Jean stories were included in the Drawn & Quarterly anthologies Volume 3 and Volume 5. His experiences will cause the reader to ponder their own life choices and give them more insight into human nature, all under an attractive Parisian veneer. Jean is constantly sandbagged by his memories, or the contrast between what he thought life should be like and what it is. I’m reminded of the best parts of Seinfeld, where an urban regular guy gets through everyday life with his friends. I don’t see a colorist credited, although I know the creators have used one before, so I don’t know who to thank, but the beautiful, realistic tones and shading really ground the stories. The rich colors are particularly astounding. They demonstrate the years of experience it took to put them in just the right place. The lines are deceptively simple, true of much European work. The cartooning is superb, with distinctively exaggerated characters (Jean is distinguished by his huge nose) that are still recognizable as people you might know. But when things go well, there’s still uncertainty to manage, since you never know what others are feeling or what motivates them to make the choices they do. Jean struggles with his concierge, an unpleasant woman who spies on him and withholds his mail, in a recurring series of short strips that break up the longer stories. That’s true even of non-romantic relationships. Relationships are never easy in these stories, especially when children (or the decision or desire to have them) are involved. Especially with the running gag about the hippos in love and the anchovy pizza. The setting blends material anyone can relate to with the exotic veneer of artistic life in urban Europe, a combination that keeps events fresh and funny. These are important, basic decisions, relating to career, love, and life. In subsequent chapters, Jean tries to meet women, vacations with a movie producer, ponders the nature of friendship, worries about feeling his age, takes a disastrous publicity trip to another country, tries to manage his freelance work schedule, and puts up with the children of friends. Jean goes ahead into the exhibit, where he meets an old girlfriend, now in a new relationship and pregnant, which causes him to remember what had been, contrasted with the different now. He’s gone to the museum because a friend is supposed to meet a woman there, but the friend ducks out on him. Lengthy stories featuring the character, written and drawn by Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian (who both do each), have previously appeared in Drawn & Quarterly anthologies, but this book collects the earlier work where a younger man struggles with his life decisions.
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