There’s a lot going on, thematically, in Manu Larcenet’s Eisner-nominated Ordinary Victories
: the recent rise in popularity of xenophobic right-wing politicians; the deep inner ugliness of many artists (even those who create the most transcendent and mind-opening works of art — maybe especially those — can be asshats of the first order); the way that the mortality and vulnerability of our loved ones can be more frightening, ultimately, than our own; the lack of simple, human respect or gratitude shown to blue-collar working people on the lowest rungs of the social ladder, and the desperate, dirty tricks these people sometimes pull on the world to make themselves feel worthwhile; the way that decisions made during youth will almost certainly define a person’s identity all the way through to the very end of life, for good or for ill; fear of committment to a relationship or even to one’s own adulthood; Alzheimer’s disease; interracial marriage in an increasingly hostile culture; the continued, mostly-forgotten, relatively peaceful lives of random minor war criminals in Europe and other parts of the world. And so on. There are more. Such a heavy-sounding list doesn’t do the work justice, though, because it fails to express how fun the thing is to read. This isn’t a Very Special Episode of Oprah, full of long faces and platitudes. First and foremost, it’s a comic, and an actually comical one, at that. Larcenet draws in a minimal, goofy, big-nose style, which would look right at home in the funny pages of any newspaper (or on one of the better webcomic portals, for that matter), yet which manages, still, to open up into a realer-than-real lushness when it needs to, pulling us us into the world of the story, convincing us that this is a real place, and that we’ve really been there, without once compromising its scribbly, scratchy, fundamentally funny cartoonishness. When big issues come into play, they aren’t pounced upon and pronounced upon; Larcenet sidles up to them obliquely, allowing us to attack them ourselves, using our own, you know, brains, sometimes before we even realize we’re being asked to do so.
Highly recommended.
Detail from Ordinary Victories © 2006 Manu Larcenet; Translation © 2006 NBM
Title: Ordinary Victories
Author: Manu Larcenet
Publisher: NBM
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[...] Until now, I’ve tried to steer clear of the “artcomics” designation. All comics, even bad ones, are instances of “art.” I suspect the term only came into being because the old term for non-corporate, non-action-adventure material, “alternative comics,” was co-opted by an actual publisher as the name of his company (he seems to be a good guy, and definitely puts out some great books, but, hey, what a sneaky trick). Instead, I’ve preferred to use the term “literary comics” when talking about graphic novels that attempt to go beyond entertainment for entertainment’s sake. For the most part, this has turned out to be unproblematic: the success or failure of graphic novels like R. Kikuo Johnson’s Night Fisher (see my review), or Manu Larcenet’s Ordinary Victories (see my review), can be evaluated along fairly traditional lines of literary critique. Does the story move? Are the themes relevant, and are they handled in a deft manner? Do the characters come alive, and are their interactions sufficiently illuminating? Is the setting made real and whole and three-dimensional (and if not, is that part of the deliberate meaning of the work, or simply a sign of shoddy craft)? Do consequences follow actions in a logical and consistent manner, within the rules the author has set for his/her world? Even the visual element of these works can be evaluated almost solely based on its ability to service the story. My own educational background (English major; several years of creative writing school) provides me with all the tools I need to work in this mode as a critic, a story-centric critic, at a reasonably competent level of discourse. [...]
Pingback by Graphic Novel Review » The Ticking — June 9, 2006 @ 10:40 pm
I read this comic when it was first released in Europe. (I am a Swiss-citizen now living in the SF area). The third volume came out in March 2006 over there and it’s in the mail together with Bilal’s “Rendez-vous a Paris”. I seriously can’t wait to receive that package!
Given the back picture on this album, it looks like the frist two volumes are published at once. A very good idea! I had to wait 1 year to be able to finally read the second volume…
I first read Larcenet when he started working at “Fluide Glacial” (Probably the #1 comic paper in France; the best anyway…)where he felt right at home with Jake Raynal, Maester, Goosens, Gaudelette (their work together is HILARIOUS!), Edika and other French humor heavy-weights. His style back then wasn’t that different and his awesome work on “Bill Baroud”, “The unfairly unknown superheroes”, “An incredible adventure of Sigmund Freud” as well as “An incredible adventure of Attila the Hun” will stay with me forever. As far as I’m concerned, he’s up there with Franquin, Gotlib and Lewis Trondheim.
To realize how big he is in French-speaking Europe, just type his name on amazon.fr
Comment by arno — November 20, 2006 @ 3:20 am