Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Laurent Galandon, Michaël Crouzat

Laurent Galandon & Michaël Crouzat's Journey To Tomioka Graphic Novel

First Second buys English rights to Laurent Galandon and Michaël Crouzat's middle grade graphic novel Journey To Tomioka

Published Thu, 02 Jan 2025 08:58:07 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

First Second acquires English rights to "Journey to Tomioka," a graphic novel by Laurent Galandon and Michaël Crouzat.
A thrilling tale of siblings on a quest in Fukushima's exclusion zone, facing spirits and challenges along the way.
Originally "Retour à Tomioka" in French, the novel will be translated by Anne and Owen Smith for a 2026 English release.
The book combines folklore and adventure against a backdrop of post-disaster Fukushima in a unique middle-grade story.

Journey to Tomioka is a middle-grade graphic novel by Laurent Galandon and Michaël Crouzat. It tells the story of two siblings who venture into the Fukushima nuclear exclusion zone to return their grandmother's ashes and encounter spirits known as yōkai along the way.

"Two years after the Fukushima accident, orphans Akiko & Otani live with their grandmother Obasan in a refugee camp. When Obasan dies and a distant uncle pops up to take them back to Tokyo, Otani convinces his sister to run away. They must go and lay their grandmother's ashes at the family altar located in Tomioka, in the heart of the forbidden zone. Otani, reserved child who only communicates with Yokai and Akiko, the little beauty blogger, embarks on an initiatory journey. Pursued by a taciturn policeman, passionate about butterflies & their hurried uncle, the children rediscover the strange province of Fukushima where nature gradually takes back its rights. Assisted by an eccentric old man who chose to help the animals in distress, the brother & the sister are confronted with a brand new Yokai born of radioactivity."

Originally published in French as Retour à Tomioka earlier this year, Robyn Chapman at First Second has bought world English rights to Journey to Tomioka from French publisher Éditions Jungle. Anne Smith and Owen Smith will translate, and the English version will be published in 2026. Laurent Galandon and Michaël Crouzat's agent Arthur Derrouaz at Éditions Jungle negotiated the deal. Here's a look at the French edition…