IDW brings us book one of Mattéo, from their EuroComics imprint. This one is a rich, thoughtful read.
Mattéo, by Jean-Pierre Gibrat, covers the period between 1914-1915, or the “Great War”. Mattéo, born of Spaniards, is living in France with his mother. His father, an anarchist, has died escaping French authorities by rowboat.
Young Mattéo has the hots for Juliet, a neighbour girl, a friend from way back. She is not interested, however. So, despite being exempt from duty due to being of Spanish descent, Matteo eventually signs up to fight in the War. And things are never the same.
Matteo is a slow, deep read. It’s proficiently handled by Gibrat. The illustrations are done traditionally in watercolour or gouache. The style is a straightforward narrative, with no ‘cool comic effects’ or embellishment. This visual storytelling technique is successful here; we settle in to read this as a book, not a cartoon or action saga. There is a certain poignancy to reading stories of wartime romances and adventures. Gibrat positions the figures well, shows their emotions and keeps the narrative moving ahead.
The translation by Diana Schutz is a bit awkward, at times sounding as if the characters have been taking English classes, but haven’t quite mastered the language yet. Still, it’s definitely readable, and the perceived “French accent” is at least authentic.
This is the kind of story that takes time and attention to follow. Like in a lot of historical dramas, characters appear and reappear over time, changed by their lot in life. There are four volumes in the Futuropolis (French) publishing of this title. I have a strong feeling that Volume 2 will be another powerful tale, and am looking forward to Matteo’s reappearance!
Winner of Sélection officielle du Festival d’Angoulême 2009
IDW, EuroComics, $19.99 for 64 pages of content, Assume Teen + rating
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