I adore bookshops, I always have. Give me a FRENCH bookshop, with a normally huge BD and manga section (Plus Saint Seiya toys galore), and I can happily wander for hours, and hours and hours, browsing, leafing and buying probably more than I can afford.
On my most recent trip I came across this, and something about the style just appealed to be me immensely. There's a sort of "classic Disney" meets "Iron Giant" meets "Ben 10" meets "Creature Workshop" feel to it, but with it's own delightful spin.
So, and following arilou_skiff's request for Frano-Belgian stuff, may I present D-P Filippi and J Etienne's "Gargouilles".
The following are 12 partial pages from a 48 page album. This is volume 1, "Le Voyageur", there are already at least three other volumes, which I will investigate purchasing next time I'm over... (Apologies for the quality of a couple of these scans, the pages are just larger than my scanner's flatbed. I also won't be showing much of a narrative here, so much as some of the beautiful set pieces the artist shows)
Meet Grégoire Manerant and his family, who are arriving at their new home in a new town. (His Dad and sister have already arrived to set up his Dad's practice as a child psychiatrist)
Greg notes that they're living next to a church AGAIN, but his mother explains it's not actually a church, it's a college.
As his mother struggles up the stairs with luggage, Gregoire's dad makes a fuss of him, and leaves her outside.
It's safe to say that Gregoire's sister chose JUST the wrong moment to ask her harassed mother if she'd remembered to bring her lipstick.
Gregoire isn't thrilled by this move, and the situation is made worse by a visit from his Aunt Agathe, who not only visits, but has brought him a present; a delightful pink pullover (with a cape-clad baby appliqué'd on the back for some unimaginable reason) that would be just PERFECT for his first day at his new school... Oh yeah, that won't get him killed.
Whislt trying to plausibly "lose" the pullover, Grégoire runs afoul of some local bullies, but he manages to escape by climbing the side of the church/college where he finds the view is rather terrific.
He gets home and gets into trouble for damaging his pullover, AND staying out later than he should. But that night he can't sleep for another reason, there's a glow in his bedroom, coming from under the floorboards...
With what appears to be a mysterious glowing map of the church (I know it's a college, but it'll be easier to refer to it as a church) he climbs to the roof again.. But discovers that it has some other properties...
Like, say... transporting you through time, and altering your clothing to match the era.
Oh, and there's a talking gargoyle, who asks Gregoire to get out of the way because there's a squadron of Griffins coming in for a landing.
It was this next page that sold me on this title...
So many wonderful, designs in these pages, the three headed Griffins, gargolyes (including the one acting as a tour guide), fairies, dryads, the... whatever they are that are causally ignoring the laws of gravity so they can sit oround on a wall... some sort of were-otter... It's like Dr Seuss getting hold of Bullfiches mythology whilst on some REALLY good pot.
Gregoire thinks he's dreaming for the most part, so when his mother calls him to supper, he dashes off, assuming that he will wake up
Again, this next page just for the richness of the imagery.
There's enough here for a half dozen spinoffs, no?
Lots of things happen; hunting for lost Lutins (the little goblin guys in the yellow hats) the discovery of a magic bracelet, the discovery that his entire family, including, alas, Aunt Agatha have analogues (and just as awful dress sense) and he has a life in the past, but there's always weirdness SOMEWHERE around..
Alas, there are also dangers, as Gregoire discovers in a truly horrifying chamber...
And it culminates in a confrontation with the Aunt Agatha analogue, who it turns out is a sort of demonic cheerleader and her gang of goblins.
Luckily Gregoire has help of his own, which he summons by blowing a magic whistle...
It ends with Gregoire returning to the here and now, but clearly this isn't the end of his story, and a lot of the characters seem to know more about events than they're letting on.
Wouldn't this look just wonderful as an animated movie? I mean, seriously?