And Then I Read: GRANDVILLE BETE NOIRE

Images © Bryan Talbot.

The third of Bryan Talbot’s GRANDVILLE albums is just as wonderful as the first two. If you’ve read those, you can move on to something else. If you haven’t, read on.

The realm of anthropomorphic animals, in other words animals that act like humans, has a long tradition going back at least to Eve and the serpent, and Aesop’s Fables. Even in comics, it’s a long tradition, with characters like Britain’s Rupert Bear and America’s Disney animals. When you give them very human bodies below their animal heads, the range narrows some, but there are two masterful new series using that technique, Spain’s BLACKSAD by Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist) and England’s GRANDVILLE by Bryan Talbot. While BLACKSAD is very film noir and 1940s, GRANDVILLE is more Sherlock Holmes in Paris.

an homage to “Wind in the Willows,” the evil mastermind behind BETE NOIR’S villainy is a toad reminiscent of that book, but much crueler. Baron Krapaud has a plan to take over the government of France by force, and it’s a fiendishly clever one. Meanwhile, Detective-Inspector LeBrock has been called in on a locked room murder case in Grandville (Bryan’s Paris) that has the local police baffled. While investigating he runs into an old flame, Billie, a call-girl making extra money posing for artists. As LeBrock and his assistant Roderick delve into Grandville’s many levels of society searching for answers, LeBrock and Billie’s relationship develops. Soon, more murders begin to up the stakes as the plans for revolution are revealed, leading to war in the streets!

There’s also a steampunk element to the story, and some really clever mysteries and problem-solving, all wonderfully drawn by Bryan. This oversized album is full of great art and great reading on every page. You don’t really need to have read the previous albums to enjoy this one, but you’ll want to.

Highly recommended.