I stumbled upon Romain Hugault's work recently, and bought this book because I was impressed by his artwork. What I received though was a really good graphic novel. Its is an intriguing tale, told in Hugault's amazing graphics and Yann's words. Hugault seems to be almost unheard of in the UK. That's a pity because his artwork is really worth seeking out.
The novel is in French, of course. While you could derive a great deal of pleasure from just looking at the pictures, the story has some nuances that you really won't understand without reading the text. My French is terrible, not much better than "holiday French", but I could follow some of the dialogue. I used Google Translate for the bits I did not understand, which translated the dialogue very nicely into English. Problem solved.
The plot follows some happenings on the Eastern Front in 1943-1944, in which German and Russian forces clash in various airborne missions. These conventional wartime events become entwined with the supernatural powers of the titular "night witches". It is an interesting combination of ideas that makes for a compelling novel. The only pity is that it is just 48 pages long.
Hugault's artwork has a precise look to it, architectural and with a strong sense of structural form. He draws aircraft and vehicles with particular deftness, accuracy and drama. He clearly understands the graphic novel format. His cinematic visuals are engaging and inspiring. The artwork is so good that many panels make impressive pieces of artwork in their own right. He draws figures very nicely, too, with the usual heightened reality look of most other graphic novels.
All the artwork is in colour, printed in high quality on thick semi-gloss paper, and bound like an annual. The hardback edition is solidly put together, and opens quite flat. None of the graphics spans two pages, so there is no ghastly binding through the middle of any panel.
One thing not mentioned in reviews I've read for this book at Amazon.fr - Romain's work can be a little racy in places. His artwork does not shy away from nudity or sex. This is true of this novel, which features some male and female nudity.
It's a very interesting piece of work, and a worthy addition to the pantheon of the graphic novel.
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