Browsing in the French section at Martin Luther King library in downtown San Jose (an excellent library indeed) I came upon this BD, by the justly famous French BD innovator François Bourgeon. The series is set in the 18th century... on sailing ships... but this version the heroes are inland, accompanying a slave trading mission to the King of Dahomey... lots of intrigue, bawdiness, death etc. The African characters are, at least without careful inspection (I'm an economist, not a literary critic), on equal footing with the Europeans, in terms of complexity of character and being normal persons (well, for a BD, where everybody has to be exaggerated). So I heartily recommend for a good couple hours of reading!François Bourgeon - L'Heure du Serpent (Les Passagers du Vent)
Browsing in the French section at Martin Luther King library in downtown San Jose (an excellent library indeed) I came upon this BD, by the justly famous French BD innovator François Bourgeon. The series is set in the 18th century... on sailing ships... but this version the heroes are inland, accompanying a slave trading mission to the King of Dahomey... lots of intrigue, bawdiness, death etc. The African characters are, at least without careful inspection (I'm an economist, not a literary critic), on equal footing with the Europeans, in terms of complexity of character and being normal persons (well, for a BD, where everybody has to be exaggerated). So I heartily recommend for a good couple hours of reading!
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