And these are clearly still comics originally aimed at a younger audience: there are many indications, but one of the most subtle and telling is that the year begins in "Fall." For kids, that is when a year begins.
Bigby Bear, Vol. 2: For All Seasons has just about a hundred comics pages - say twenty-ish for each season, plus some half-titles - and the gags are along the same lines as the first book, which I read earlier this year.
Philippe Coudray's art is charming in that old reliable style, with backgrounds a bit more detailed than the relatively simple, straightforward figures, all held together by strong, confident lines. And his gags are a little smarter and quirkier, often relying on odd bits of cartoon physics or changes in perspective, than one might expect.
I did a little exploring, after reading this book, to see if Coudray had made comics for adults as well - when you enjoy one book by a creator, it could be a fluke, but two is a good basis for confidence - and I see that this fellow is named "Barnabé" in his homeland. Also, some of his stories were translated earlier as "Benjamin" Bear - looks like there were a couple of short volumes from Toon Books. So I wasn't successful in finding anything Coudray made for people my age translated into English - he seems to have mostly spent his career working for younger readers, and mostly had parts of this series translated - but if your knee-biters are looking for more Bigby, they might be pleased to find Benjamin.
And they probably will, if they have taste: these are fun little moments in an engaging style, pitched at the kind of smart, inquisitive elementary-schoolers who want to know the why of everything and delight in seeing problems solved in quirky cartoon ways.
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