Niger is sort of like a lusher, more sophisticated Owly: a woodland animal fable scratchboard -- featuring some really fine (in both senses of the word)  scratchboard work.

Here are the three latest issues in the ongoing Ignatz series of high quality comics that are co-produced by Italy's Coconino Press and America's Fantagraphics Books.  Each is produced to the highest of standards:   32 magazine-size pages printed on heavy flat cream-colored stock with wrap-around French-flapped dustjackets.  Niger and Baobab are printed in duo-tone and Reflections in Black & White.  And, yes, the work presented here is uniformly worthy of the format, with Baobab, by Ignatz series editor Igort, being the clear standout -- a graphic tour de force that is one of the finest works on the market.

Here's a second hand copy rthat's a bit worse for wear, primarily due to some minor but noticeable damage to the back cover at the top of the spine.  This in no way impacts the reading experience and the interior pages are clean and like new.

DEAL!

Here's the Fanta Hyupe-up:

 

  In this fairy tale of a graphic novel, a mysterious, tiny being upsets the balance of the woods.

A lone, defenseless pupa has rained down from the sky. An assembly of talking birds and trees agree to protect "Dolly" as it begins to evolve — but into what? As the humanoid creature starts showing a predilection for flight and music, magical clues start unveiling themselves. Italian award-winning cartoonist Leila Marzocchi's terrifically lush scratchboard drawings are a perfect companion to her witty dialogue and profound storytelling. Nymph gets to the heart of both human and Mother Nature to prove that, to raise a child-like larva, it takes a village. Or at least a forest.

Translator: Jamie Richards 

 

Praise

“This heartwarming fantasy, filled with amusing and distinct characters, is a tale of found family, the importance of working together as a community, and finding your true self.” — Booklist

“A dreamy, childlike fantasy with a bracingly adult perspective, the comic defies categorization, metamorphosing like its heroine in strange and unexpected ways.” — Publishers Weekly

“In the stories of Leila Marzocchi, the composition, the characters, the use of light and colors denote great imagination and enormous intelligence.” — Sequart

Specs

Pages 208 Format Hardback Color Full-color. Dimensions 9.2" × 11.8" ISBN-13 9781683963172