Michel Pirus

Holy cow, I don't think I've ever started a graphic novel and been as blase about it, only to get to the end and wonder what the hell I was thinking, to have discounted it so quickly. This was one of the moodier GN's I've read in the past year, and by far one of the strangest. It's spooky, how similar it is to Charles Burns' "X'ed Out" in both the mood, pacing, and even size of the book. The gist of the story is that there's a druggy brat of a teenager who likes to have sex and mess with people's minds, including his own. Add into that a cast of motley characters--an alcoholic father who daydreams about having sex with his daughter's friend (a la Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty"); a gun-toting bully who looks like a fat Charles Bronson; a young vixen who has sex with our hero just as her boyfriend is hit by a car; and so on. I have to admit, it's not your typical fare for graphic novels, but I'm looking forward to the second volume.… (mais)