Michel Rabagliati,
Trans. Helge Dascher
With a slight nod of
the (pen)cap to one of the oldest surviving epics of French literature,
Rabagliati offers us a tender story about age, perseverance, and immortality. The Song of Roland continues the
chronicle of his alter-ego, Paul (Paul Has a Summer Job; Paul Moves Out),
this time with a story about the life and death of Paul’s father-in-law, a
larger-than-life patriarch, living in suburban Quebec, who faces death by
cancer with the strength of character he uses to inspire and love his large
Catholic family.
Rabagliati’s style is
beautiful, brush-work centred, and reminiscent of European comics. Black and
white line drawings on heavy paper stock always make me notice the impact,
psychological and physical, of light on a scene. A bright scene, with lots of
white space for sky, can make a reader feel a sense of peace. Heavily hatched
lines or darkly filled backgrounds feel sinister, foreboding. Rabagliati is
fantastic with the weight of his drawings, and the way this scenery is
reflected in the emotions of his characters. A typical scene of four or five
panels can pass with few words, just facial and body language, and much
conveyed.
This book is part of
the excellent BDANG series (I believe the acronym is Bande Dessinees
en ANGlais), which aims to translate major French-language cartoons into
English in order to interest a new market in French Canada.
- Dan
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