Het Meisje In Het Want

Les Passagers du Vent #1

by François Bourgeon

Pour se venger et fuir, Isa choisit l'exil. Passagère du vent sur les routes océanes, elle subit les guerres, rencontre les prisons et découvre l'horreur des traites négrières qui assurent l'enrichissement des Amériques et des Antilles. À jamais éprouvée par toutes ces expériences, Isa n'en aime pas moins la vie. Elle aimera des hommes. Elle aimera des femmes... mais avant tout, sa liberté.

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, France, Comics Bd, Adventure

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

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

[Eternauta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πλήρης περιπέτεια με άλμπατρος, ναυμαχίες στη Καραϊβική, αιμομιξίες, ακρωτηριασμούς και εκπληκτικής λεπτομέρειας σχέδια πολεμικών ιστιοφόρων του 18ου αιώνα!

[Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a 1986 hardback reprint in French from Editions Glénat. Originally published in 1980, this is a powerful opening chapter of a series that functions well as a stand alone story.

It’s a family / revenge tale set in the midst of naval battles between the French and the British for supremacy in the Caribbean, but there are numerous other stories between the secondary characters which gives a hugely detailed and intriguing story background.

The art is very stylised concerning the characters, which at times can jar, although they are all beautifully rendered, but it’s the exceptional work on naval rigging and architecture as well as the research into costumes and other little period details that really captures the imagination. The work that has gone into this! The elegant dialogue is also full of naval terminology, giving the reader a real feel for the times.

This is no tale for kids. It’s full of *really* gory battle violence and stealthy murder, vast amounts of nudity (mostly female, but male too), plenty of sex both consensual and not, including a lesbian coupling central to the plot, but none of it is gratuitous. Every scene has its plot importance.

And the story centres on a forceful, capable, ruthless, and yet vulnerable young woman who takes no nonsense from anyone. I haven’t found many young adult female protagonists that can plausibly carry a story as complex and as visceral as this, with such a magnetic personality - again, her sheer charisma is central to the plot.

There are a few annoyances that just take this story away from 5 stars, namely the graphic style for the characters, some of the storyboard decisions that squeeze the art, and the lettering, which is highly idiosyncratic in the French original. But this is right at the top of four stars, a story I read again and again with great pleasure.

[Celdema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je suis pas fan ni du dessin ni de l'histoire. A suivre avec les tomes suivants.
Point positif, la nana est badass.

[Joana Andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fond memories of this series, as it was published as a serial in Portugal in the mid 1980s.
The world has changed a lot in 40 years, it feels a bit dated in some regards: too much gratuitous female nudity, graphic violence and male gaze. But it's nevertheless good story-telling and the art is first-rate (although at times it looks more like a story-board than a comic book). And the characters do grow on you: Hoel and Isa do come alive and you do want them to live and thrive (despite the fact that they are anachronic and not really what you would expect from a noble woman and a sailor in 18th century France).

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

D.L February 1983 ¦ 4 tomes on 4th plate

To the non-francophones:
This is an artist of the sort of A1 caliber brush skill with engrossing subject matter and especially captivating characters who deserves to be on your shelf simply for the visual reading of anything that he has done!

[Alicia Teil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bourgeon a imaginé toute cette histoire à travers ses bateaux en bois installés dans sa cave, ces personnages ont jailli de son imagination et se sont déposés sur ces pages. Une BD magnifique avec des images et un vocabulaire brute, sincère et réalistes au reflet des personnages vaillant et courageux !

[Nicolas Daoust · Rating 4 out of 5]

La narration est plutôt inégale, mais la richesse et la qualité du dessin vaut absolument le détour.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag har tidigare läst första delen av François Bourgeons science fiction-serie Berättelsen om Cyann (där övriga delar tyvärr inte finns utgivna på svenska) och tredje delen av hans medeltidsfantasy Skymningens färdkamrater (som tyvärr inte längre finns i tryck och där mitt lokala bibliotek saknar del ett och två) och uppskattat båda. Så, när jag hittade Flickan i akterhytten, den första delen i serien Resande med vinden, på biblioteket kunde jag inte motstå att plocka upp den (dock med vetskapen om att ytterligare delar inte finns i samlingarna).

Serien utspelar sig på ett segelfartyg och handlar dels om en ung matros och dels en ung kvinna som i hemlighet finns ombord skeppet med en annan ung kvinna (deras relation är komplicerad, men också en del av handlingen, så jag vill inte avslöja för mycket om den). Dessa två karaktärers vägar korsas ombord och sätter hela berättelse i rörelse.

Albumet avslutar tydligt det första kapitlet av serien, men är absolut inte i någon egentlig mening fristående, vilket är lite tråkigt, eftersom jag gärna skulle läsa fortsättningen. Nåväl. Kanhända snubblar jag över dessa album på något antikvariat vid tillfälle.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of embarrassing bare boob situations! And some nice naval terminology!

[Taneli Repo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les passagers du vent -sarjakuvan ensimmäinen osa ilmestyi vuonna 1979. Kauniisti piirretyssä sarjassa matkustetaan purjelaivalla Amerikkaan. Päähenkilö on kaunis, mutta kaltoin kohdeltu ja hieman häijyluonteinen Isabeau. Albumin ranska oli hankalahkoa, mikä johtui tosin siitä, että siinä on paljon purjehdussanastoa, joka olisi vaikeaa suomeksikin.

[Brown Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventure at sea!

[Matty Dub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great naval drama marred by horrible lettering. It was a constant struggle to discern the words and at least a dozen words were illegible. This from a 1987 Glenat reedition.

[Paulo Teixeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

(PT) Algures no século 18, uma rapariga francesa decide que, entre a vida e a prisão, escolhe o exílio. E para isso, atravessa o oceano, enfrentando os ingleses, com os quais estão em guerra.

[Lauretta M-B · Rating 5 out of 5]

lu à l'adolescence et adoré!

[Alec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of embarrassing bare boob situations! And some nice naval terminology!

[Pascal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Très beau en graphisme, histoire intéressante à suivre...

[Knut Sigurd]

Eg trur den nesten uleselege handskrifta gjer meg dårlegare i fransk, men det er mangt å gle seg over her lell.