European Comics

The Hunting Party (Partie de chasse)
Normally I would turn my head on a comic about political thrillers, but what drew me to reading this comic was the overall art direction. I couldn't follow half of the story, but if I knew more detailed history of the Soviet Union and the communist leaders' roles of power, I'd fully understand the background stories of all of the characters they flashback to during the story. I knew hints of why they went to Poland to do their bear hunting trip - to plot and kill the new executive committee person to stop the spread of Stalinism. Vasili Aleksandrovič Čevčenko, and old revolutionary leader who's paralyzed in the face but still reins power, lead the plan to this under some very troubling past experiences he had with a woman he loved who was arrested and killed during the revolution. In the end, they 'accidentally' shoot the man, then the bear, and call it off as their deed is complete. However, Vasili ends it in a different way on the train back home....

But the illustrations! I haven't seen a style quite like this before with both the coloring and the way the artist Enki Bilal drew out the figures. There's much detail put into each of the old men - how their jowls are, how wrinkled their brow is, and how saggy their eyelids are. None of them are pristine looking, and you can barely see the whites of their eyes in every panel. It makes them somewhat soulless in a way, which is in itself a good and a bad thing if backed up with the right amount of writing put into it. Yet the coloring as well striked me - it's all dull grays and browns other than the use of the three primary colors of red, blue, and yellow. They used these in certain areas of interest and attention, mostly when Vasili was having a flashback to his revolutionary days. I also liked the added wisps of paint over the inked lines for a sublime hazy effect.