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The Passengers of the Wind
Passengers of the Wind is a series in 9 volumes and three eras, written, drawn, and colored by François Bourgeon.
The first volume, The Girl in the Petticoat, was released in 1979. In this epic historical tale set in the 18th century, well-documented and with an adventurous spirit that captivates us from the first pages, we follow the journey of Isa, a young noblewoman whose identity has been stolen. Along her way, she meets Hoel, a sailor specialized in handling sails. The narrative of the first five volumes allows us to delve into the lives of sailors at sea, colonial power clashing with African beliefs, and slavery in the Caribbean.
This first cycle (named Cyann) was published between 1979 and 1984. The character of Isa stood out in the comic book literature of the time. Not only is she the heroine of the story, but she is also a young free woman, standing by her moral choices (her fight against slavery), her sexual choices (several panels depict her lesbian loves, which prevented the series, although published in over 20 countries, from finding a publisher in the USA), or her romantic choices.
Isa embodies a constant courage, genuine audacity, and a rare human (if not political) commitment in the comic books of the early 80s.
Furthermore, Bourgeon narrates a true historical account where he takes his characters to Fort Ouidah, where the triangular trade was booming towards the American continent, confronting us with the memory of the slaves throughout this fascinating adventure.
25 years after the end of Isa's adventures, Bourgeon takes us to Louisiana with the two volumes of the next cycle, set during the Civil War. We explore the bayous with Zabo... And also with Isa (thanks to flashbacks), concluding her story from the first cycle and understanding what happened "after Saint-Domingue"!
And how she arrived in Louisiana, pregnant with a slave (a highly improbable scenario for the time), Zabo actually being Isa's great-granddaughter (both named Isabeau in reality).
Continuing his quest for humanity amidst the turmoil of History, Bourgeon will follow up on Zabo's adventures. The first of the two volumes of Blood of the Cherries is set in Paris in 1885, during Jules Vallès' funeral.
There, she meets Klervi, a young Breton woman, and through the friendship and sharing between the two women, we discover the adventures that led Zabo from her Louisiana bayou to the uprising of the Paris Commune, to the penal colony in New Caledonia, and back to Paris where she tries to keep the spirit of the Commune alive.
A series to discover or rediscover, for its historical scope, its narrative singularity, and the beauty of its drawings, as precise as they are epic!
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