Le Grand Mort: A Beautiful, unsettling journey between two worlds

I started reading Le Grand Mort years ago—back in 2016 or 2017—after picking up the first two volumes at the Montréal book fair (Le Salon du livre de Montréal). It was one of those “this looks gorgeous, I need this on my shelf” impulse buys… and honestly, it was a good one.

Then life did what life does. I kept collecting the series in the background, and Volume 8 eventually made its way into my stack around the COVID era… and then just sat there, unread, quietly judging me from the bookshelf.

This past Christmas break, I finally fixed that. I went back to the very start and read the whole thing series properly—from Volume 1 to the very last volume—so I could experience the story the way it’s meant to unfold, not as scattered memories separated by years.

(Warning: some spoilers ahead!)

And yeah: it was absolutely worth the reset.

Because what hits immediately—when you start from page one—is how small and believable it begins. Pauline heads to Brittany to study, her ride falls apart, and she ends up stuck with Erwan: quiet, measured, and a little too convinced that “another world” exists. She’s the pragmatic skeptic… right up until a visit to Maître Cristo and that infamous drop in the eye throws her into the the fantastic world of the Petit Peuple (the Little People). The series takes its time here, and the slow-burn works. It feels like an initiatory tale that wants you to sink into it, not speed-run it.

Visually, it’s 10/10. Mallié’s pages are straight-up addictive. The Petit Peuple and their world is everything you want from a fantasy setting—lush, strange, enchanting—and the contrast with the human world only makes it hit harder.

Story-wise I’m closer to an 8/10. I loved the intrigue and the way the “our world” thread slides into collapse, but I kept wanting to know more of the Petit Peuple and of their mysterious world: it’s so rich that I wanted it to feel bigger, explored deeper. Critics often read the whole thing as an ecological fable—less heroes-versus-villains, more people being battered by events and forced into moral compromises—and that matches how it feels on the page.

By Volume 8, you can feel the endgame mechanics: two groups moving on parallel tracks (Pauline/Gaëlle in the Petit Monde, Erwan on the human side with Blanche), converging into a finale that’s coherent and emotional—but a bit condensed. I finished satisfied… and also wishing for one more volume to breathe in the aftermath on both sides.

What next?

Closing Le Grand Mort leaves me with that familiar post-series itch: not “what do I read next?” so much as “okay… what else have these people made that I’ve somehow missed?”

I already knew Loisel could do “beautiful and unsettling” thanks to Peter Pan. But Le Grand Mort still managed to surprise me—especially with how hard Mallié’s art pulls you in. So I’m not done with this creative duo. 

I’m just done with this story. 

Next step: chase down more Mallié, and explore more of Loisel’s work outside my Peter Pan bubble. If you’ve read other Loisel or Mallié books worth chasing, tell me where to go next. And if you haven’t read Le Grand Mort yet but you like fantasy with a darker edge and art that’s borderline unfair… consider this your nudge.

Now I’m curious: what are you reading right now? And what’s the last BD that completely swallowed you whole?

Series at-a-glance

• Genre: Fantastique (completed series)
• Publisher / imprint: Vents d’Ouest (Éditions Glénat)
• Core credits (all volumes):
• Story (scénario): Régis Loisel + Jean-Blaise Djian  
• Art (dessin): Vincent Mallié  
• Colours (couleurs): François Lapierre 
• Series hub (Glénat / Vents d’Ouest): https://www.glenat.com/vents-douest/series-le-grand-mort/  
• Series page (Bedetheque): https://www.bedetheque.com/serie-16623-BD-Grand-Mort.html  
• Loisel official hub (Le Grand Mort): https://regisloisel.com/le-grand-mort