Graphic Novel (in the style of Tintin) short series about about a boy who finds a talking mask, probably from early 1990s. Spoilers.

[Alan]

I am looking for a series of graphic novels (probably just 3 books, or so) in the style of Tintin, Asterix, Lucky Luke, etc. (More details at bottom of post)

I have searched like crazy over the years, but I cannot find it.

Plot (SPOILERS):

A young boy is playing in the street, with a wooden plane (or possibly a ball). He throws it through the window of a large, old house where an angry man is known to live. He enters the house to retrieve his toy, but In the room where he finds it, there is a wall full of humanlike talking masks that urges him to save them. As the owner of the house is approaching the room, the boy takes one if the masks with him, and runs.

The masks gives some explanation to the boy that I cannot remember, but a bit later the mask leads the boy to a roof, where he opens a portal till another world. In this scene, I remember there being a lot of cats.

In the other world, there turns out that there are evil people who forcefully turn humans and humanlike creatures to masks, so they can wear them, and become them. I remember the boy wearing the mask he found, him going to school and being chased by an evil principal of that school - with his talking bird - and that there were a "second city" on top of the main city, where they could escape and going between roofs by connecting ladders.

Additional info:

* I think the books are from the 90s, or at least that when I read them
* I remember the books being colorful, and for children, but I'm sure a serious tone, quite dark
* It could possibly be by a French author (I read it in Swedish), not this might be me filling in the holes in my memory

This is all I can remember, but please ask for additional info, if needed. I really, really want to find these books, so even if you don't know it, if you have any tips, please let me know!

BR Alan

[Alan]

I will try to give this a bump, hope that is OK, its been a year.

[Elizabeth]

I'm being hampered by language and portal fiction not being proper subject heading on most catalogs, however the art style of these books is listed as Ligne claire.

There is also a book called Swedish Comics History , do any of the characters on the cover look familiar?

[Len]

Could it have been from the Suske and Wiske books by Willy Vandersteen? I believe the Swedish translations used the names Finn och Fiffi.