Henk Kuijpers

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 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.… (more)

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 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.… (more)