Text and art: Jean Dalin
Publisher: Sarbacane
Country: France, 2024
What the jury said:
Marv was a promising young inventor before he lost it all. Giving up on his dreams, he becomes a delivery boy. But one morning he must deliver a letter for “Olympe,” the wife of the powerful and terrible Carlus Traitruss. Thus begins a journey bordering on the psychedelic, with an adventure told in huge pages and made up of splash-pages, detailed architecture, futuristic cities, infinite worlds, images to be explored at length with the risk of being trapped by their graphic and compositional vortex. The colors, sometimes muted, sometimes striking, transport the reader into the depth of the image. The wonder of these pages brings one back to the comics of such great masters as McCay, Moebius and Schuiten. But as one goes on reading, the extraordinary variety of places, the variety of choices and the visionary ability of the author show themselves in all their originality. All of these elements make it all the more impressive that this is a debut.
Text and art: Majid Bita
Publisher: Canicola
country: Italy, 2023
L'été du vertige (Summer of Vertigo)
Text and art: Adlynn Fischer
Publisher: La Ville Brûle (Mediatoon Licensing)
Country: France, 2023
What the jury said:
A story about a teenage girl in the process of questioning her identity, who is left alone with her little sister in their father’s house. It is summertime and the older sister invites over her friends; the situation quickly evolves into a party, including a mysterious guest. The book explores the fragility of adolescence, and the importance of boundaries. The art is moody yet precise, with a constantly changing color palette, and appears extremely mature for a debut graphic novel. This dark story keeps the reader engaged throughout with twists and turns. It captures quite effectively the inner conflict of so many teenagers, without proposing a solution or a resolution.
Text and art: Nando von Arb
Publisher: Edition Moderne
Country: Switzerland, 2023
What the jury said:
This book is an exploration of the creator’s fears, which are relatable to readers. It depicts him as a child, but immersed in a world no child could negotiate due to its darkness, including aspects of illness and death. Many of those aspects, however, address preoccupations unique to von Arb. The hectic surrealism of his art brings his chaotic surroundings to life, while also depicting the beauty that he finds in the world. He sees the beauty in his fears, and tries to make those fears visually beautiful as well. Von Arb’s artistic styles change with the fluctuations in his emotions, between anguish and smiles. Instead of his usual approach to drawing as an escape from his fears, in this book he runs headfirst into them. Readers will also connect with his desire not only to deal with his fears but with the consequences thereof, such as shame and isolation. It is a ruthlessly honest book that allows readers to connect with their weaknesses in a particularly powerful way.
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