Sisters Jeanne & Cécile appeared in Jean-Pierre Gibrat’s Le Vol du Courbeau (“The Raven’s Flight”) & Le Sursis (“The Reprieve”), respectively.

These two connected series, each comprised of two volumes, are some of my most cherished graphic novels of all, representing just about the purest form of “BD” in my mind, being both whimsical and fraught with tension… delights & dangers all around. They’re both set during WWII, and focus almost exclusively on the civilian side of things. Here’s a brief intro to both characters:

Jeanne (the gal pictured above) is sitting in a police cell, denounced by unknown parties as a French resistance-fighter, when a smooth-talking scoundrel and petty thief is added to the cell. Her fate looks terribly uncertain; that is to say-- likely headed for humiliation, rape and abuse. But then, she and her new ‘friend’ manage to escape, and from then on are on the run, sharing a bunch of minor & major adventures along the way. The series also features one of the greatest ‘twist reveals’ I’ve ever seen. Sweetness becomes pain and vice-versa, and as a reader I’m left totally wanting more story, please.

Now Cécile… dear Cécile– she still lives in the sisters’ home village, helping to run a small café. A local friend of hers (“Julien”) has been declared dead due to war events, but after the village goes through their grieving & a funeral, it turns out that he’s in fact still alive, and has returned to the village! (albeit hiding at his aunt’s place)

The duo reconnect stealthily with Julien’s aunt’s help, and things seem to reach a sort of normalcy. Cécile et Julien become easy lovers after some difficulties, but then the local collaborators pry in to affairs, and now everything’s all topsy-turvy. The series finishes up with another incredible, tragic twist-ending, and note: this series (Le Sursis) was the original.

Remarkably, these two masterpiece series were Gibrat’s very first foray in to being sole author(!) In fact I’m quite sure they’d make for some superb movie scripts.