In continuing that policy I bought the first volume (60 pages) of Renaissance, prompted by a sale. Words are by Fred Duval and Frédéric Blanchard , and art by Emem, all new names to me.
The premise sounded interesting, "The Complex, a federation of extraterrestrial civilisations decides to launch a vast expedition to save a planet that has exhausted its resources: Earth." A friendly invasion if you like.
Apart from that I did not know what to expect and the cover did not give much of a clue, then a very early splash page (below) told me everything. I had made a good choice.
The main picture when stripped of dialogue would make a great posted to sit alongside those of Chris Foss, Roger Dean or Rodney Matthews. I love the way that the iconic Eiffel Tower is cleanly transmuted into a weird future. Fantasy, I think, is at its best when it is grounded in reality as that make it both fantastical and believable.
The story lives up to the art and we are treated to earnest aliens trying to save us while having to content to things like budget pressures at home and rogue robots here. It read like Science Fantasy should read and I loved it, leading to the immediate purchasing and reading of volumes 2 and 3. I am now hoping for further volumes which could come as, in some ways, the story has barely started.
b.t.w. I am not going to get too hung up about categorisation here, you could just as easily call this Science Fiction, or even Space Opera once the complete story has been told, but I have gone for Science Fantasy because of the fantastical images of the alien worlds.
The story kept me engaged and in suspense throughout (slight spoiler, some of the good people die). I liked that the story was centred around 2 aliens, recently married, with different roles in the rescue of Humanity as this gave the story an additional dimension.
But it was the art that really grabbed me, I've picked just one panel to make my point, chosen as much as anything because it has no dialogue.
The setting is so obviously alien yet it looks functional too, you could sit on that chair or climb those stairs. The detail is staggering for just one panel that does not even mage dialogue to slow the reader down. It is gorgeous and makes me want to hunt out more of Emem (Matthieu Ménage)'s work.
The closest comparison I can think of is the original Dan Dare with its long storylines and unique Frank Hampson art. From me, that is high praise indeed.
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