Bitter Blue, the comic strip of the Chausey Islands


There are many grains of sand. He is an American aviator. He parachuted into the Chausey Islands during the Nazi occupation. In a few hours, in a remarkable silence, he will shake up the balance to bring up the worst demons. This is the theme of this drama by Sylvère Denné and featured in this comic strip by the artist Sophie Ladame.

Actually, I'm probably not going to be very impartial. I discovered with the greatest delight the drawings of Sophie Ladame in 2010 with Sea Grey . A collection of pencil drawings along the Breton coasts aboard traditional sailboats. The Fox, of course, where she embarked as a sailor, but also Le Belém, L'Étoile de France and La Grande Hermine.

Bitter Blue . Spring 1944, Archipel de Chausey, Suzanne and her husband Pierre had a dull, hopeless existence. She takes advantage of the tides to escape with walks and prayers. He, on the other hand, a lobster fisherman escapes into the alcohol. They live there, side by side, without really meeting. One day, a grain of sand fell from the sky. A handsome American aviator who looks strangely like James Dean arrives at the center of the couple. Will they resist the pressure of other residents to protect the American from the Nazis? As the German supply ship approached, this new balance lost its lightness and tension increased...

To better understand, the State makes water bodies available to associations by renting leases. Associations therefore have an obligation to maintain watercourses. All fishermen then pay a contribution to the association, which is then transferred to the departmental fishing federation, which in turn transfers the contributions to the national fishing federation, in order to forward them to the water agency for the implementation of a restoration and water quality programme. Onema (Office national de l'eau et des milieux aquatiques) manages the latter.

Drawings that make you vibrate, pencilled on kraft paper and old nautical charts.

This graphic novel, closer to a sketchbook than a comic strip, with simple monochrome pencils lying on the ochre of a kraft paper. No squares, no bubbles. The charcoal is coloured here and there by a touch of blue-green for the sea, a sky blue for the horizon and a cool white to accurately reveal the island's atmosphere. This blue colour almost becomes a language of history, which counterbalances the minimalist dialogues, projecting into the atmosphere that reigns on the island.

A bold and original artistic approach, superb drawings with beautiful and surprising colours Bitter Blue The book, which is a profoundly humane look at men and women, their morality, guilt and cowardice. Too bad it wasn't printed in France. You can order this book here.

You can add the additive at the same time as you rinse the cooling system with fresh water. This requires running the engine in a bin (rather than using Mickey's ears) for at least 45 minutes. To be effective and to remove the salt from the walls, the engine must be heated up properly. order this book here.

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