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Trilogie maritime #3
Men at Sea
Men at Sea is an opus of eight spectacularly drawn dark poetic stories adapted by Riff Reb's.
This collection offers: "A Smile of Fortune" from Joseph Conrad; "The Sea Horses" and "The Shamraken Homeward Bound" from William Hope Hodgson; "The Galley Slaves" and "The Far South" from Pierre Mac Orlan; "A Descent into the Maelstrom" from Edgar Allan Poe; "The Three Customs Officers" from Marcel Schwob; "The Shipwreck" from Robert Louis Stevenson.
These eight tales themselves interspersed by seven double-page spreads dedicated to extracts from illustrated classics deliver a rich poetic and masterfully crafted work.
This collection offers: "A Smile of Fortune" from Joseph Conrad; "The Sea Horses" and "The Shamraken Homeward Bound" from William Hope Hodgson; "The Galley Slaves" and "The Far South" from Pierre Mac Orlan; "A Descent into the Maelstrom" from Edgar Allan Poe; "The Three Customs Officers" from Marcel Schwob; "The Shipwreck" from Robert Louis Stevenson.
These eight tales themselves interspersed by seven double-page spreads dedicated to extracts from illustrated classics deliver a rich poetic and masterfully crafted work.
120 pages, Paperback
First published October 29, 2014
About the author
Riff Reb's
30 books7 followersRiff Reb's, de son vrai nom Dominique Duprez, est un dessinateur et un scénariste de bande dessinée français né le 17 décembre 1960 à Burdeau, aujourd'hui Mahdia, près de Tiaret en Algérie.
Biographie
Après le départ d'Algérie de la famille, il passe sa jeunesse au Havre. Après avoir étudié aux Gobelins, il fréquente les Arts déco. Il participe à la fondation de l'Atelier Asylum en 1984 avec Arthur Qwak et y rencontre Cromwell, futur collaborateur. Puis il quitte l'atelier.
Riff Reb's a été lauréat de la 1re édition du Prix de la BD Fnac en 2013 pour son album Le loup des mers, adaptation du roman éponyme de 1904 de Jack London.
Patrick Gaumer, spécialiste de la bande dessinée, décrit le style de Riff Reb's comme "dynamique et nerveux".
Biographie
Après le départ d'Algérie de la famille, il passe sa jeunesse au Havre. Après avoir étudié aux Gobelins, il fréquente les Arts déco. Il participe à la fondation de l'Atelier Asylum en 1984 avec Arthur Qwak et y rencontre Cromwell, futur collaborateur. Puis il quitte l'atelier.
Riff Reb's a été lauréat de la 1re édition du Prix de la BD Fnac en 2013 pour son album Le loup des mers, adaptation du roman éponyme de 1904 de Jack London.
Patrick Gaumer, spécialiste de la bande dessinée, décrit le style de Riff Reb's comme "dynamique et nerveux".
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 16, 2019
Riff Reb's illustrates some haunting tales at sea from some of the greatest writers of the 19th century. The illustrations were sometimes macabre fun, sometimes harrowing, always thrilling. If that sounds of interest, strike up your best sea shanty and get to reading.
Received a review copy from Dead Reckoning and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in now way influenced by the aforementioned.
Received a review copy from Dead Reckoning and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in now way influenced by the aforementioned.
April 14, 2019
This is a haunting set of stories about men at sea. I was excited to see this on Edelweiss and immediately downloaded it. I work for a maritime welfare charity and I wanted to read a book of graphic stories that take place on the sea.
There is a mix of graphic (cartoon) format and short one page prose stories, some of which are adapted from classics. The way the prose stories and graphic stories are interspersed works really well. The artwork is excellent with drawings that are mostly black on one colour. The artist has managed to capture the many forms of the sea from calm waters to ranging tornados.
Overall the book has a very gothic and haunting feel to it and ghosts do appear in a couple of stories. Some of the characters sail at peace with the sea and others don't because these are tales of old about adventure on the sea.
The book did make me think about seafaring today and the loneliness and danger that still exists for the women and men who sail. The sea is still wild and dangerous and will always be so. These stories remind us of this. This is a really great volume to read with inexplicable and haunting tales portrayed in excellent graphics.
Copy provided via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an unbiased review.
There is a mix of graphic (cartoon) format and short one page prose stories, some of which are adapted from classics. The way the prose stories and graphic stories are interspersed works really well. The artwork is excellent with drawings that are mostly black on one colour. The artist has managed to capture the many forms of the sea from calm waters to ranging tornados.
Overall the book has a very gothic and haunting feel to it and ghosts do appear in a couple of stories. Some of the characters sail at peace with the sea and others don't because these are tales of old about adventure on the sea.
The book did make me think about seafaring today and the loneliness and danger that still exists for the women and men who sail. The sea is still wild and dangerous and will always be so. These stories remind us of this. This is a really great volume to read with inexplicable and haunting tales portrayed in excellent graphics.
Copy provided via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an unbiased review.
April 28, 2019
Reviewed on Books Cats Tea | Instagram
Men at Sea is a spectacularly illustrated graphic novel that features eight short stories and samples seven more. They are as dark and turbulent as the sea that binds them all together. The illustrations are heavy and dark, which gives off an ominous tone that takes the forefront of the collection. The short stories are made even more pronounced by the single color tones used to highlight each tale. Excerpts of other stories are done in single cell black and white, which are laid out between each of the short stories.
While I understand this is a precise and condensed collection of stories meant to show the remarkable illustrations, I really would love to see more! The stories and images work well with each other and are executed masterfully. If it were possible to give the works of Poe and all the other authors an even more macabre, Gothic, and haunting tone, Men at Sea has done it and has done it very well.
Men at Sea is a spectacularly illustrated graphic novel that features eight short stories and samples seven more. They are as dark and turbulent as the sea that binds them all together. The illustrations are heavy and dark, which gives off an ominous tone that takes the forefront of the collection. The short stories are made even more pronounced by the single color tones used to highlight each tale. Excerpts of other stories are done in single cell black and white, which are laid out between each of the short stories.
While I understand this is a precise and condensed collection of stories meant to show the remarkable illustrations, I really would love to see more! The stories and images work well with each other and are executed masterfully. If it were possible to give the works of Poe and all the other authors an even more macabre, Gothic, and haunting tone, Men at Sea has done it and has done it very well.
June 16, 2019
Translated from French, this is the third of Riff Reb's collection of classic stories of life on the sea. The first two in the series are The Sea-Wolf and On board the Morning Star .
The book alternates between retellings of 8 tales by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Joseph Conrad, and Robert Louis Stevenson told graphic format with one page excerpts of prose by luminaries such as Homer, Jack London, Jules Verne, and Victor Hugo. There is a thread that flows through the book, although it does not need to be read strictly in order. The macabre illustrations are well matched with the macbre stories. There are some stunning images, such as the bucking "horses" found in the stormy wave at the end of "The Sea Horses" and the drama and peril of the whaleboat when chasing the whale in "Malgorn the Whaler". My only caveat on the book is the publisher has chosen to print black text on gray pages, which is difficult to read as it is muddy-looking. Otherwise, a classic in the making.
Recommended for sea dogs and other lovers of tales on the high seas.
The book alternates between retellings of 8 tales by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Joseph Conrad, and Robert Louis Stevenson told graphic format with one page excerpts of prose by luminaries such as Homer, Jack London, Jules Verne, and Victor Hugo. There is a thread that flows through the book, although it does not need to be read strictly in order. The macabre illustrations are well matched with the macbre stories. There are some stunning images, such as the bucking "horses" found in the stormy wave at the end of "The Sea Horses" and the drama and peril of the whaleboat when chasing the whale in "Malgorn the Whaler". My only caveat on the book is the publisher has chosen to print black text on gray pages, which is difficult to read as it is muddy-looking. Otherwise, a classic in the making.
Recommended for sea dogs and other lovers of tales on the high seas.
January 29, 2021
Superb. The art is the most amazing work I have seen for ages. It is a translation from a French BD and is the third part of a series of books about the sea. Deadreckoning have done an amazing job with this and it has a lovely quality throughout with great colouring and lettering. There is also an interview at the back with the author. The book includes a number of short story adaptions all with the theme of sea and the violence of the sea, the love of the sea, the sea and women, sea and ghosts and many more. The book is also sub divided by two page spreads and excepts from books such as Homer's Odyssey. Each story was special, all were 10 / 10 for me and I am so glad I picked this book up.
March 21, 2022
Une adaptation de nouvelles autour de l’enfer marin, contes et catastrophes, légendes et naufrages. Avec un dessin absolument adapté aux tons monochromes, Riff Reb’s met en images les nouvelles de : Joseph Conrad, William Hope Hodgson, Pierre Mac Orlan, Edgar Alan Poe, Marcel Schwob et Robert Louis Stevenson
Ambiances glauques, odeurs de vase, écume et sueur de pirates et galériens, des pôles à l’équateur, récifs et mirages pour une grande invitation… Attention aux tornades
https://www.noid.ch/hommes-a-la-mer/
Ambiances glauques, odeurs de vase, écume et sueur de pirates et galériens, des pôles à l’équateur, récifs et mirages pour une grande invitation… Attention aux tornades
https://www.noid.ch/hommes-a-la-mer/
May 11, 2021
This dramatically illustrated story collection alternates between graphic retellings of eight sea tales by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Joseph Conrad, and Robert Louis Stevenson with one page prose excerpts from long works by such authors as Homer, Jack London, Jules Verne, and Victor Hugo. Reb's dark, vivid illustrations are complementary to the macabre tales. Originally published in France.
December 21, 2023
Weird, but not weird enough.
Lots of shot stories (little snippets) but they are all over quite fast and nothing seems to really get going here.
Receives bonus points as there are not enough graphic novels about the sea.
Has to be 3.5 for me.
Lots of shot stories (little snippets) but they are all over quite fast and nothing seems to really get going here.
Receives bonus points as there are not enough graphic novels about the sea.
Has to be 3.5 for me.
January 24, 2026
Les dessins sont très similaires à ses autres BD. J'aime bien la sélection des histoires et le fait qu'elles ne soient pas tous illustrées. Le thème de la mer est très bien décrit et approfondi c'est chouette. Dommage que les personnages féminins aient si peu d'importance.
February 27, 2021
This was a very cool read. The illustrations alone are worth picking it up for, but each dark short story also gives you alot to chew on an consider philosophically.
Want to Read
March 28, 2021Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
January 24, 2020
Men at Sea completes the Trilogia Marinara – although unlike the first two titles, which each illustrate a single work, this title features Riff Reb’s graphic adaptations of short stories by Jack London, Pierre Mac Orlan, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allen Poe, Marcel Schwob, Joseph Conrad and William Hope Hodgson.
For both the artist and the authors, the sea is a fickle, ambivalent force, more likely to take than to give. According to the included interview with the author, he chose these particular tales for their somber tone and lyrical, dream-like qualities. Many include dark humor or linguistic color that brings the mariners to life, even as the sea draws them closer to death and danger.
Much attention has been given to the order of the stories, which alternate between short graphic tales and single-page, black and white illustrations that accompany short excerpts from pieces by numerous authors, including Jules Verne, Victor Hugo, and Homer. Each of the adapted stories has its own color, where the artist works in monochrome, emphasizing light and shadows. Faces are often hidden in darkness, but Riff Reb’s has a way of conveying emotion, often comical or downright creepy, by highlighting a character’s eyes in a few well-chosen scenes.
This anthology is ideal for the literary reader or fans of classic poets and storytellers who want a visual component to enhance their enjoyment of the originals. For brief non-sexual nudity, this title is recommended for ages 16+.
Thank you to Diamond Comic Distributors for the review copy of this title.
For both the artist and the authors, the sea is a fickle, ambivalent force, more likely to take than to give. According to the included interview with the author, he chose these particular tales for their somber tone and lyrical, dream-like qualities. Many include dark humor or linguistic color that brings the mariners to life, even as the sea draws them closer to death and danger.
Much attention has been given to the order of the stories, which alternate between short graphic tales and single-page, black and white illustrations that accompany short excerpts from pieces by numerous authors, including Jules Verne, Victor Hugo, and Homer. Each of the adapted stories has its own color, where the artist works in monochrome, emphasizing light and shadows. Faces are often hidden in darkness, but Riff Reb’s has a way of conveying emotion, often comical or downright creepy, by highlighting a character’s eyes in a few well-chosen scenes.
This anthology is ideal for the literary reader or fans of classic poets and storytellers who want a visual component to enhance their enjoyment of the originals. For brief non-sexual nudity, this title is recommended for ages 16+.
Thank you to Diamond Comic Distributors for the review copy of this title.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews