Monday, August 29, 2011

The Left Bank Gang

The Left Bank Gang
Trade Paperback
Fantagraphics



Acclaimed cartoonist Jason's graphic novel The Left Bank Gang suffers from having one clever idea too many. The idea of the expatriate American authors who lived in Paris after the war being cartoonists rather than short story writers or novelists is cute; the idea of those same expats trying to alleviate their financial pressure by stealing the gate from a big prize fight is compelling. But the book spends too much time on the first idea to give the second enough room to breathe.

That being said, once the heist goes off -- and, naturally, goes horribly wrong -- things grab your attention, and I quite like the way Jason portrays the story of each of the characters involved in the robbery, gradually revealing the different strands of the narrative as he goes. Unfortunately, the sheer number of focal characters in The Left Bank Gang diffuses the emotional impact of the story.

The book is still entertaining, but I think it's the weakest of the three Jason works I've looked at this month.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Last Musketeer

The Last Musketeer
Trade Paperback
Fantagraphics



The second of three Jason graphic novels I'll be looking at here on Dollar Bin Blues, The Last Musketeer displays the same style bittersweet ambiance and lightly comic, almost dreamlike storyline as I Killed Adolf Hitler.

The titular Musketeer is Athos, who has lived into the present day but fallen on hard times, reduced to telling tales of his glory days for spare change, which he then spends on alcohol. It's a sad state for a man who once defended the kingdom of France from enemies both without and within, but an unexpected invasion from Mars gives him the chance to reclaim his honour and self-respect.

As in I Killed Adolf Hitler, Jason expertly mixes the fantastic and the everyday to tell a story everyone can relate to. While I liked that title slightly more than this one, they're both well worth your time, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

I Killed Adolf Hitler

I Killed Adolf Hitler
Trade Paperback
Fantagraphics



I haven't been reading much in the way of comics since I moved, but I saw this on the shelf the university library, of all places, and figured it looked worth a shot.

I don't believe I've ever read anything by artist/writer Jason before, so I can't say if I Killed Adolf Hitler is typical of his work. But I can say that it's mildly sweet, mildly sad, mildly funny, and mildly bizarre. It's set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, a world where murder-for-hire is a legitimate occupation, and a world where time travel has (secretly) been invented. To go into more detail would be to risk ruining the fun of the book.

If you chance upon it, check it out.