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Green Manor #1-2
Green Manor Part II: The Inconvenience of Being Dead
A cup of tea? A drop of milk? A spoonful of poison? At first sight, nothing would make the very select club called Green Manor stand out from any other English club. Yet behind its thick walls, sunk into its deep chairs, hides the biggest bunch of con artists, bandits and murderers that Queen Victoria's England has ever seen. Expresso Collection brings together stories published in one or two volumes by CINEBOOK. Single or Double, Cinebook proposes to savour the best European Graphic novels selected for connoisseurs. Green Manor is a Cinebook Double Expresso
96 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2002
1 person is currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Denis Bodart
16 books2 followersNé à Namur le 30 novembre 1962, Denis Bodart passe par l'école Saint-Luc de Bruxelles et entame une brève carrière dans l'enseignement avant d'être saisi par le démon de la BD. Il publie en 1985 un premier album chez Bédéscope ("Saint-Germain des Morts", sur scénario de Streng), qui lui vaut d'être repéré par Yann. Les deux compères lancent simultanément deux séries, "Célestin Speculoos" (deux albums chez Glénat) et "Nicotine Goudron" (deux albums chez Albin Michel), et réalisent un épisode de "Chaminou" pour Marsu Productions ("L'Affaire Carotassis").
Depuis 1995, Bodart figure (trop rarement) au sommaire de SPIROU avec d'excellentes histoires courtes au dessin d'une virtuosité surprenante, sur des scénarios de Janssens, Sauger, Thiriet, Zidrou et Veys. Il tâte de tous les genres avec des albums tels que "Les Aberrants" (sur scénario de Lamquet chez Lefrancq), "F1 93 : Prost-Senna, le défi" (textes de Froissart à La Sirène) ou le collectif "Johnny, les années 60" aux Presses de la Cité.
Avec son iconoclaste complice Yann, il participe au décryptage de l'oeuvre d'Andersen dans le premier volume de la série "Sales petits contes" : "La Porchère qui avait perdu son ombre" est de l'humour (très) libre sur l'époque médiévale.
Depuis, il anime avec Vehlmann les contes de "Green Manor", toujours pour la collection "Humour Libre".
Source: http://www.dupuis.com/catalogue/FR/au...
Depuis 1995, Bodart figure (trop rarement) au sommaire de SPIROU avec d'excellentes histoires courtes au dessin d'une virtuosité surprenante, sur des scénarios de Janssens, Sauger, Thiriet, Zidrou et Veys. Il tâte de tous les genres avec des albums tels que "Les Aberrants" (sur scénario de Lamquet chez Lefrancq), "F1 93 : Prost-Senna, le défi" (textes de Froissart à La Sirène) ou le collectif "Johnny, les années 60" aux Presses de la Cité.
Avec son iconoclaste complice Yann, il participe au décryptage de l'oeuvre d'Andersen dans le premier volume de la série "Sales petits contes" : "La Porchère qui avait perdu son ombre" est de l'humour (très) libre sur l'époque médiévale.
Depuis, il anime avec Vehlmann les contes de "Green Manor", toujours pour la collection "Humour Libre".
Source: http://www.dupuis.com/catalogue/FR/au...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 13, 2017
Wickedly fun. Comprised of several short stories surrounding unscrupulous, bored "gentlemen" through the years at the Green Manor. With many a bad, yet deserving, end.
This also includes the third volume, Murderous Fancies. Such a shame that there's not any more!
This also includes the third volume, Murderous Fancies. Such a shame that there's not any more!
December 21, 2016
Rolicking, murderous fun!
April 8, 2026
ikke helt så interessant som 1'eren
July 8, 2011
The excellent series of short graphic stories set in 19th century London and featuring an array of inventive and gruesome murders, continues in this sequel titled "The Inconvenience of Being Dead". If you've read the first one and have compared the page count of both books, you'll notice this second volume is twice the length of Book 1 - this is because the third book, "Murderous Fancies", is also included here. So, 2 for the price of 1! I'm surprised this isn't mentioned in the product description.
I liked "Last Wishes" the story of an old judge who sentences a man to hang but isn't sure that the man is guilty. The clues to the end are all there at the start but the reader doesn't see it all until the final panels - wonderful stuff.
The more macabre story "The Centurion's Shadow" centres around the supposedly cursed Spear of Destiny, the weapon that pierced Jesus Christ's side when he was on the cross.
"In the Head of William Blake" is about the disappearance of a young man intent on seeing the corpse of the poet William Blake and the wild theories that percolate afterward. It's an imaginative story with some excellent artwork by Denis Bodart who does a good job of replicating some of Blake's work.
In all, this is another great collection of well written and well plotted short stories by Fabien Vehlmann. It was an enjoyable read and an excellent comic book, it's a shame the series had to end so soon.
I liked "Last Wishes" the story of an old judge who sentences a man to hang but isn't sure that the man is guilty. The clues to the end are all there at the start but the reader doesn't see it all until the final panels - wonderful stuff.
The more macabre story "The Centurion's Shadow" centres around the supposedly cursed Spear of Destiny, the weapon that pierced Jesus Christ's side when he was on the cross.
"In the Head of William Blake" is about the disappearance of a young man intent on seeing the corpse of the poet William Blake and the wild theories that percolate afterward. It's an imaginative story with some excellent artwork by Denis Bodart who does a good job of replicating some of Blake's work.
In all, this is another great collection of well written and well plotted short stories by Fabien Vehlmann. It was an enjoyable read and an excellent comic book, it's a shame the series had to end so soon.
December 25, 2010
Green Manor is a series of short stories about murders and misadventures in Queen Victoria's England. The tales are all related back to the Green Manor, which seems have a knack at attracting misfortunes.
The stories are written by Fabien Vehlmann and they are fantastic, wasting no time getting you into the mood, and oftentimes end with a satisfying twist. The art by Denis Bodart is also very beautiful and appropriate, especially the colours.
This is a wonderful crime genre comic with great storytelling. Highly recommended.
The stories are written by Fabien Vehlmann and they are fantastic, wasting no time getting you into the mood, and oftentimes end with a satisfying twist. The art by Denis Bodart is also very beautiful and appropriate, especially the colours.
This is a wonderful crime genre comic with great storytelling. Highly recommended.
October 22, 2021
This is actually books 2 AND 3
These tomes are confusing and the stories within try to relate to each other but it just doesn't work. All these fancy murders happening to and by the members of this posh club. Bah. It's too much over the span of a few decades. Then, it all is tied together somehow by this insane guy and I cannot figure out who he actually was, how he knew it all or why he was important at all. Just skip this one even though some are entertaining. The rest just bog them down.
The art stinks. It's like a really crappy Guy Davis.
These tomes are confusing and the stories within try to relate to each other but it just doesn't work. All these fancy murders happening to and by the members of this posh club. Bah. It's too much over the span of a few decades. Then, it all is tied together somehow by this insane guy and I cannot figure out who he actually was, how he knew it all or why he was important at all. Just skip this one even though some are entertaining. The rest just bog them down.
The art stinks. It's like a really crappy Guy Davis.
August 13, 2018
This second Cinebook volume of writer Fabien Vehlmann and artist Denis Bodart's Green Manor in English translation collects album two and three of the original French publication (De l'inconvenient de'être mort and Fantaisie meurtriére (Murderous Fancies)), and picks up where the first volume,
Assassins and Gentlemen
, left off. Dr Thorne follows the continued development of Thomas Below's case in the frame narrative and hears another five plus five narratives in the respective parts, relating to the Green Manor club.
In the eponymous first album in this volume, The Inconvenience of Being Dead, we find "Child's Play" in which Lord Virgil attempts to convince George, one of the servants at the club, to pick a victim for a murder, and "The Mark of the Beast", in which Mark Abbott has to wrestle with the notion that he has been cursed with a mark. In "Last Wishes", a former judge, Lord Sherman, has to struggle with his conscience in relation to a death sentence he has given a man now about to be executed. "The Centurion's Shadow" is a story about General Miller and the legendary spear of Longinus; while "Voodoo Night" presents the mysterious murder of Lord Killian.
In the second album in the volume (and the final one in the series), Murderous Fancies, we find "Endgame", in which the paralysed Lord Wyatt presents the club with a riddle, and also pulls Doctor Sheffer into a web of intrigue. In "A Small Crime Serenade", we are told the story of a man who often passes unnoticed, which is very convenient if one wants to commit murders. "In the Head of William Blake" presents the story of a Lord Buckner and his friend Melvin, who decide to play a prank on young Daniel, who in turn mourns the death of Blake – a prank with dire consequences. In "Fight to the Finish" (which slightly echoes the themes of "21 Halberds" from the previous volume), Lord Turner and Lord Bennett, both avid hunters, decide that the only game left worth hunting is – man; and thus begin a contest of whom can hunt down and kill the other first. Finally, in "The Testament", the rumours surrounding the Sanders family are brought into the light as one of the family's members relates the true story.
As with the first volume, Vehlmann and Bodart manage to create a specific mood in their well-constructed stories, which are delightfully bound together even further through the ongoing frame narrative. It is a well-crafted anthology series, and even though it saddens me a little that Vehlmann and Bodart very obviously closes the book with regards to any further volumes, it also makes sense to end something like this while it is still as strong as it is.
In the eponymous first album in this volume, The Inconvenience of Being Dead, we find "Child's Play" in which Lord Virgil attempts to convince George, one of the servants at the club, to pick a victim for a murder, and "The Mark of the Beast", in which Mark Abbott has to wrestle with the notion that he has been cursed with a mark. In "Last Wishes", a former judge, Lord Sherman, has to struggle with his conscience in relation to a death sentence he has given a man now about to be executed. "The Centurion's Shadow" is a story about General Miller and the legendary spear of Longinus; while "Voodoo Night" presents the mysterious murder of Lord Killian.
In the second album in the volume (and the final one in the series), Murderous Fancies, we find "Endgame", in which the paralysed Lord Wyatt presents the club with a riddle, and also pulls Doctor Sheffer into a web of intrigue. In "A Small Crime Serenade", we are told the story of a man who often passes unnoticed, which is very convenient if one wants to commit murders. "In the Head of William Blake" presents the story of a Lord Buckner and his friend Melvin, who decide to play a prank on young Daniel, who in turn mourns the death of Blake – a prank with dire consequences. In "Fight to the Finish" (which slightly echoes the themes of "21 Halberds" from the previous volume), Lord Turner and Lord Bennett, both avid hunters, decide that the only game left worth hunting is – man; and thus begin a contest of whom can hunt down and kill the other first. Finally, in "The Testament", the rumours surrounding the Sanders family are brought into the light as one of the family's members relates the true story.
As with the first volume, Vehlmann and Bodart manage to create a specific mood in their well-constructed stories, which are delightfully bound together even further through the ongoing frame narrative. It is a well-crafted anthology series, and even though it saddens me a little that Vehlmann and Bodart very obviously closes the book with regards to any further volumes, it also makes sense to end something like this while it is still as strong as it is.
July 11, 2018
Even better than book 1.
Contains both book 2 and 3 'Murderous Fancies' from the original French edition.
Contains both book 2 and 3 'Murderous Fancies' from the original French edition.
June 4, 2020
Just as enjoyable as the first!
July 18, 2016
Let's return to Green Manor, that home of Victorian villains, lords, detectives and associated tales of madness , murder, greed and justice.
Here are four stories that are my favorites-
LAST WISHES-were a dying judge seeks to save a innocent man from hanging.
ENDGAME-a bedridden man plays a last game of chess with a killer.
A SMALL CRIME SERENADE-a clue member thinks he is the Angel of Death.
THE TESTAMENT-a will, a family and a grim ending.
If you can find this volume, settle back late at night and return to club of dark deeds.
Here are four stories that are my favorites-
LAST WISHES-were a dying judge seeks to save a innocent man from hanging.
ENDGAME-a bedridden man plays a last game of chess with a killer.
A SMALL CRIME SERENADE-a clue member thinks he is the Angel of Death.
THE TESTAMENT-a will, a family and a grim ending.
If you can find this volume, settle back late at night and return to club of dark deeds.
July 18, 2013
second volume in this collection of sparklingly subtle murder mysteries. translated into English from Fabien Vehlmann's French, the locus is a nineteenth-century English gentlemen's club known as the 'Green Manor'. the stories maintain originality despite the looming shadow of Conan Doyle (who receives a graceful intertextual nod). the club setting is somewhat reminiscent of Isaac Asimov's Black Widowers stories. the denouements evoke surprise, but retain just the right degree of plausibility.
October 10, 2012
Charming, clever, politely gruesome and beautifully drawn, but: while the individual stories are tightly plotted and wonderfully paced, the overarching tale suffers, I think, by being separated into two volumes. I still enjoyed the full story that finishes in Vol. 2, but it really needs to be read together. If the printing had been organized differently, this would be a five-star graphic novel.
October 18, 2015
Collection of 10 murder mysteries, the volume’s not as good as the previous one. In this volume the stories primarily revolves around irony,the stories are not as clever as i had come to expect from the series.The art is beautiful, but gets repetitive with all the characters looking the same story after story.
June 7, 2013
Amazing twist in every story.
March 10, 2017
Not as good as first part, but still, fabulous!
April 30, 2017
Some of the stories in this Volume are pretty ok, but then the art hooks you up through out.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews