Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #423435 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Review
Oh, to be young, successful and neurotic. For 20 years, French cartoonists Dupuy and Berberian have collaborated on "Mr. Jean," a comic-book series about the romantic and professional ups and downs of a young Parisian novelist. Jean's a moody, thoughtful sort, though his torments are actually pretty modest-a childhood buddy pesters him to help write a business proposal, he'd like to go to a party but can't blow another deadline on a Somerset Maugham translation, the sexy girl he meets at the gym turns out to have a lot more baggage than he'd expected. It's the stuff of good comedy, though, and Dupuy and Berberian get some nice laughs out of these tiny predicaments; a series of two-page gags chronicling Jean's recurring insomnia make great use of (among other things) lusty hippos, a one-night stand and an ill-advised late-night bath. But it'd be unfair to characterize the two as mere gag writers, and the best stories here are broader and more emotionally complex. In "Cathy (Norvegienne Woude)," Jean recalls a botched early relationship derailed by deception and youthful selfishness, and the two artists take care with the details, from the rain-soaked scenes to the way Jean is drawn larger or smaller to match his insecurity. In "Wild Days of Youth," Jean juggles a host of frustrations-his rent just got doubled, an elderly neighbor's tried to kill himself and a friend's left his toddler at his apartment-and the story manages to be an affecting portrait of the cycle of life while staying light on its feet. The art is clean and nicely propulsive; if Dupuy and Berberian were film directors they'd be big on sinuous, graceful tracking shots. And Jean is a perfect character for their style: Just turning 30, he's at a carefree midpoint in life, holding fast to his youth but well aware of the waves of adult responsibility about to crash down on him. A genial and funny snapshot of the Left Bank lifestyle. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
When Monsieur Jean first appeared in the pages of Drawn & Quarterly, the series instantly became one of the most popular in the publication's history, drawing enthusiastic reviews from readers. Now, for the first time, D+Q is publishing all the early stories from this series collected together in one handsome volume. Here, we follow one man's life through his bachelorhood in his 20s and early 30s and along the road to impending marriage, kids and deadlines for his publisher. Written with a sophisticated wit and charm, Get a Life promises to be one of the graphic novels of the year.

Customer Reviews

An absolute joy to read
i came across this book when i read about Phillippe Dupuy & Charles Berberian. They have an unusual partnership because both of them share the writing and drawing of most of their output equally. i read an interview with them both and they are quoted saying that sometimes they have a hard time identifying who did what on certain stories, like they had melded into one cartoonist!

Luckily for me D&Q had published this gem of a hardback. It has the first Mr. Jean stories in a well designed format printed on quality paper (D&Q never let us down in that area). It is a nice heavy little book.

I was soon gently introduced to this insomniac writer and his various friends and lovers, in what i would describe as a classic french graphic style. Bulbous noses, very free and energetic characters, whilst retaining a lovingly detailed and realistic looking environment. The stories have a natural flow that incorporates lots of dreamlike surrealism when Mr. Jean lets his imagination wander.

I love the stories and love the art. I just wish D&Q would publish the next 3 in the series in the same format as this book. Highly recommended.

Delicate, surreal poetry of life.
This book is one of the most refined and enjoyable illustrated novels along with BONE of Jeff Smith.Here we are not in fantasy realms, though: this books narrates the life of a young writer in Paris, his problems with making end meets,with a nosy concierge, with friends that sometimes take advantage on him, and his relations with women. Our hero, Jean, is a gentle, a bit shy man, prone to insomnia and bizarre dreamings. To me resembles some character out of a Boris Vian novel, as his histories have a surreal, yet realistic taste, like a lucid dream. The drawing it's also very pleasant, having something of a stylized, expressionistic flavor. Recommended for all the comic readers that want someting refined and different.