After her house has burned down, killing her lover, Madame Catherine begins to be consumed by nightmares. A presence watches her, follows her, and touches her in the night. Catherine gradually loses her mind. In this idiosyncratic version of ‘The Horla’ by Guy de Maupassant, Maarten Vande Wiele ably allows suggestion to do its work.
In 2008 journalist Hilde Baele met gardener Mzee Jerôme Sebasoni in Rwanda and he told her his incredible life story. He supposedly fought against the Belgians and was a close comrade of Che Guevara’s in the struggle to oust the Congolese dictator Mobutu. Together with illustrator Jeroen Janssen she searched for proof of his tales, which resulted in a remarkable testament to an extraordinary life story.
In contrast to his comic book heroes, Aaron lacks a talent for witty one-liners, breath-taking courage and a woman in need of rescue. As the summer slowly passes, he is forced to confront something he would rather not face. Ben Gijsemans’ drawings are meticulously detailed, and in their sometimes slowmotion narrative rhythm they perfectly portray Aaron’s struggle with his feelings. A beautiful but painful and subtle portrait.
