Les Magiciens

by Blexbolex

Il est une fois trois magiciens qui se réveillent un jour dans une maison abandonnée. Dès lors, ils sont traqués sans répit par la redoutable Chasseresse et son compagnon le Mâchefer ! Les pouvoirs et l’imagination des magiciens leur permettront-ils de vaincre leurs ennemis ?

Dans cette histoire, la magie c’est l’enfance, elle est incarnée par les magiciens qui sont les instigateurs d’une création libre, un pouvoir et une liberté de réinventer le monde qu’un mage cynique et arrogant cherche à contrôler et à soumettre.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult

210 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2022

About the author

Blexbolex is a French comics artist and illustrator. Born Bernard Granger in Douai, he studied screen printing (sérigraphie) at the School of Fine Arts (L’école européenne supérieure de l'image) in Angoulême. His first works were self-published, and later he contributed to Popo Color, Fusée, and Ferraille. His highly stylized, ligne claire illustration, inspired by the films of Jacques Tati and whodunits of the 1950s and 1960s, gradually gained an audience. In Germany, he directed an art studio at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee (School of Art and Design Berlin-Weissensee) and he also worked regularly with a number of editors, including Thierry Magnier, Pipifax, United Dead Artists, Les Requins-Marteaux, and Cornélius. Blexbolex has contributed to the American publication The Ganzfeld.

In 2009, he received a prize for “Best Book Design of the World” for his L'Imagier des gens (2008) at the Book Fair of Leipzig.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous art object from page one, but the ending really cinches it as a great story as well. The layout is arresting and singularly Blexbolex. A lot of reviews are saying they don't understand the audience, but I think many of them may not have picked up a kids' graphic novel recently or seen the niche Enchanted Lion has dug out for themselves, full of rich and unique all-ages titles that are certainly popular with plenty of kids.

[Mag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qu'est ce que c'est ? Une bd? Un album? Un roman illustré? C'est pour enfant ou pour adulte?
Je ne sais pas, tout ce que je peux en dire c'est que c'est une expérience visuelle remarquable et une rencontre marquante avec un univers singulier. L'objet tient de la rareté, l'illustration semble appartenir autant au passé qu'au futur, et l'histoire vient titiller l'enfant qu'on porte en nous et le faire remonter à la surface. Assez dingue.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of those oddball graphic novels that I wasn't sure of the target audience for. It felt like it wanted to be a children's story but the art style felt retro in a way I think would only appeal to adults. The story was also very confusing. Overall, not my thing - I usually enjoy strange but this one went a little off the rails.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it's something.

I'm not really sure who this is for. The illustrations and the writing itself invoke a collection of fairy tales that I used to read at my grandparents' house, so there's this very vintage feel about it. As an adult, I can appreciate this, but I don't know how kid would feel reading this. It's marketed as middle grade, but it doesn't quite feel like it.

I really don't know what to think.

[Elise Schiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually stunning and reminiscent of Miyazaki’s work with Studio Ghibli. This was a fun little book to read out loud to my boys. They both sat enraptured and listened to me read the entire book in one sitting. It’s a fast-paced and action-packed graphic novel, filled with wonder and magic and fantasy. We’ll be picking up some more books by this author, and I also want to learn more about the author himself now!

[Arancillo garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

De pequeños estamos rodeados de magia y pasamos una vida maravillosa entonces por que de grandes queremos que desaparezca esa parte de nosotros? Hasta que no perdemos una cosa no la echamos de menos.

[Margaux D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un album en typographie magnifique dans un monde fantastique adorable mais où les êtres ne sont pas très sympathiques... mais est-ce toujours aussi simple ...?

Une histoire qui questionne les notions de bien et de mal dans un univers magique et coloré, très 70's je trouve !

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sits in that weird niche of all ages storybooks that opened itself to me with Tom Haugomat's Through a Life.

The story in this one has a kind of classic children's book vibe, somewhere between Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. It's set in a world where magic is dying out and follows a huntress as she tries to capture the last three magicians. It works as a kind of fable on childhood and it's place in adult life, about finding magic in our world.

But the biggest draw for me is the aesthetic. I'm not sure technique is used, but it's absolutely gorgeous. The artwork is layered, full of life and color. It fun and vibrant. Very vintage yet very modern. The storybook aspect allows him to really develop each Illustration and make it the central aspect of the book.

And even the overall design makes it feel like a proper object. First of all, it's pretty big. And I'm not sure what the point if it is, but all the pages are doubled up, as they forgot to cut every other page, except there's nothing printed in between. Again, not sure if it's a particular printing process and if there's a point to it but it makes it feel special.

I'll be hunting down more of Blexbolex's work for sure

[Emily✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd and beautiful. The retro-style illustrations are lovely and magical. The story... not so much. It almost feels like the creator made all of the illustrations first and then cobbled them together into some semblance of story afterwards. There's no context, the story doesn't flow or make much sense, the characters are flat and uninteresting. The plot and themes do start to come together towards the end, but too little too late imo.

I must also state that this is categorically not a comic/graphic novel, despite it being labeled as such by the publisher. It's essentially just an especially long picture book (nothing wrong with that). Each page has a single illustration, with a couple sentences of text underneath it. There are no panels or speech bubbles; it is not sequential art. Perhaps books in this style are regularly produced in France under the "bande dessinée" designation, but it is out of place in an American library's graphic novel collection (which is where I found it).

It is certainly a beautiful object of art, but it is not a story that I care about or will remember.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Translated from the French, this is very weird. Who is the bad guy? The good guys? What is each character trying to do? The art is very old fashioned (1950s). The language is very advanced, though there's only a few sentences per page. Who will this appeal to: A precocious child? A teen or adult with an oddball sense of the world? I am not sure what to make of it, which is entirely French of it.

[Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo amb aquest tiu m'hi perdo. Noto que existeix tot un trasfons que se m'escapa. Tot i així, és al·lucinant l'edició i el concepte. Em fa sentir tonto, alhora que em fa gaudir.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book through the Wakelet link as "A 100 Scope Notes Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Book of 2023" which immediately caught my attention. This is most certainly an unconventional book! The story is about three shapeshifting magicians who are being hunted by a young girl and her Lion-dragon. Written in French by Blexbolex (cool name) and translated by Karin Snelson, The Magicians is a thrilling, beautiful, and deep work of art. While the length might be challenging for young readers, I would say this book is for ages 10 and up. Highly recommend getting this book as a physical copy because the pages and binding are as unique as the story and artwork itself. Published last year, 2023, The Magicians is fresh and exciting. I will be looking into Blexbolex's other works now because of the impact his latest book has had on me.
This would be a fun read in the classroom and could get students to expand their horizons when it comes to reading. The uniqueness of this book along with its outstanding delivery would keep students engaged and would lead to some interesting discussions about what books can look like. I would recommend teaching this to middle-school (6th-8th) but could also see this book being useful in older students (9th-12th) as it does have some deeper themes. Even younger students could appreciate the illustrations and (seemingly) nonsensical nature of the world.

[Zachary Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

”Panicking, he flaps around the room every which way. He finally lands on the window frame, sees the world outside, and is surprised by how beautiful it is.”

This book is worth physically holding in your hands. It’s a wonderfully vibrant and colorful art object in itself - the 1950s art style is great and each illustration really pops on the page.

The story though? Eh. Magicians are being hunted and I think Blexbolex was trying to capture the importance of having magic in the world? It wasn’t super clear lol. Anyways at least flip through this book if you ever see it lurking on the library shelves

[hope h. · Rating 5 out of 5]

the creator's website describes this as both a graphic novel and an art book, which makes perfect sense and is also GENIUS. i want to see more people do this!! also it's translated from french which is also amazing?? where have translated graphic novels been?? adored this one, it's such a fun and whimsical little story with absolutely gorgeous silkscreen-style illustrations that make it feel so rich and vibrant. would highly recommend checking it out just to appreciate how beautifully done it is

[Amanda Shepard (Between-the-Shelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Translated from the original French, this entire book is honestly an experience. It's printed to look like a vintage comic book, with a sort of whimsical nature to the overall plot of the story. Honestly, it reminded me of a Studio Ghibli movie in a way. It has that sort of tone to it, with a mix of mythology and magic and characters that just spark your interest. Definitely pick it up if you're in for an interesting time!

[Philip McCarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork in this book was right up my alley. If you make dynamic woodblock prints, then I'm going to instantly be drawn in. The color scheme and vivacious action each picture provided was truly a treat on every page. I found the story to be pretty good, but not extremely gripping. The final stretch though jumped right into a sea of metaphorical storytelling and provided plenty to think about afterward.

[Taffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the art! The story was pretty good. I found the portrayal of female characters irritating. Yes, they had agency and central parts in the story, but the one female magician was referred to simply as “the girl magician” the entire book (the two male magicians were never described by their gender, but by physical attribute instead). And there was a lot of “girl superhero” posing that was annoying.

[Laira · Rating 4 out of 5]

que libro mas bello por dios. la verdad lo compre solo por las ilustraciones hermosas que tiene y la historia me sorprendio bastante, no me esperaba ese estilo para nada. me encanto el comienzo, es innovador para lo que (asumo) es un libro infantil (no estoy segura cual es el target, probablemtente sea bastante amplio) y la forma de narrar me parecio guionezca~
nada muy lindo y lo voy a ver todos los dias y servira como inspiracion para mi vida ah

[Christie Kaaland]

I don't know how to rate this book or critique it. It's not my kind of book. But the illustrations are so unique and exciting. It's part graphic novel, part fantasy, part nostalgia. Characters remind me of Babar and others from nearly a century ago. But, I'm still trying to figure out the "plot". Oh well.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just sitting on a shelf at the library was this shockingly beautiful work of art. I picked it up to see if it was something my ten year old might be interested in. I sat down on one of those rolling step stools and got lost.

What a beautiful book. I look forward to more Blexbolex. The Magicians are magical.

[T. Neoma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this felt like waking from a potent dream, trying to untangle the threads that made so much sense when you were dreaming, but now everything is a little bit fuzzy. Which, come to think of it, that "fuzzing feeling" matches the bright risograph art style of this magical book. It's an enchanting and strange escape with beautiful art on every page.

[Ctecain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le livre est magnifique, les illustrations aussi… Mais j’ai eu beaucoup de mal à entrer dans l’histoire. Tout part un peu dans tous les sens sans trop d’explications. Mais je ne laisserais pas le livre dans les mains d’un enfant sans surveillance…

[Starr ❇✌❇ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has very interesting art and I enjoy the nostalgic feel it has- it reminds me of old picture books that were already old when I was a child. But the story itself was confusing and consistently.made me feel like I'd skipped pages (or more). Definitely abstract.

[Lucy Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art prints on every page are innovative and beautiful, but the story overall was confusing as to its indented audience. It may have been because of the translation, but the vocabulary used elevated it to an older reader who may not be as drawn into the story.

[Hadiqa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think from an adult POV, the writing was ok. The beginning was really fun but the middle part was alright. But I think if I was a kid rn I would have loved it. It reminds me of the things I used to read when I was young. Interesting choice of art.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated storybook. I purchased this for the children's section of my library because it has a starred review. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that my library is the targeted audience. This would make a beautiful gift to be read one-on-one with a child.

[Caroline]

I tried very hard to get into this book, but it was not for me. I love the vintage illustrations, they look super cool and the book design is awesome. Except, from a librarian perspective those pages will get damaged incredibly quickly. This would be a hard sell for a lot of American kids,

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous illustrations and a story that might not be super easy to understand, but definitely invites a second read and offers lots to think about. I would frame any page of this book and display it- they're that good.

[Alexi]

leaving as currently read because I never got to finish it. got the sense though- it's like a comic book except each page is one big panel.

really different, and the storyline was so different form the usual kid's content, too. nice to switch things up.

translated from french

[Maddy Walock · Rating 4 out of 5]

True rating: 4.25 star.

I loved this. The graphics are stunning and the story is very reminiscent of Grimm fairytales and Japanese folklore from my experience. Really excited to read more from Blexbolex!