L'instit Latouche #1

The bright yellow cover of this 2012 Le Lombard series opener sets the tone perfectly: a frazzled, bespectacled male teacher is completely surrounded and overwhelmed by a crowd of lively, grinning women — colleagues, parents, and assorted characters who all seem to have strong opinions about everything. The chalkboard title and dunce-capped caricature above them leave no doubt that poor Monsieur Latouche is very much outnumbered, which is exactly what the subtitle Seul contre toutes! ("Alone against them all!") promises. With the humor-forward artwork by Léogrin and Falzar bursting with expressive faces and chaotic energy, this looks like a warm, funny school-life comedy with plenty of comic friction ahead.