SELFMADEHERO
BLOSSOMS IN AUTUMN GN
(W) Zidrou (A) Aimee De Jongh (CA) Aimee De Jongh
Ulysses is a 59-year-old widower who, since retiring, has been in the grip of loneliness. The former moving man is without direction or purpose. He can't even find solace in the company of his children: his daughter is dead, his son consumed by work. Mrs. Solenza is a 62-year-old former model. Once a magazine cover star, she now runs the family business: a cheese shop owned by her late mother. She, too, is alone. Two lives drift sadly by, inching ever closer to old age. Until, one day, they collide, and an emotional earthquake happens.
GUANTANAMO KID GN
(W) Jerome Tubiana (A) Alexandre Franc (CA) Alexandre Franc
Saudi Arabia offers few prospects for the bright young Mohammed El-Gharani. His access to healthcare and education are restricted; nor can he make the most of his entrepreneurial spirit. At the age of 14, Mohammed seizes an opportunity to study in Pakistan. One Friday in Karachi, Mohammed is detained during a raid on his local mosque. After being beaten and interrogated, he is sold to the American government by the Pakistani forces as a member of Al-Qaida with links to Osama Bin Laden, but Mohammed has heard of neither. The Americans fly him first to Kandahar and then to Guantánamo Bay. Guantanamo Kid tells the story of one of Guantanamo Bay's youngest detainees.
LOMAX COLLECTORS OF FOLK SONGS GN
(W) Frantz Duchazeau (A) Frantz Duchazeau (CA) Frantz Duchazeau
In 1933, folklorists John (1867-1948) and Alan (1915-2002) Lomax roamed the southern United States in search of songs. Equipped with a portable tape recorder, the father-and-son team visited churches, plantations, and penitentiaries to seek out and record the raw, authentic sound of American folk music. From ballads to work songs, ragtime to blues, the songs collected by the Lomax family on this and subsequent expeditions formed an archive that preserved the heritage of American folk music. Frantz Duchazeau's graphic novel is at once a fascinating portrait of 1930s America and a captivating story about a father and son who, despite many differences in outlook and approach, were united by a commitment to cultural preservation and a passion for music.