Pasajeros del Viento: Edicion Integral

by François Bourgeon

Los pasajeros del viento, cuenta las aventuras de la joven Isabel de Mamaye, una joven deslenguada y atrevida que embarca de incógnito en un buque de la armada francesa a finales del s. XVIII, acompañando a su señora, la también jovencita Inés. En sus excursiones por el barco, disfrazada de hombre, conoce al marino Höel y al cirujano Saint Quentin, con los que comenzará una larga aventura que la llevará a través de los mares hasta África, enfrentándose tanto a los ingleses como a los mercaderes de esclavos. Un argumento ya de por sí apasionante, pero que Bourgeon sabe dirigir con acierto para construir todo un tratado sobre las relaciones humanas y, sobre todo, un bellísimo canto a la libertad. La joven Isa, apenas una adolescente, crecerá enfrentándose a una sociedad que no entiende su necesidad de independencia y libertad.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2009

About the author

François Bourgeon is a French comics artist, author of several noted European comic books. Bourgeon was originally educated as a master stained glass artist, but difficulties in finding employment and a passion for drawing altered his course onto a different career. Getting illustrations published in magazines from 1971 eventually led him to pursue graphic storytelling and to develop his craft over the next few years. When the Les passagers du vent (The Passengers of the Wind) series was serialised in Circus magazine in 1979, it became recognised as one of the most important European comic series of its era. His graphic novels have ranged from nautical and medieval historical fiction to science fiction, and characteristically, within settings of violence and sexuality, epic stories revolve around strong female characters. He lives in Cornouaille in Brittany.
(Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[César]

4'5

Espléndida aventura. Un guión inteligente y documentado exhaustivamente.

[Simon]

Omnibus edition of a comic book that ran in the late 1970's/early 1980's, collecting 5 volumes. Its title means "the Passengers of the Wind" and was also called that in the Danish translation.

The story follows a French noblewoman in the 18th century who falls in love with a Breton sailor and escapes with him from the ship he's serving on, when he gets sentenced to execution after being court-martialed. At the same time, she is also carrying on a lesbian affair with her adopted sister, and neither woman is who she appears to be. In terms of genre, it can best be described as an extremely ambitious cross between a Herman Melville-style seafaring novel, a historical epic about France's role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, a George Sand-esque combination of feminist agitprop with convoluted melodramatic soap opera about dysfunctional upper class families in 18th/19th century France, arty softcore pornography and polemic against the Roman Catholic Church. The art is also absolutely gorgeous, having some very inventive use of colour and depicting landscapes and architecture/fashion styles of very different cultures from across the globe.

Furthermore "The Passengers of the Wind" shows an absolutely breathtaking level of historical research on part of author Francois Bourgeon, in particular regarding the West African kingdom of Dahomey (located in what is now Benin) whose culture, political organisation and religion I learned quite a bit about. The plot is likewise exceptionally complex and requires multiple reads to understand in any satisfactory depth, hence why my older brother (through whom I discovered it) makes a point of reading this comic in its entirety every year.

I don't know if "The Passengers of the Wind" has ever been translated into English, but there is a good reason why it in mainland Europe is considered one of the crowning achievements of the comic book medium.

[JaumeMuntane]

Un clásico y bien documentado cómic de aventuras, que cuenta con una excelente ambientación y diseño de personajes.

[Calvina]

I liked this series well enough; it reminded me of the first season of Black Sails in some ways (not least because of the male gazey lesbianism and gratuitous sexual violence and nudity). The art is beautiful and the story was engaging.

[Hugot Maud]

Une merveille qui nous transporte en un autre temps en bateaux à voile par delà les frontières en suivant une fille à la vue pleine de rebond.

[Juan Ospina]

That was a good book to spend time

[Maija Hejgaard]

Min fars yndlings tegneserie – en klassiker.

[Jota Houses]

Un comic interesante sobre el comercio de esclavos a finales del siglo XVIII. La maestría de Bourgeon se centra en el mundo de los barcos y lops paisajes de África sin alcanzar las cotas de Los Compañeros del Crepusculo. Su peculiar estilo en el rostro humano tambien lastra el resultado. La historia es más facil de seguir pero tiene poca entidad y termina abruptamente sin que se contruya una narración completa.

[Asier]

Isabel de Mamaye gazte frantsesaren eta bere lagun Ines ingelesaren ibilerak kontatzen dituen komikia, 80. hamarkadan 5 aletan argitaratua eta orain edizio integral batean bilduta. Isa (17-18 urte) gazte ausarta da, XVIII. mendeko gizartean hain ohiko diren injustiziei gaztetasunak berezko duen indarraz eta inozentziaz aurre egiten diena. Kortsarioak, gerrateak, Afrika beltza, esklaboak, Ameriketako koloniak,... abenturazko kontakizunek behar dituzten osagai guztiak. Independentzia eta askatasunari aldarria. Kultuzko lan klasiko bat, ni neu erabat-erabat harrapatu ez nauena.

[José Nebreda]

Qué recuerdos de mi temprana juventud, allá por los años ochenta. Cómo ha cambiado todo. Este tebeo me impactó entonces. Y ahora me sigue maravillando y me trae muchísimas memorias del pasado. Bourgeon es un clásico.

[Elfo-oscuro]

El ultimo numero es algo confuso en cuanto a la lucha en el barco pero en general esta muy bien hecho con unas conversaciones inteligentes y un trasfondo muy realista

[Emilio]

Obra maestra

[Przemysław Skoczyński]

Epickie.