reader meets a number of colorful characters trying to make their way in this wild environment. Not everyone has what it takes to adapt, but that’s the reality of life in the developing outback.

By 1895, Alberta was attracting gold prospectors and businessmen interested in oil development. Some territories were acquired more or less ethically, and the natives lost out. However, their ancestral beliefs persisted despite injustice and unequal power relations.

The authors tackle a number of significant themes in the development of Canada’s history: the lack of respect shown to First Nations, the harmful effects of alcohol in remote areas, the courage and tenacity required of women to impose respect, the violence caused by firearms, and a police force that sometimes gets involved in crime.

All these aspects developed by less talented authors would produce a negative storyline. The genius of the authors is to have developed the story in a very dynamic way, while still conveying essential messages. There’s no real break in the action. The plot keeps the reader on his toes right to the end.

I loved the characters and clever plot of “Carcajou” and recommend this superb work to graphic novel fans.

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Title : Carcajou

Authors : Eldiablo et Djilian Deroche

Edition: Sarbacane, 2024

ISBN : 978-2-377-31792-9

Categories
Graphic novels and comics

Graphic Novel: Le murmure de la mer

The graphic novel "Le murmure de la mer", by Hippolyte.
The graphic novel “Le murmure de la mer”, by Hippolyte.

The graphic novel “Le murmure de la mer” is a tribute to the work of the Ocean Viking’s crew, the rescue ship belonging to the SOS Méditerranée group. Its mission is to rescue migrants leaving North Africa, particularly the Libyan inferno.

Those refugees find themselves overcrowded on makeshift boats, drifting endlessly in the middle of the sometimes raging Mediterranean Sea. Often, the rafts brush up against Libyan oil platforms. Day and night, the coast guards pursue the migrants and brutally drag them back to Libya.

After a first blocked attempt to participate in a rescue, the author climbs aboard the Ocean Viking in 2020 as a journalist, cartoonist and crew member. He’s directly involved in the salvage operations, and recounts his experience in a series of beautiful sketches and touching photos.

Readers appreciate the great discipline and preparation required to carry out salvage missions in an orderly and safe manner for all concerned. Sentimentality has no place when rescuing migrants in crisis. Not following procedures can result in further deaths, including those of crew members.

A page from the graphic novel "Le murmure de la mer".
A page from the graphic novel “Le murmure de la mer”.

We bear witness to the crew’s successes and failures in their attempts to rescue as many people as possible. The sailors of the Ocean Viking face administrative blockades from Italy, which seeks to limit the considerable arrival of refugees.

First among these attempts to hinder rescue operations is the obligation for the ship to remain docked for long periods for different reasons.

Next is the requirement to transfer the new migrants to ports far from the Ocean Viking’s position. These ports are deliberately chosen by the Italian government to generate fuel costs and lengthy delays between each recovery mission. This drag prevents thousands of refugees from being salvaged.

We must, however, question the involvement of other states when it comes to admitting migrants. The misfortune of people living in countries disadvantaged by ruthless dictatorships, climate change or poverty accelerated by the plundering of wealth is everyone’s responsibility.

Once the refugees are on the boat, the crew still has to secure them, care for them and prepare them for transfer to their next land of welcome. We all know the story of those vessels which have picked up hundreds of Africans in difficulty, and which remain immobilized for weeks while awaiting clearance to transfer the survivors to a new territory. Yet the law of the sea states that any ship’s captain who learns that human beings are in peril on a body of water must render assistance.

In short, a fascinating and informative read. It increases our understanding of the challenges faced by crews helping humans in danger on the Mediterranean Sea.

Click on the link for more graphic novels and comics on my blog.

Title: Le murmure de la mer

Author: Hippolyte

Publisher: Les Arènes, Paris, 2024.

ISBN: 979-10-375-1156-0

Categories
Graphic novels and comics

Graphic Novel: Wagner

The graphic novel "Wagner", l'histoire secrète des mercenaires de Poutine.
The graphic novel “Wagner”, l’histoire secrète des mercenaires de Poutine.

“Wagner” is a top-quality graphic novel, the fruit of serious research based on numerous known and confidential sources.

Thanks to the large concentration of relevant data in a single volume, readers will quickly gain a better understanding of the international role played by this mercenary group supported by Vladimir Putin, which has gradually established itself in Mali, the Central African Republic, Libya and Syria, before attacking the Ukrainians.

The book includes the names of numerous companies, corporations and foundations (Concord, IRA [Internet Research Agency], SEWA Security Services, Lobaye Invest, M-Finance, M-Invest, Meroe Gold, Midas Resources, First Industrial Company, International Global Logistic [IGL], Alpha Development, Marko Mining, Prime Security, etc.) and a host of players who played a major role in sharing control of natural resources (mines, forests, etc.) in the Central African Republic and Mali.

The book shows how the short-sightedness of certain politicians and intelligence services enabled Wagner to gain a foothold in Africa without too much difficulty. It sheds light on the hasty departure of the French in Mali and the Chinese south of Bamako.

African leaders and customs officials turn a blind eye to the transfer of gold and diamonds to Russia. But I don’t have to dig very far in my memory to point out that many great powers have enjoyed similar treatment in other places on our beautiful planet.

Scriptwriter and illustrator Thierry Chavant is careful not to over-censor the actions of Wagner’s mercenaries, who sometimes think of themselves as soldiers. The explicit drawings shed light on the crimes committed by these killers, including rape, torture and the systematic elimination of hundreds of people at a time.

Despite these radical methods, the mercenaries do not have it easy against determined opponents. Wagner lost many fighters to the jihadists in Africa, but far fewer than in Ukraine, where the group suffered a literal debacle, with tens of thousands killed and wounded.

Even Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin lost their lives when the private jet they were in exploded over Russia. The question I still ask myself today: how can anyone be so stupid as to continue to fly calmly over Russia after having tried to seize power by force a few weeks earlier?

The book confirms that international geostrategy has two faces: an acceptable side, where diplomats and businessmen work hard to gain advantages for themselves or their countries. But there’s also a much more violent side, where the main principles give way to the desire to win new territories with the wealth they contain. And there, any means are good enough to achieve the goal, be it obscure financing, threats, summary executions, overthrowing governments or even modern-day slavery.

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Title: Wagner

Investigation: Matthieu Olivier and Benjamin Roger

Script and drawing: Thierry Chavant

Colour: Mathilda

Authors: Thierry Chavant

Publisher: Les arènes BD

© 2024

ISBN: 979-10-375-1111-9

Categories
Biography and autobiography

Race to the South Pole: « Un monde au-delà des hommes ».

The novel "Un monde au-delà des hommes" by Catherine Hermary-Vieille.
The novel “Un monde au-delà des hommes” by Catherine Hermary-Vieille.

The novel ” Un monde au-delà des hommes” will be of particular interest to readers whose knowledge of early Antarctic expeditions is limited. If you don’t know whether Norway’s Roald Amundsen or Britain’s Robert Scott reached the South Pole in Antarctica first, don’t do the research before opening this book. You’ll find it much more interesting.

In the days of the great conquests of the planet’s uncharted territories, explorers risked their lives for the glory of their country. Here, Norway and Great Britain race to reach the South Pole first.

This historical novel runs to just 134 pages, allowing the author to concentrate on the essentials. She has divided the book into two parts. The first focuses on Amundsen, the second on Scott. The two men used very different methods to achieve their ends. At the beginning of the book, she includes a map showing the routes chosen by each team and the stopovers they agreed on.

Author Catherine Hermary-Vieille discusses the preparation of the journey, the strategic choices made regarding objectives, the obstacles encountered along the way, not to mention the mental attitude adopted by each explorer and the members of the expedition.

Back cover of the novel "Un monde au-delà des hommes" by Catherine Hermary-Vieille.
Back cover of the novel “Un monde au-delà des hommes” by Catherine Hermary-Vieille.

On this trip, one of the two expedition leaders will use sledge dogs as their main means of transport, while the other will try to make progress with mules. One will have only one objective in mind, the other will have several goals to achieve. One will behave as a flexible leader, the other will be more intransigent. The choices and attitude of each explorer will have a direct impact on the success of the expedition.

It’s worth noting that the two competitors don’t start their journey to Antarctica at the same time, so there’s an imbalance right from the start as to when they’ll arrive at the South Pole. But even so, once you know this, there’s still a frozen continent to cross, men to feed, crevasses to avoid and frostbite to treat. You also have to be able to come back alive.

A novel like this can be read in a day. We can forgive a few sketchy descriptions and even a small error like the one on page 19, where the name of the Inuit dog “Funcha” appears twice in the list. These distractions don’t detract from the intensity of the story. These are, after all, the stories of men who went to the very end of themselves for the glory of their country.

Today, we’re witnessing a similar race between countries to send humans to the planet Mars. Which country will get there first? And once it gets there, will it have the right to claim a planet for itself at the expense of Earth’s other humans?

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Title: Un monde au-delà des hommes.

Author: Catherine Hermary-Vieille

© Éditions Albin Michel,

2023

ISBN: 978-2-226-44240-6