This is cover art for the 8th tome of this series, La lune gibbeuse. You know…
On the surface, nothing distinguishes Isabelle’s life from those of the thousands of her readers. This little girl lives a peaceful life with her aunt Ursule, on the Atlantic coast. And yet, with Delporte, Macherot, Franquin, and Will guiding her destiny, the marvelous is never far away. Ghosts, paranormal powers, or the marriage of her uncle Hermès to the beautiful witch Calendula—anything is possible, and nothing is ever frightening. --BDT
I’ve only read the first book so far, but found it pretty good. It might nominally be considered young adult fare, but I thought it worked perfectly well for an all-ages audience, a neat trick that any series would hope to achieve.
And… that’s it. Here’s one more cover just for fun:
https://www.bedetheque.com/media/Couvertures/Couv_3840.jpg
Little dude trying really hard not to turn around xD
Wow, this is so nostalgic. I used to read those albums when I was a kid, I’m pretty sure it’s where I learned the word gibbeux actually! Now I feel like rereading all the series.
I didn’t realise at the time it was this “old”, even though the albums that I had access to clearly weren’t new.
« La Traboule de la Géhenne » is also a very mysterious title when you’re a kid whose vocabulary is still a bit lacking.
I used to read those albums when I was a kid, I’m pretty sure it’s where I learned the word gibbeux actually!
🙂
I’m a late middle-aged man, but still can’t remember the specific moon-meaning of “gibbous” unless I look up a chart, dammit. I don’t imagine it’s otherwise used much in French nor English, these days.Anyway, I want to say that this 70’s - 80’s series holds up surprisingly well compared to similar fare from that era. I also like the idea that the protagonist is a little girl placed in to surreal situations, as I’m a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland.
« La Traboule de la Géhenne » is also a very mysterious title when you’re a kid whose vocabulary is still a bit lacking.
Haha, I recognised “Gehenna” (sort of a Jewish hell) from my days playing D&D back in the 80’s, but with my A2-level French, I had to look up “traboule.” I feel like there are a million similar words in French for “passage,” but I guess that’s the way things go, sometimes.
