Belle en het beest

La Belle et la Bête #1

by Maxe L'Hermenier

Uit liefde voor de roos is een tuinman de dienaar van duizend doornen …

De mooie Belle woont bescheiden met haar twee stiefzussen en haar vader, een rijke koopman in een kleine havenstad. Wanneer ze de onredelijke wensen van haar narcistische en jaloerse zussen niet moet inwilligen zit Belle met haar neus in de boeken. Op een dag wordt het rustige leventje in het stadje verstoord wanneer een vliegend schip aanmonstert. Gehoornde demonen dalen af om de verdorven zielen van de dorpelingen te oogsten. In ruil voor het leven van haar vader biedt Belle zichzelf aan als gijzelaar van de scheepskapitein.
Dit beest is een man in de ban van een verschrikkelijke vloek.
Wat is zijn geheim?

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Retellings, France, Comics Manga

Unknown Binding

First published February 1, 2014

About the author

Bercé par les années 1990, Maxe découvre le neuvième art dès sa plus tendre enfance. C’est bien plus tard qu’il décide d’écrire ses premiers textes. Il reçoit alors rapidement la possibilité de les publier. Pour lui, c’est la révélation ! Il n’y pas de doute, il veut en faire son métier !

C'est dans cette optique qu'il crée l'univers de Pirates des Mille et Une Lunes. Ce concept de bande dessinée, regroupant six dessinateurs de tous horizons, séduit les éditions Soleil Productions.

Auteur au talent aussi prolifique que varié, Maxe L'Hermenier est capable d'écrire dans des univers très différents (du réalisme à l'humour en passant par la science-fiction...)

Reviews

[Mitticus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stupid story.
Great art.

[Andre · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ever heard how people claim that the 1990s Disney version of Beauty and the Beast supposedly have Belle with Stockholm syndrome?
Well; this comic version here would fit that claim much better if you ask me. Not only does this here seem to be based on the Disney version (the spell, the rose bush, Belle being into books etc.), and possibly on Pirates of the Caribbean for that matter, but this Belle, respectively Bella, does act way more in concert with Stockholm Syndrome than the Disney version does.
However, I doubt that this is intentional. You see, the way this here is written I think it rather seems to be this way due to the forced plot and simplicity of the story. Sure the author tried to be deep here and there but utterly failed in my opinion.

At the start I already noticed four things:
1) Not all fairy tales begin with "once upon a time" (in fact, even many of the Grimms' stories don't).
2) The artwork is good
3) Do the sisters and the mayor have to be such utter stereotypes? Then again, so is Bella, so...
4) Gruesome tales are considered "best forgotten" if they are considered embarrassing or that there is too little to be gained from. Stories of undead pirates from the sky ravaging the country side would not be forgotten.
So the comic didn't start good already.

Sadly this comic is one of the many who have the annoying style of having the characters constantly talk to themselves (ever heard of thought bubbles?).
Also even though the "skyrim" zombies say they only want the blackest souls, they take Bella with them because she offers herself (they killed everyone else so why do they care?) and they throw her in some room full of log entries and their boss constantly watches her through the door... This did not bode well at all. Even with what we learn later, this doesn't make a lot of sense.
Furthermore, while the artists are really good, there is no denying of that, I do wonder whether there were some communication problems between them and the author. These sailors clearly look like corpses of hunger victims so why would anyone doubt that they are dead? And while I could understand referring to himself as a monster or demon, the captain does not, he calls himself an animal and he does not look like that.
Sadly, with Liam not realizing that it was his father who used his mother as a human shield against the "monster" (not "animal" anymore all of a sudden?), this tried way too late to be deep. Also, why is Bella so nice to the monster once they visited the rose bush and we get all the backstory of his girlfriend and the warlock? I mean, sure he is not an asshole, but he still wanted to sacrifice her and why would he give up on that so easily?
Also in this version the magic mirror shows what is still left of the human in the monster and based on the picture, the mirror comes from Egypt... wow, that is so original. First the Beast reminds me of Davy Jones here, then Liam's behavior makes no sense whatsoever, these characters are even more 2-dimensional than the ones in Glee and now this? Why don't we ever have some magic from the Mandinka kingdoms? At least it would be something new.
Also Bella got kidnapped because Liam for some reason wants to stay in the magic castle with the evil rose bush and then she was in a time bubble that the warlock created for Diana (the monsters original girlfriend that is of course similar to Bella)... I don't know what is dumber here,the elements of Stockholm Syndrome, the dumb plot, the idiotic characters or this "don't question, it's magic attitude.
Also Liam swings from sinful/pure and nice/bad so suddenly, you have to wonder whether he is bipolar or why does he have such mood swings?
Furthermore If Bella just had to die for Gwendal (the animal) to become a full beast, why didn't the warlock just kill her? And why is she still important? Gwendal doesn't love her and Diana is free again. Plus Liam switched sides again despite being transformed into the same shape as Gwendal, for some reason.
In the end Bella is back in town, the mayor is denounced by the pirates he paid to ruin her father, Gwendal and Diana are human again (apparently their love was strong enough but not Bella's and Liam's), Liam apparently is not dead and still transformed (odd which magic is still ongoing after the warlock's death) and the warlock died because the mirror showed him.. himself.
This makes no sense.

Sure, the art is nice, but the story in convoluted, forced, has tons of holes, moves way too fast and barely anything makes sense.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually it's "Pirates of Caribbean meets Beauty and the Beast"

[Ascari Vau · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich bin etwas zwigespalten bei der Bewertung dieses Semi-Debuts (zumindest für Teilzeit-Zeichnerin Dem). Das liegt vor allem gerade am anfängerhaft anmutenden Stil, der vor allem europäisch, jedoch mit einem dezent japanischem Einfluss ausfällt. Wo diese Melange z.B. bei Alex Alice ganz hervorragend funtkioniert, hat sie mich hier nicht so ganz überzeugt. Insbesondere, wo der doch vorwiegend ernst und episch-heroisch gehaltene Ton der Panels auf Funny-eske Momente trifft, die die Stimmung merkwürdig brechen (wenn ich mich recht besinne hat dieses Problem Alice aber auch in seinem "Schloss in den Sternen" - dafür fällt seine Strichführung aber grundsätzlich viel feinerer und sauberer aus). Andererseits gibt es ein interessant anzuschauendes Hin und Her zwischen den Figuren dieser etwas anderen Version der bekannten Liebesgeschichte, inklusive einiger tatsächlich auch optisch hervorragend gelungenen Splashpages. Was man vom Neu-Arrangement des bekannten Personasls hält sei jedem selbst überlassen. Die Geschichte ist gelungen, die Bilder dank einiger epischer Ansichten auch.

[Niek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi getekend, leuke verhaallijn (maar zeker niet diepgaand). De teksten kunnen hier en daar wat beter, soms wat onduidelijke overgangen. Een aangename volwassen versie van het befaamde sprookje met een einde dat snakt naar deel 2! Nipt geen 4 sterren.

[Steffen Frier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lidt spøjs fortolkning på en eventyrklassiker, men virkelig flot tegnet

[Inge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the drawings. The story is a bit to much for only two books. The depth is rushed...

[Ilona Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kan niet anders zeggen dat deze comic schitterend is getekend. Het is best origineel dat het beest in deze hervertelling een vliegend schip genaamd de zielenrijger heeft. Hij verzameld verdorven zielen om aan de doornen te voeren zodat zijn geliefde Diana kan blijven leven. Belle heeft zichzelf uiteraard opgeofferd en gaat aan boord van het schip en gaat mee naar het kasteel. Dit deel eindigtop een cliffhanger want Liam (iemand die zij kent uit het dorp waar ze woont) is meegegaan als verstekeling en heeft een afspraak met de heer van de doornen om iets op te halen uit een doos (waarschijnlijk het hart van het beest).

[Marquise · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up for the lovely art.

What an original twist from the usual tale the plot was! Belle and the Beast neither start nor end up at all like I'd have expected from how the retellings of this popular fairy tale usually turn out like, and for that I've loved the surprises to bits.

[Unboutdailleurs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ouvrage de toute beauté. Curieuse de lire la suite !

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Azhureheart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Histoire intéressante, dessins très sympas, dommage que les dialogues soient complètement fades.

[Sander van der Heide · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verassende benadering van een bekend sprookje. Alleen de tekeningen van Looky al het lezen waard.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting twist on the story. The art it beautiful and I can't wait to see where this goes next!