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The Bellybuttons:[1] Who Do You Think You Are?

Author: Maryse Dubuc & Marc Delafontaine
 
 
PAPERBACK

Age: 10 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: May 2009
ISBN: 9781905460885
£5.99
Jenny and Vicky are super-cute, super-catty girls who would do
almost anything to be the centre of attention. The third wheel
of the group is the too-tall, plain Karine.

When a guy named Dan shows interest in Karine, Jenny and Vicky
are appalled and will go to any length to thwart the competition.
When I saw this cover I liked the look of it but wondered what the
art inside would be like. It’s very nice.  Almost reminds me of
Tania Del Rio who drew Sabrina The Teenage Witch for Archie,but
looking at it again you realise this is very stylish and European.
The use of colour is effective,as you would expect from from any
good European creator. And the one pagers have good punchlines and
I really am curious as to what motorbiker John John looks like;though
I hope that never gets revealed!

I think only people 10 years and up would get a lot of the jokes
and bitchy-ness going on here and it looks like Cinebook have yet
another hit on their hands.

VERY enjoyable.
 
 

Clifton - Kidnapping

Authors: Turk & De Groot
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Paperback
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: May 2009
ISBN: 9781905460878
£5.99

Will Clifton be able to keep his very British cool when art-loving
gangsters kidnap one of his boy scouts?

Scoutmaster Musical Heron and his troop must investigate when one of
them is abducted while collecting kindling in the woods. The abductors
are demanding a ransom, with which their leader plans to complete his
collection of Ming vases.

After a huge commotion, the boy scouts go on an unconventional
treasure hunt.

Clifton,as a Scout Master,has the title “Musical Heron”! But should
he be in charge of a Scout troop when he doesn’t seem able to look
after himself without the capable Miss Partridge?  At least the Scouts
show respect even if the whole outing turns into one catastrophic
slap-stick episode -but this IS Clifton,remember.

Good story,nice humour,great art and colour and a camp fire sing-song
at the end -you really cannot go wrong.

I was a Scout Master.  My nickname was “Windy Beans”.  No idea why.
Come on,old scouts:”In ganggilly gilly watsa ging gang goo” or words
to that effect.
 

A Lucky Luke Adventure - The Black Hills 
 
 
Authors: Morris & Goscinny
Age: 8 years and up
Paperback
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: April 2009
£5.99
ISBN: 9781905460830

The Senate decides to settle the fertile land of Wyoming. Before
moving in the settlers, they send a committee of four scientists,
led by Lucky Luke, to survey the territory. One senator is strongly
opposed to this project and determined to sabotage the expedition.
However, the Senate overlooked one important fact: the land territory
is home to the Cheyenne Nation, who are determined to defend their
land

Now,I’ve not seen all of the Lucky Luke’s published by Cinebook but
those I have I thought I’d given good reviews of? But people keep
saying I hate the book! Thing is,I can remember when Lucky Luke
was in Film Fun [1960] and then Giggle [1967] as Buck Bingo!

What can you say about a character or book series that have been
around since the 1940s?  It has to be good and popular to survive
that long.  The Black Hills is no exception. As for the expedition
of observers that LL has to guide around the only thing I can say
is that the Cheyenne had the right idea! [you’ll need to read the
book to know what I mean].

Fun for youngsters of all ages!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Papyrus 3:Tutankhamun The Assassinated Pharaoh

Author: De Gieter
Age: 8 years and up
PAPERBACK
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: April 2009
£5.99
ISBN: 9781905460847
Papyrus and Theti-Cheri go back in time to unravel the Tutankhamun mystery.

Thanks to a magical decoction, Papyrus goes back a century to meet the future
Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, and his wife Ankhsenamon. Papyrus witnesses Tutankhamun’s
murder and the sombre going-ons that follow his death.

Papyrus is once again rescued by Theti-Cheri, his friend and the Pharaoh’s
daughter. But before he returns to his own era, Papyrus discovers who has
been looting the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

De Gieter obviously does a lot of research. The same can be said of G.Vloeberghs
who does the colour work. The colour work is wonderful in this book and as one
of those pain-in-the-rear people who checks these things I can tell you that costume
and all the other details are accurate. The detail on architecture,costumes chariots
as well as the backgrounds is a joy to look at.

However,I cannot find any references to a “decoction” -I suspect that to be a plot
device! Erm. Anyway,you’ve read what the plot is and if you have not seen a Papyrus
book yet allow me to recommend the series -for your youngsters or yourself!
 
 

Buck Danny - Night of the Serpent
 

Authors: Francis Bergèse
Age: 8 years and up
Paperback
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: April 2009
£5.99
ISBN: 9781905460854

An American pilot is shot down at the border between North and South Korea. While his
colleagues cover up the whole incident so as to avoid a diplomatic disaster, Buck
Danny is in charge of bringing the pilot back to the US.

In the heart of the hostile jungle, a lethal game of hide-and-seek begins. Can Buck Danny
find the American pilot before the North Koreans?
From the bloody episodes of WWII in the Pacific to the most modern developments in aviation,
going from adventure to adventure, the aviator Buck Danny and his colleagues cross a half-century
of American and world history. Joining an extraordinarily accurate sense of detail with the
inspiration of great epics,Buck Danny’s adventures keep us in suspense and show us the hidden side
of global geopolitics. The adventures of Buck Danny are a creation of Georges Troisfontaines, Victor
Hubinon and Jean-Michel Charlier.
The series was created for the magazine Spirou shortly after World War II, and was first published on
January 2, 1947. After Hubinon’s death in 1978, the drawing of the series was taken over by Francis
Bergèse, who also took over the writing after Charlier passed away
11 years later.

I first read Buck Danny in German,of course,a loooong time ago. We had two big aviation action series:
Dan Cooper and Buck Danny. The aircraft were a big draw to kids who had fighter jets flying low over
their village on a daily basis.  We appreciated the speed. Of course,we’re talking about an age before
Stealth aircraft when the U-2 was THE top sophisticated aircraft.

The strategy taken by Olivier Cadic is to publish a newer story first. It makes sense. The hi-tech
fighters and weaponry will be recognisable to any action movie fan. The aircraft are,I have to say,as
excitingly rendered as they were in the 1960s/1970s. And the art can’t be faulted on any level.

I hope that this series attracts a lot of UK readers and they take to it. A great read. A great
visual treat!

Highly recommended

Alpha - Wolves’ Wages
 

Authors: Jigounov & Renard
Age: 15 years and up
PAPERBACK
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: April 2009
£5.99
ISBN: 9781905460861
The fall of the Berlin wall and the dismantling of the Soviet Empire changed
the world, engendered new rivalries and started a new kind of Cold War. From
Paris to Moscow, from Berlin to The Hague to New York, mafia hotshots, ex-members
of the nomenklatura, powerful financial and industrial organisations, spies from
all sides: all of these influential figures are involved in a political and
economical warfare and the stakes are high.

Alpha is a CIA agent and if you think he is one of those characters who
simply follows orders and that’s it -think again! And this is some book! There
is a gun battle,helicopter gunship chase and explosive action from page 3 on and
the fast paced story doesn’t stop.  Murder,intrigue,betrayal and more right up
until the final page.  Can it get any better? I doubt it.

The script by Mythic is top-notch. Jigounov’s art is of the highest standard and
Nadia and Y.J.s colour work only adds more marks for quality.

Olivier only chooses books that he feels passionate about and to date he hasn’t
gone wrong. As I keep telling him,I’m just waiting for that one bad book but I
think I’m going to be in a retirement and still never see Cinebook do that.

And with an ever expanding line I’m happy to say some real fresh air has been
added to British comics!