Thank you for this amazing video! I am fascinated by this story and i just ordered the first part Story Without a Hero from Cinebook in English. The art is amazing and i thank you for not spoiling the details of the story. I would LOVE more videos like this where you can introduce us (the audience) to more hidden gems hidden deep in the oblique pages of Spirou and other publications that those of us in the USA have no idea that these works of art even exist. This video was a revelation to me. Thank you once again😍🎨🌎
Thank you🥰 I can say that my next European comics haul from Angouléme Festival will blow my own mind! I have also decided to document my older European Comics collection for the very reason there’s so much gems that are almost never even mentioned.
I discovered your channel today and, as a French fan of Franco-Belgian comics, I am always very happy to see non-French speakers interested in European comics We both share a very similar experience with this story and these two albums. I read "Histoire sans héros/Story Without a Hero" in the 1980s, when I was about 13 or 14 years old. Even if it didn't leave as much of an impression on me as it did on you, I really liked it then. And I still consider it a very good story. I bought both albums in the early 2000s, so I read "Vingt ans après/Twenty Years Later" for the first time 25 years later, actually. It's not a bad story, but it's nowhere near as memorable as the first one. To be honest, I never thought there was a need for a sequel. And I'm still not convinced. Regarding the recent releases of the first album and the connection with Largo Winch: Largo Winch's letter is also included in the current French version of the album. And I think this addition is completely unnecessary. Maybe Van Hamme thought that the name Largo Winch would attract more readers to these two rather unknown albums? NB: They also added (or was it already in some previous editions?) another page at the very beginning of the story (an aerial view of the jungle with a short communiqué announcing the crash) The aim is obviously to create a mirror effect with the very last image of the book. But it is quite unnecessary since the information is given again two pages later. And the story doesn't open with this spectacular image anymore... In my humble opinion, the other best one shot comics Van Hamme has written are: - "Chninkel" aka "The Great Power of Chninkel" - "Western", both are illustrated by Grzegorz Rosinski (Thorgal) I highly recommend them
Amazing! So great to hear from someone else who experienced these books in real time. I'm still undecided on the sequel. It's because it doesn't try to be the same as original. This is very unusual - and very Van Hamme. I just like being surprised. But for the very same reason - being so different - it begs a question if it was needed. I believe another reason for this one-off was Van Hammes age. He gradually stopped doing all long running series giving them to new writers. I read an interview where he says he realizes his time might be short so he focuses to shorter story arcs and one-offs. That Largo Winch tie-in was clearly a marketing tool for the sequel. Then again it doesn't really effect either series making it rather harmless. I wouldn't want any extra pages to my "Without Heroes" book😱The opening is perfect! I finally found Finnish version of Chninkel just this year! They're old prints and not too many going around. Western is definitely on my shopping list. Currently I'm collecting Thorgal and quite many albums still short on that series. After that it'll be his Blake&Mortimers😄
I have purchased the English edition of Story Without a Hero on your recommendation, and it was an excellent read. Thank you very much. It is definitely one of the best comics I've read recently, which is high praise given how many good comics I've been reading. I can see how it would especially impact a young reader, being (somewhat) young myself, and I think it can be impactful at any age. I have already recommended it to several people, but have yet to read Twenty Years Later. Maybe I'll purchase it to read in twenty years' time, although I doubt I could resist its temptations for so long if I do. I was first exposed to Jean Van Hamme via Blake and Mortimer, when I read that series, and enjoyed his installments, but didn't initially pay particular attention to the writer as they weren't his characters, and later read a Largo Winch comic (Fort Makiling & The Hour of the Tiger. The drawings are superb in these ones, although I the English version is censored and shrunken for the North American audience.) when I found it discounted at Comic-Con Cape Town, of all places. He reminds me a bit of Naoki Urasawa with his constant plot twists, which I find thoroughly entertaining.
I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure how readers would see a story built this way where there really is no obvious hero to latch on to. It gave me a little bit same type of feelings as the ensemble cast big disaster movies from 70´s like Towering Inferno(although these movies did have "main characters"). I absolutely loved those. I suggest you let yourself bathe in the afterglow of a good comic for awhile before reading the sequel to give more value to the time between them. I'm currently hoarding Van Hamme comics, Thorgal being the latest series I aim to collect and read. I don't have any Blake & Mortimer from him yet but I'm committed to get them later. Largo Winch is my favorite from him and I just started re-reading the complete series in order. Van Hamme and his works will get videos from me too. Just have to figure out how to do it as he has such a large library. My Largo books are also from Cinebook(censored&shrunken) but I get so hooked with the story and graphics that it doesn't really bother. I am always a bit amused by the need to censor female nipples from, for example, characters whose throats are slit. I do understand where this comes from but the double standard is amusing. But to be honest censoring in Largo Winch is done quite well by drawing more clothes on rather than just adding a black block. And you're right about the twists. Van Hamme keeps surprising the reader until the last pages.
Yes, the 'conversation' between Largo Winch and Jean Van Hamme is included in Cinebook's version of 'Story Without a Hero'. :) I remember reading the original story in the library as a kid, but I never knew there was a sequel until we picked it up and I suddenly had to translate it. Great video. :)
Can't get more reliable info than this!😄 Jerome thanks for this. I do also have to mention your work with Largo Winch(starting from The Price of Money I think?). Translating all that biz jargon must be challenging.
Great video as always! I just ordered both and am sure I'll enjoy the two stories. Thank you for exposing us to so much great stuff. My wallet doesn't appreciate it, but I sure do!
Have you considered putting the sequel behind time lock that opens twenty years after?😅 Joking aside I do recommend jumping to Largo Winch too. It will destroy your wallet while feeling justified and reasonable. I’ll cover that series in future.
Great episode as always. Oddly enough this reminds me a little of two Jodorowsky projects that had comic book sequels/remakes decades later. In particular the Remakes and sequels to Anibal 5 and the recent Sons of El Topo comic trilogy
I haven't been keeping up with Jodorowsky lately - except for the new Metabarons with art by Frissen but it seems his productivity never slows down. To be honest every time I open a new Jodorowsky book I'm a bit afraid it'll be something I just can't understand.😅 Like that El Topo. I love Ladrönns art but I'd like to know first if the story is more rooted than something overtly spiritual. Having said all this I have almost one full shelf with just his works...
@@analogcomics I just found a random thorgal copy in a used book store, i recognized it was a title in Tintin magazine and thought i would give it a shot
I have a slight remembrance of this at the time, but I was a casual reader of the Tintin magazine. So this peculiar story talks too a very personalised experience that I didn't get at the time and it must have being an odd kind of album, even for a young reader. As I see it now, it seems a good reading, albeit the drawing who isn't my cup of tea.
This is definitely the type of story that I’d like to see more. It isn’t trying to please the reader. I’m obviously quite biased with the art inside. It has the rawness of 70’s that was present in William Vances’ work too.
I haven’t read them yet. Many have suggested they are worth it. I’ve had long love/hate relationship to Blake and Mortimer. That gorgeus art keeps inviting me back. At the moment I’m in ”love”-phase and I have one Blake and Mortimer(by Edgar Jacobs)waiting in my to-read-pile. But I have promised myself to get all Van Hamme books in finnish/english anyway🤷🏼♂️
Thank you for this amazing video! I am fascinated by this story and i just ordered the first part Story Without a Hero from Cinebook in English. The art is amazing and i thank you for not spoiling the details of the story. I would LOVE more videos like this where you can introduce us (the audience) to more hidden gems hidden deep in the oblique pages of Spirou and other publications that those of us in the USA have no idea that these works of art even exist. This video was a revelation to me. Thank you once again😍🎨🌎
Thank you🥰
I can say that my next European comics haul from Angouléme Festival will blow my own mind!
I have also decided to document my older European Comics collection for the very reason there’s so much gems that are almost never even mentioned.
I discovered your channel today and, as a French fan of Franco-Belgian comics, I am always very happy to see non-French speakers interested in European comics
We both share a very similar experience with this story and these two albums.
I read "Histoire sans héros/Story Without a Hero" in the 1980s, when I was about 13 or 14 years old.
Even if it didn't leave as much of an impression on me as it did on you, I really liked it then. And I still consider it a very good story.
I bought both albums in the early 2000s, so I read "Vingt ans après/Twenty Years Later" for the first time 25 years later, actually.
It's not a bad story, but it's nowhere near as memorable as the first one.
To be honest, I never thought there was a need for a sequel. And I'm still not convinced.
Regarding the recent releases of the first album and the connection with Largo Winch:
Largo Winch's letter is also included in the current French version of the album. And I think this addition is completely unnecessary.
Maybe Van Hamme thought that the name Largo Winch would attract more readers to these two rather unknown albums?
NB: They also added (or was it already in some previous editions?) another page at the very beginning of the story (an aerial view of the jungle with a short communiqué announcing the crash)
The aim is obviously to create a mirror effect with the very last image of the book. But it is quite unnecessary since the information is given again two pages later. And the story doesn't open with this spectacular image anymore...
In my humble opinion, the other best one shot comics Van Hamme has written are:
- "Chninkel" aka "The Great Power of Chninkel"
- "Western",
both are illustrated by Grzegorz Rosinski (Thorgal)
I highly recommend them
Amazing! So great to hear from someone else who experienced these books in real time.
I'm still undecided on the sequel. It's because it doesn't try to be the same as original. This is very unusual - and very Van Hamme. I just like being surprised. But for the very same reason - being so different - it begs a question if it was needed.
I believe another reason for this one-off was Van Hammes age. He gradually stopped doing all long running series giving them to new writers. I read an interview where he says he realizes his time might be short so he focuses to shorter story arcs and one-offs.
That Largo Winch tie-in was clearly a marketing tool for the sequel. Then again it doesn't really effect either series making it rather harmless.
I wouldn't want any extra pages to my "Without Heroes" book😱The opening is perfect!
I finally found Finnish version of Chninkel just this year! They're old prints and not too many going around.
Western is definitely on my shopping list. Currently I'm collecting Thorgal and quite many albums still short on that series. After that it'll be his Blake&Mortimers😄
I must admit - that first panel is great!
I have purchased the English edition of Story Without a Hero on your recommendation, and it was an excellent read. Thank you very much. It is definitely one of the best comics I've read recently, which is high praise given how many good comics I've been reading. I can see how it would especially impact a young reader, being (somewhat) young myself, and I think it can be impactful at any age. I have already recommended it to several people, but have yet to read Twenty Years Later. Maybe I'll purchase it to read in twenty years' time, although I doubt I could resist its temptations for so long if I do.
I was first exposed to Jean Van Hamme via Blake and Mortimer, when I read that series, and enjoyed his installments, but didn't initially pay particular attention to the writer as they weren't his characters, and later read a Largo Winch comic (Fort Makiling & The Hour of the Tiger. The drawings are superb in these ones, although I the English version is censored and shrunken for the North American audience.) when I found it discounted at Comic-Con Cape Town, of all places. He reminds me a bit of Naoki Urasawa with his constant plot twists, which I find thoroughly entertaining.
I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure how readers would see a story built this way where there really is no obvious hero to latch on to. It gave me a little bit same type of feelings as the ensemble cast big disaster movies from 70´s like Towering Inferno(although these movies did have "main characters"). I absolutely loved those. I suggest you let yourself bathe in the afterglow of a good comic for awhile before reading the sequel to give more value to the time between them.
I'm currently hoarding Van Hamme comics, Thorgal being the latest series I aim to collect and read. I don't have any Blake & Mortimer from him yet but I'm committed to get them later. Largo Winch is my favorite from him and I just started re-reading the complete series in order. Van Hamme and his works will get videos from me too. Just have to figure out how to do it as he has such a large library. My Largo books are also from Cinebook(censored&shrunken) but I get so hooked with the story and graphics that it doesn't really bother. I am always a bit amused by the need to censor female nipples from, for example, characters whose throats are slit. I do understand where this comes from but the double standard is amusing. But to be honest censoring in Largo Winch is done quite well by drawing more clothes on rather than just adding a black block.
And you're right about the twists. Van Hamme keeps surprising the reader until the last pages.
Yes, the 'conversation' between Largo Winch and Jean Van Hamme is included in Cinebook's version of 'Story Without a Hero'. :)
I remember reading the original story in the library as a kid, but I never knew there was a sequel until we picked it up and I suddenly had to translate it.
Great video. :)
Can't get more reliable info than this!😄
Jerome thanks for this. I do also have to mention your work with Largo Winch(starting from The Price of Money I think?). Translating all that biz jargon must be challenging.
Great video as always! I just ordered both and am sure I'll enjoy the two stories. Thank you for exposing us to so much great stuff. My wallet doesn't appreciate it, but I sure do!
Have you considered putting the sequel behind time lock that opens twenty years after?😅
Joking aside I do recommend jumping to Largo Winch too. It will destroy your wallet while feeling justified and reasonable. I’ll cover that series in future.
@@analogcomics I just received both volumes in the mail yesterday, I'm ready to jump in! And no way, I'm not waiting 20 years to read the sequel! 😂
Great episode as always. Oddly enough this reminds me a little of two Jodorowsky projects that had comic book sequels/remakes decades later. In particular the Remakes and sequels to Anibal 5 and the recent Sons of El Topo comic trilogy
I haven't been keeping up with Jodorowsky lately - except for the new Metabarons with art by Frissen but it seems his productivity never slows down. To be honest every time I open a new Jodorowsky book I'm a bit afraid it'll be something I just can't understand.😅 Like that El Topo. I love Ladrönns art but I'd like to know first if the story is more rooted than something overtly spiritual. Having said all this I have almost one full shelf with just his works...
I've been getting into van hamme slowly, as a tintin fan, i feel like it is a natural progression as an adult
I share your interest of Van Hamme. What was your way in to his stories? Maybe Blake and Mortimer as you mention Tintin?
@@analogcomics I just found a random thorgal copy in a used book store, i recognized it was a title in Tintin magazine and thought i would give it a shot
Same here. Started with Hergé and now with Van Hamme.
I have a slight remembrance of this at the time, but I was a casual reader of the Tintin magazine. So this peculiar story talks too a very personalised experience that I didn't get at the time and it must have being an odd kind of album, even for a young reader. As I see it now, it seems a good reading, albeit the drawing who isn't my cup of tea.
This is definitely the type of story that I’d like to see more. It isn’t trying to please the reader.
I’m obviously quite biased with the art inside. It has the rawness of 70’s that was present in William Vances’ work too.
Have you read Van Hamme’s Blake and Mortimer stuff? If so, did you enjoy it?
I haven’t read them yet. Many have suggested they are worth it. I’ve had long love/hate relationship to Blake and Mortimer. That gorgeus art keeps inviting me back. At the moment I’m in ”love”-phase and I have one Blake and Mortimer(by Edgar Jacobs)waiting in my to-read-pile.
But I have promised myself to get all Van Hamme books in finnish/english anyway🤷🏼♂️
Lost😊
Fortunately this one has a story one can understand😅
@@analogcomics That's because Van Hamme wasn't making it up as he went along. 😉😜