Jour J - French AH Comics collection

My main beef with Jour J is actually its format: Euro-style comics are basically the size of 2-3 US-style comics, which is very short to develop both an AH background and an interesting storyline.

Wundewaffen is pure ASB, even ASBIB (for batsh*t insane), plus an increasingly unealthy dose of Germanwank. I'm still following out of dorky love for of said Wunderwaffen, but once the series is over, I'm selling it back without remorse.

You also have the six-issue Le Grand Jeu, also written by J.P Pécau, that combines AH and the occult – more like "magical realism", Jacques Bergier-style (as in The Morning of the Magicians). It has a fairly good storyline that compensates for the level of disbelief required to contemplate a French victory in 1941.

Pécau is also urrently writing a comic book adaptation of the "France Fights On" timeline.
 
You also have the six-issue Le Grand Jeu, also written by J.P Pécau, that combines AH and the occult
Oh yeah, it's really good indeed. A good mix of Lovecraftian and nazi occultism with SCIENCE!.

Characters are a bit stereotypical, though. You could basically label them : the Parisian, the Soviet Ace, etc.

Pécau is also urrently writing a comic book adaptation of the "France Fights On" timeline.
Really? Mmm...Isn't the TL basically what is more close of AH.com standards (and an healthy dose of wargaming), so adapting it isn't going to be a bit dry?

Unless you mean stories put on the universe of La France Continue?

What I really, really want to see, is a tabletop wargame based on it. Giving the (un)healty proportion of RPG and Wargaming fans involved in the project, it would rocks.
 
Michel Van said:
7. Vive l'Empereur! (with Austrian diplomat named Adolf..)
Actually thought it was one of the worst personnally. It has cool ideas (I dig the "Teslapunk" French Army) but the plot and the AH were pretty weak from my POV.
LSCatilina said:
Don't get me wrong : some weren't interesting to begin with. But it's less PoD and AH related than writing and handwaving.
Well, sometimes the two can be linked. A badly written PoD/timeline can lead to a badly written story.
LSCatilina said:
You're narrowing it a bit. Basically Cuban crisis going nuclear, Cuba and USSR turned into radioactive glass, and USA having lost its main centers and going balkanized. (Presidents Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Charlton Heston).
Basically, the Cold War continues, but between France/UK (that doesn't survives intact to the war, would it be only regarding the climate and radioative damages) and China that supports Mexico tentatives to annex back Texas.

Good story material, if a bit "wild goose chase", but the authors manage well (for me at least) to balance between ground operation storytelling and political background : 7/10
Yeah, Apocalypse on Texas was actually one of the few that I enjoyed.

And for once, they keep De Gaulle alive. Seriously, he's killed off in three other albums... Did the authors have a grudge against him?
 
Yeah, Apocalypse on Texas was actually one of the few that I enjoyed.
I remember the footnote on PRI.

"Parti Révolutionnaire Institutionnel. Pas très révolutionnaire, mais vachement institutionnel" :D

Seriously, he's killed off in three other albums... Did the authors have a grudge against him?
Well, he was one of the most marking figures of XXth French history...So he was likely to be the target of several AH drones.

I would want to see some ancient or medieval Jour J, to be honest.
Even if a bit cliché-ed (I don't know if you read L'Empire des Gaules, for example), a comics about Caesar's head ending its career into decoration of a celtic temple may he fun.
Or something about Merovingians/Carolingians.
Even a Luxley* without the crap magic/fantasy part could do.

*Basically the french comic equivalent of Sunset Invasions. Except it involves Robin Hood.
 
Really? Mmm...Isn't the TL basically what is more close of AH.com standards (and an healthy dose of wargaming), so adapting it isn't going to be a bit dry?

Unless you mean stories put on the universe of La France Continue?

From what transpired, it appears to be based on some of the "coloriages" of the timeline, mostly focusing on the (fictive) navy ace Yvon Laguadec (who managed to have four aircraft carriers sunk from under him – so far).

This TL has produced some quite remarkable publications: two "official" books, published by Taillandier, a "real history" publisher, as well as two novels set in the timeline, as print-on.demand. There was also a HOI2 mod, at one point, but it was never fully developed.
 
album-cover-large-12426.jpg

My favor story in serie is 6. Power to imagination?

France, 5 years after civil war in aftermath of May 1968 and death of de Gaulle
The republic is ruled by triumvirate of Jacques Chirac, François Mitterrand and Daniel Cohn-Bendit
Paris is rebuild with french modern Architecture (see picture above)

But the peace is fragile, someone is murder his way up to top of triumvirate
He want his share of the 200 millions of francs, disappear from First National bank in Paris, in may 1968.
The story is wonderful homage on French film noire, the Movies "Alphaville" by Jean-Luc Godard and "Le Samouraï" by Jean-Pierre Melville and "Mr. Freedom" by William Klein.
 

John Farson

Banned
My main beef with Jour J is actually its format: Euro-style comics are basically the size of 2-3 US-style comics, which is very short to develop both an AH background and an interesting storyline.

There are only a couple of Jour J albums I've encountered which I liked: Apocalyse sur le Texas and Omega. The former because it reminded me a bit of the Cuban Missile War TL in style and the latter... well, I've already written about it.;) Though the Texas one certainly had its ridiculous side, like Charlton Heston being a gun-crazy, wannabe fascist dictator. This despite the fact that he was very liberal in the 1960s, taking part in the March on Washington and the like.

Wundewaffen is pure ASB, even ASBIB (for batsh*t insane), plus an increasingly unealthy dose of Germanwank. I'm still following out of dorky love for of said Wunderwaffen, but once the series is over, I'm selling it back without remorse.

Wait, is that the one where the Germans defeat the Normandy landing with the use of Wunderwaffen, and prolonging the war to 1947? Yeah, I agree, I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to read that kind of stuff. Historically, by the time of D-Day the Germans were already on the retreat on the Eastern Front, and their ultimate defeat was only a matter of time. To me, it's only slightly more believable than Über, and that's only because Wunderwaffen doesn't have Nazi super-villains.:rolleyes::p

Pécau is also urrently writing a comic book adaptation of the "France Fights On" timeline.

Now this is definitely interesting. Any links for this?
 
LSCatilina said:
I remember the footnote on PRI.

"Parti Révolutionnaire Institutionnel. Pas très révolutionnaire, mais vachement institutionnel" :D
There is also a pretty good exchange between De Gaulle and Pompidou regarding the PRI that more or less goes a long the same line ;)
LSCatilina said:
Well, he was one of the most marking figures of XXth French history...So he was likely to be the target of several AH drones.
True, but seriously out of their eighteen albums, they bring a POD involving De Gaulle's death three times. In a series that has more or less proven it's able to do a variety of PODs might I had.

That gets a bit old...
LSCatilina said:
I would want to see some ancient or medieval Jour J, to be honest.
Well, for ancient history, you have The Sect of Nazareth which deals with Jesus creating a more radical Christiannity. I didn't like it much though because I had a hard time equating the Jesus in that comic with the one of OTL. But hey, I'm a Catholic so I guess it probably didn't help :p

As for Medieval, there is the planned Steppe Empire tome which deals with the Mongol expansion in the XIII-XIVth century. If they ever make it... How many times have they pushed its publication back?
LSCatilina said:
Even if a bit cliché-ed (I don't know if you read L'Empire des Gaules, for example), a comics about Caesar's head ending its career into decoration of a celtic temple may he fun.
I'll check L'Empire des Gaules if I find it.
LSCatilina said:
Even a Luxley* without the crap magic/fantasy part could do.

*Basically the french comic equivalent of Sunset Invasions. Except it involves Robin Hood.
I have only seen the first tome of that and I don't remember it well... Does the magic/fantasy part really drag it down? You can make good ASB AH using fantasy elements after all.
LSCatilina said:
On the other hand : Jacques Chirac in flared trousers. You just can't unsee it.
The architecture is pretty horrible too...
John Farson said:
Though the Texas one certainly had its ridiculous side, like Charlton Heston being a gun-crazy, wannabe fascist dictator. This despite the fact that he was very liberal in the 1960s, taking part in the March on Washington and the like.
Omega also has a bit of this problem... Laval takes power after the Republic is overthrown following the Febuary 6, 1934 manifestation. Laval wasn't really associated with the far-right leagues at that point. In fact, I don't think he ever was: as such, it's more likely that someone along the line of François de La Rocque would have taken power instead of him.

But Laval is pretty much associated with the Collaboration while Charlton Eston is remembered for supporting the NRA...
 
As for Medieval, there is the planned Steppe Empire tome which deals with the Mongol expansion in the XIII-XIVth century. If they ever make it... How many times have they pushed its publication back?
At least since a year.

I'll check L'Empire des Gaules if I find it.
I doubt it, it's pretty old, and I don't think there was other editions.

I have only seen the first tome of that and I don't remember it well... Does the magic/fantasy part really drag it down? You can make good ASB AH using fantasy elements after all.
It's less the presence of fantasy elements than the constant suspension of disbelief.

Aztecs and Mayas uniting America in the XIIIth century alone is pushing it; a full scale invasion of Europe, Toltec pyramids all over the continent, Robin Hood...All of that ask for a good deal of acceptance, and fantasy elements have as main justification to hold all the thing up.

Omega also has a bit of this problem... Laval takes power after the Republic is overthrown following the Febuary 6, 1934 manifestation. Laval wasn't really associated with the far-right leagues at that point.
That said, Laval was the prototype of political opportunist that would have pay lip service to anything as long he would have kept power, him and the technocrats that navigated from socialism and radicalism to vichyism and far-right without too much issues.

As implausible the PoD is, I could actually Laval sneaking his way to power easily on this dictatorial France.
 
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My favor story in serie is 6. Power to imagination?

France, 5 years after civil war in aftermath of May 1968 and death of de Gaulle The republic is ruled by triumvirate of Jacques Chirac, François Mitterrand and Daniel Cohn-Bendit Paris is rebuild with french modern Architecture (see picture above)

But the peace is fragile, someone is murder his way up to top of triumvirate
He want his share of the 200 millions of francs, disappear from First National bank in Paris, in may 1968.The story is wonderful homage on French film noire, the Movies "Alphaville" by Jean-Luc Godard and "Le Samouraï" by Jean-Pierre Melville and "Mr. Freedom" by William Klein.

Really interesting to learn a bit more about the plot. I loved the book for the visual and the idea of seeing a successful situationist France, but I can really read French. Wish they would at least translate them into english. It is still worth the money for the general atmosphere of the book thou. Truly a unique piece of fiction. And the architecture is amazing :cool:!
 
Really interesting to learn a bit more about the plot. I loved the book for the visual and the idea of seeing a successful situationist France, but I can really read French. Wish they would at least translate them into english. It is still worth the money for the general atmosphere of the book thou. Truly a unique piece of fiction. And the architecture is amazing :cool:!

the architecture are real proposal and concept of French Architects from 1970s like Pascal Häusermann
le-plateau-beaubourg.jpg

that was Pascal Häusermann proposal for Centre Pompidou in Paris
Slide29.jpg


or this real build one
ovni2.jpg

École Nationale de Musique et de Danse de Montreuil.
Architecte: Claude Le Goas, Robert Bezon
Construction: 1968-1976

more on this splendiferous French architecture style:
http://astudejaoublie.blogspot.fr/2011/08/montreuil.html
 
I'm really less enthusiast on it : Toulouse's Mirail (both habitations and university) aged poorly and grew more and more obsolete.

I know about that. But those old postcards where everything is new, shiny and utopian are beautiful.

Then again I also loved the sets in Tati's Playtime even though those buildings are intended to be cold and dehumanizing...

4347293803_507369bd41_o.jpg


playtime_jacques.tati.jpg
 
Okay : having given a look to the latests, it seems that "L'Empire des Steppes" is out, and no longer just postponed. (Incidentally, L'Etoile Blanche is really bland. Colomb Pacha style).

On the other hand they announced another one for Febuary 2015

19. Jaurès avenged.
About Raoul Villain being executed by the SFIO
 
I just got #20, Dragon Rouge. I did not start to read it yet, but apparently it is about an American nuclear strike at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. I know that in real life the Americans did offer an atomic bomb to the French government at the time for the purpose of using it at Dien Bien Phu, but a variety of factors contributed to the arrangement not coming to fruition. I think the main reason was that the geography and disposition of the Vietminh positions at Dien Bien Phu would have dissipated most of the damage from an atomic bomb air blast
 
Ok i just finished reading it. If you are like me and are interested in the history of French Indochina, you will hate Dragon Rouge because it has nothing to do with the First Indochina War, because after the first few pages about Dien Bien Phu, the story moves to Los Angeles and becomes a hardboiled film noir style detective story that is very obviously a loose adaptation of the movie "Chinatown".
 
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