Henk Kuijpers

The first novel in the Franka series seems more like an ensemble cast than singling out Franka as the main character. It introduces the Crime museum where she works as a secretary and her colleagues.
Lovely ligne claire drawings, a bit 70's in their style, somewhat tightly drawn without the fluidity of his later works. The clothing is very well done, as is the evocative external images of the fictional Dutch city, Groterdam.
Franka uncovers an illicit weapons deal while on an errand, which she show more connects to a robbery at the mint printing foreign money. Through her investigations, she gets involved in a revolution in the small island state Oceanaque.
There is a lot of humour in the story, both as part of the main plot, and Kuijpers uses the media optimally to add details that create depth and additional humour in the background. On the last page there is an amusing send-of to Tintin, making the savvy reader feel part in the know.
The story is surprisingly complex for the format and length. show less

The quality of the drawings is not as high as in previous albums. It's as if the fluid line that replaced the more naive and detailed drawing of the first albums from volume 7 onwards has become so sloppy that it's no longer a pleasure to enjoy the images. It started already in The Blue Venus and became more pronounced in The 13th Letter, but now it's as if Franka and the other characters have become shapeless caricatures without facial features.
And the stories aren't really interesting show more either. The fantastic layers of stories that the drawings provided are still there, but they don't add to the overall impression in the same way.
Graphic novels are prone to pandering to the male gaze, but I find this to have evolved to the extreme in these stories. The sex scenes, the incessant focus on any female characters body, constantly undressing the characters, particularly Franca, putting her in situations where her body is on display. show less

Book 18 in the Franka graphic novel series, about a female PI in Rotterdam, translated into Danish.
The graphics have come a long way since the beginning, and strikes a nice balance between light-handed and detailed. The plot is somewhat underdeveloped, and it is clear that the authors’ forte is graphics, rather than narrative.

The characters are glamorously rendered, with enough detail to distinguish them, and the environments are drawn with a level of detail that allows for maximum show more ambience and recognition, without unnecessary details.

While visiting Florence Franka is being taped as she defeats a purse thief as part of some undefined plot. Back in Rotterdam she is hired as a consultant for the rich and famous movie star Efa, to lend her new action movie some realism.
Charmed by Efa, Franka spends the day with her, and when her daughter is kidnapped, acts as money courier.
The plot is very sketchy, and seems mostly as a vehicle for presenting powerful and glamorous females wearing gorgeous clothes in ambience laden surroundings. show less

Like the other earlier works in the series, a somewhat detailed and naivistic, almost childish drawing style.