cover image Salvatore, Vol. 1: Transports of Love

Salvatore, Vol. 1: Transports of Love

Nicolas De Crécy, NBM (www.nbmpub.com), $14.99 (104p) ISBN 978-1-56163-593-1

In this charming, amusing, and sometimes unsettling tale, pigs, dogs, cows, and cats move through France in a state of longing. A tiny dog named Salvatore, who happens to be a mechanical genius, contrives to build an all-purpose vehicle that will allow him to seek out his true love, a rich canine beauty named Julie who has moved to South America. A sow pines for her lost piglet, even as she nurses the remaining 12. A heifer seeks revenge on the bull she believes betrayed her. Their adventures spill across De Crécy's lovely, muted watercolors, creating a magical world one longs to visit and making the animals' emotions seem all too human. He is particularly gifted at creating a sense of action on the page. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers awaiting the next volume from De Crécy's always surprising mind. (Jan.)