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Journeys

On this, the second episode of the new Euro Comics series, Edward and Derek discuss two recent publications that involve journeys, but in vastly different ways. They begin with the latest translation from IDW’s EuroComics imprint, The Adventures of Dieter Lumpen. Written by Jorge Zentner and with art by Rubén Pellejero (and translated by Carlos Guzman and Dean Mullaney), this volume collects all of the Dieter Lumpen stories the two originally published between 1985 and 1994. The eleven tales contained within are standalone adventures of the titular protagonist. And his travels take him all over the globe. In fact, the guys spend a good deal of time discussing the adventure genre and how The Adventures of Dieter Lumpen taps into the rich tradition of this kind of comic by Franco-Belgian creators. But what distinguishes these stories from those of Hergé’s Tintin — and even from the kind of American adventures found in the Indiana Jones movies — is the inadvertent, reluctant, and even unheroic nature of Dieter Lumpen’s encounters. The Two Guys first talk about the eight narratives that open the book, all short stories and tightly interconnected, and then turn to the three longer pieces that close out the volume. Edward particularly appreciates the more complicating or less-than-heroic tales of Lumpen found in “Games of Chance” and “The Bad Guy,” and Derek is drawn to the fantastical and even surreal quality of “Caribbean” and especially the final story, “The Reaper’s Price.” Indeed, both believe that the latter is Zentner and Pellejero most ambitious collaboration.

After that, the guys turn to Come Prima, recently translated into English by the Delcourt (and offered through ComiXology). Written and drawn by Alfred (the pen name of Lionel Papagalli), the book won the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Album in 2013. It’s the story of two brothers, Fabio and Giovanni, as they journey from France to their childhood home in Italy. The older Fabio is estranged from his family and has a bad track record with relationships, and Giovanni arrives unexpectedly to help suture the emotional wounds his brother may have caused. The travel they undergo in their Fiat 500 is just an outward manifestation of the much deeper inner journeys both brothers make both separately and together. This is a powerful narrative showcased, first and foremost, by Alfred’s art, although Edward finds the translation of this album, by Studio Charon, to be uneven in places. Nonetheless, this is an award-winning book that should be on the reading list of anyone interested in contemporary European comics.