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Le petit bleu de la côte Ouest
A savage noir thriller reuniting a master crime novelist and a superlative French cartoonist—the beginning of an ambitious publishing project introducing one of Europe’s most beloved cartoonists to American audiences.
George Gerfaut, aimless young executive and desultory family man, witnesses a murder and finds himself sucked into a spiral of violence involving an exiled war criminal and two hired assassins. Adapting to the exigencies of his new life on the run with shocking ease, Gerfaut abandons his comfortable middle-class life for several months (including a sojourn in the countryside after an attempt to ride the rails turns spectacularly bad) until, joined with a new ally, he finally returns to settle all accounts... with brutal, bloody interest.
Released in 2005, West Coast Blues (Le Petit bleu de la côte ouest) is Tardi’s adaptation of a popular 1976 novel by the French crime writer Jean-Patrick Manchette. (The novel had been previously adapted to film under the more literal title Trois hommes à abattre, and was released in English by the San Francisco-based publisher City Lights under the English version of the same title, 3 to Kill.)
Tardi’s late-period, looser style infuses Manchette’s dark story with a seething, malevolent energy; he doesn’t shy away from the frequently grisly goings-on, while maintaining (particularly in the old-married-couple-style bickering of the two killers who are tracking Gerfaut) the mordant wit that characterizes his best work. This is the kind of graphic novel that Quentin Tarantino would love, and a double shot of Scotch for any fan of unrelenting, uncompromising crime fiction. 80 b&w illustrations.
George Gerfaut, aimless young executive and desultory family man, witnesses a murder and finds himself sucked into a spiral of violence involving an exiled war criminal and two hired assassins. Adapting to the exigencies of his new life on the run with shocking ease, Gerfaut abandons his comfortable middle-class life for several months (including a sojourn in the countryside after an attempt to ride the rails turns spectacularly bad) until, joined with a new ally, he finally returns to settle all accounts... with brutal, bloody interest.
Released in 2005, West Coast Blues (Le Petit bleu de la côte ouest) is Tardi’s adaptation of a popular 1976 novel by the French crime writer Jean-Patrick Manchette. (The novel had been previously adapted to film under the more literal title Trois hommes à abattre, and was released in English by the San Francisco-based publisher City Lights under the English version of the same title, 3 to Kill.)
Tardi’s late-period, looser style infuses Manchette’s dark story with a seething, malevolent energy; he doesn’t shy away from the frequently grisly goings-on, while maintaining (particularly in the old-married-couple-style bickering of the two killers who are tracking Gerfaut) the mordant wit that characterizes his best work. This is the kind of graphic novel that Quentin Tarantino would love, and a double shot of Scotch for any fan of unrelenting, uncompromising crime fiction. 80 b&w illustrations.
80 pages, Hardcover
Published April 24, 2008
About the author
Jean-Patrick Manchette
67 books337 followersJean-Patrick Manchette was a French crime novelist credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the genre. He wrote ten short novels in the seventies and early eighties, and is widely recognized as the foremost French crime fiction author of the 1970s - 1980s . His stories are violent, existentialist explorations of the human condition and French society.
Manchette was politically to the left and his writing reflects this through his analysis of social positions and culture. His books are reminiscent of the nouvelle vague crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville, employing a similarly cool, existential style on a typically American genre (film noir for Melville and pulp novels for Manchette).
Three of his novels have been translated into English. Two were published by San Francisco publisher City Lights Books (3 To Kill [from the French "Le petit bleu de la côte ouest"] and The Prone Gunman [from the French "La Position du tireur couché"]). A third, Fatale, was released by New York Review Books Classics in 2011.
Manchette believed he had gone full circle with his last novel, which he conceived as a "closure" of his Noir fiction. In a 1988 letter to a journalist, Manchette said:
" After that, as I did not have to belong to any kind of literary school, I entered a very different work area. In seven years, I have not done anything good. I'm still working at it."
In 1989, finally having found new territory he wanted to explore, Manchette started writing a new novel, La Princesse du Sang" ("Blood Princess"), an international thriller, which was supposed to be the first book in a new cycle, a series of novels covering five decades from the post-war period to present times. He died from cancer before completing it.
Starting in 1996, a year after Manchette's death, several unpublished works were released, showing how very active he was during in the years preceding his death.
In 2009, Fantagraphics Books released an English-language version of French cartoonist Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Le petit bleu, under the new English title 'West Coast Blues.' Fantagraphics released a second Tardi adaptation, of "La Position du tireur couché" (under the title "Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot" ) in the summer of 2011, and has scheduled a third one, of "Ô Dingos! Ô Châteaux!" (under the title "Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell") in summer 2014. Manchette himself was a fan of comics, and his praised translation of Alan Moore's Watchmen into French remains in print.
Manchette was politically to the left and his writing reflects this through his analysis of social positions and culture. His books are reminiscent of the nouvelle vague crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville, employing a similarly cool, existential style on a typically American genre (film noir for Melville and pulp novels for Manchette).
Three of his novels have been translated into English. Two were published by San Francisco publisher City Lights Books (3 To Kill [from the French "Le petit bleu de la côte ouest"] and The Prone Gunman [from the French "La Position du tireur couché"]). A third, Fatale, was released by New York Review Books Classics in 2011.
Manchette believed he had gone full circle with his last novel, which he conceived as a "closure" of his Noir fiction. In a 1988 letter to a journalist, Manchette said:
" After that, as I did not have to belong to any kind of literary school, I entered a very different work area. In seven years, I have not done anything good. I'm still working at it."
In 1989, finally having found new territory he wanted to explore, Manchette started writing a new novel, La Princesse du Sang" ("Blood Princess"), an international thriller, which was supposed to be the first book in a new cycle, a series of novels covering five decades from the post-war period to present times. He died from cancer before completing it.
Starting in 1996, a year after Manchette's death, several unpublished works were released, showing how very active he was during in the years preceding his death.
In 2009, Fantagraphics Books released an English-language version of French cartoonist Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Le petit bleu, under the new English title 'West Coast Blues.' Fantagraphics released a second Tardi adaptation, of "La Position du tireur couché" (under the title "Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot" ) in the summer of 2011, and has scheduled a third one, of "Ô Dingos! Ô Châteaux!" (under the title "Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell") in summer 2014. Manchette himself was a fan of comics, and his praised translation of Alan Moore's Watchmen into French remains in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
April 15, 2019
This graphic adaptation of Jean Patrick Manchette’s existential crime novel is the matter-of-fact tale of an average guy type—a salesman, a husband, a father—who, when his life is randomly derailed by two murderous contract thugs, kills, changes identities, and kills again before eventually resuming his humdrum life where nothing but a tendency to drive very fast (while listening to American West Coast Jazz) shows the effects on him of this violent interruption.
This noir tale reminds me of the elegant French films of Pierre Melville and the novels of Alain Robbe-Grillet, but it reminds me even more of American bargain basement noir, the films of Joseph H. Lewis and the novels of Jim Thompson. And as far as I’m concerned, both are good things.
The illustrations are appropriately black-and-white, penned by Jacques Tardi, artist/ creator of Adele Blanc-Sec’s Extraordinary Adventures and artist/adaptor of the Nestor Burma Mysteries, a man who has distinguished himself by refusing the Legion of Honor. The illustrations are bleak and ordinary and kind of dumpy looking (as they should be), but they are also extraordinarily well-framed and full of movement, evoking the feeling of a darkened movie palace on a 1950’s afternoon.
July 2, 2016
French noir released in 2005, West Coast Blues is Tardi's adaptation of a novel by the French crime writer Jean-Patrick Manchette, published in 1976. City Lights published it in as 3 to Kill. Tardi is one of the very best ever, known for three kinds of comics stories: WWI, adventure stories, and crime adaptations.
Here's Wes Montgomery's tune by the same title (which I am sure gave the book its title) recorded in June, 1960:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeMr4...
Isn't it great?! Pick up anything by Wes Montgomery and you will have a great day, though it's better with whiskey and driving a Mercedes at 90 miles an hour, which the main character Gerfaut, a restless business executive, does. The cool Let's-Get-Lost pace and style of that tune fits the story, though a variety of west coast (US) jazz runs through the story. It is best to put on a collection of late fifties/sixties jazz as you read this, which can be done in a sitting.
This is the basic story: Gerfaut witnesses a murder and thus must be murdered. You know the drill. Two mugs chase him through the novel, hired by some rich mobster. The business executive, who seems like a pretty passive, desultory guy, married with a kid, ho hum, finds his dark purpose and meaning in life when the deal goes down. Its like the slap he receives from one of the women he meets along the way; it wakes him up, sharpens him, though for what purpose, really? Not to put him on the path of Mother Teresa, clearly.
You know, I am reading all the Christie novels and Tardi/Manchette in comparison (well, it's not like they are actually comparable, since they exist in such different worlds) is brutally dark noir, with plenty of sex, booze, violence but fascinating people who are morally bankrupt. All of them.
It's like Gerfaut, sitting on the beach, has this dark fantasy of what is life might become: What if I saw a murder and two guys came into the crowded area I was swimming in and I had to nearly kill them to save my life and then went on the road and lived a very different, faster life?
At one point a woman says to Gerfaut: Shut up. Shut up. Take your shower, drink your whiskey and screw.
:) That's a bit of the tone of this one! And drawn like a dream in black and white (it has to be black and white, it's French noir!). Great stuff.
Here's Wes Montgomery's tune by the same title (which I am sure gave the book its title) recorded in June, 1960:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeMr4...
Isn't it great?! Pick up anything by Wes Montgomery and you will have a great day, though it's better with whiskey and driving a Mercedes at 90 miles an hour, which the main character Gerfaut, a restless business executive, does. The cool Let's-Get-Lost pace and style of that tune fits the story, though a variety of west coast (US) jazz runs through the story. It is best to put on a collection of late fifties/sixties jazz as you read this, which can be done in a sitting.
This is the basic story: Gerfaut witnesses a murder and thus must be murdered. You know the drill. Two mugs chase him through the novel, hired by some rich mobster. The business executive, who seems like a pretty passive, desultory guy, married with a kid, ho hum, finds his dark purpose and meaning in life when the deal goes down. Its like the slap he receives from one of the women he meets along the way; it wakes him up, sharpens him, though for what purpose, really? Not to put him on the path of Mother Teresa, clearly.
You know, I am reading all the Christie novels and Tardi/Manchette in comparison (well, it's not like they are actually comparable, since they exist in such different worlds) is brutally dark noir, with plenty of sex, booze, violence but fascinating people who are morally bankrupt. All of them.
It's like Gerfaut, sitting on the beach, has this dark fantasy of what is life might become: What if I saw a murder and two guys came into the crowded area I was swimming in and I had to nearly kill them to save my life and then went on the road and lived a very different, faster life?
At one point a woman says to Gerfaut: Shut up. Shut up. Take your shower, drink your whiskey and screw.
:) That's a bit of the tone of this one! And drawn like a dream in black and white (it has to be black and white, it's French noir!). Great stuff.
March 12, 2021
Για όσους εχουν διαβάσει το αριστούργημα του Manchette η ανάγνωση αυτού του graphic novel ενδεχομένως να προκαλέσει μικτές αντιδράσεις. Στο πρωτότυπο βιβλίο βασικός φορέας είναι η ατμόσφαιρα, η αίσθηση μιας εγκατάλειψης και "παθητικής" απόσυρσης στην οποία ένα τυχαίο γεγονός σπρώχνει τον κεντρικό ήρωα Ζερφώ. Εκ των πραγμάτων είναι η φαντασία μας που γεμίζει τα κενά της minimal πλοκής και κάνει το θαύμα!
Εδώ ρυθμιστής είναι η γοητευτική ασπρόμαυρη σχεδίαση του μεγάλου Tardi αλλά το αποτέλεσμα είναι με βεβαιότητα διαφορετικό από την πρωτότυπη εμπειρία. Δεν έχει νόημα η σύγκριση. Διαβάστε το σαν ένα ξεχωριστό έργο και απολαύστε το μεσαίας τάξης στέλεχος επιχειρήσεων Ζερφώ να μπλέκεται άθελά του σε μια πλεκτάνη που λειτουργεί και ως αθέμιτη (;) ώθηση για να ξεφύγει από τη μονοτονία του μικροαστισμού του. Δύσκολο task για έναν σκιτσογράφο και πολλοί θα βρουν αυτήν την ιστορία με τα άδεια από δράση καρέ βαρετή.
Για όσους πάλι δεν έχουν διαβάσει το μυθιστόρημα, σας ξορκίζω, μην ξεκινήσετε ανάποδα. Τα βιβλιοπωλεία ξανάνοιξαν!
Εδώ ρυθμιστής είναι η γοητευτική ασπρόμαυρη σχεδίαση του μεγάλου Tardi αλλά το αποτέλεσμα είναι με βεβαιότητα διαφορετικό από την πρωτότυπη εμπειρία. Δεν έχει νόημα η σύγκριση. Διαβάστε το σαν ένα ξεχωριστό έργο και απολαύστε το μεσαίας τάξης στέλεχος επιχειρήσεων Ζερφώ να μπλέκεται άθελά του σε μια πλεκτάνη που λειτουργεί και ως αθέμιτη (;) ώθηση για να ξεφύγει από τη μονοτονία του μικροαστισμού του. Δύσκολο task για έναν σκιτσογράφο και πολλοί θα βρουν αυτήν την ιστορία με τα άδεια από δράση καρέ βαρετή.
Για όσους πάλι δεν έχουν διαβάσει το μυθιστόρημα, σας ξορκίζω, μην ξεκινήσετε ανάποδα. Τα βιβλιοπωλεία ξανάνοιξαν!
March 16, 2022
if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com
161010: later addition: looked at this again last night, decided to critique as if verbal rather than visual fiction, but such is mistaken project- for the sequential artwork is effective, generative, in creating a mood, a style, that requires little dialogue, no extra description than visual. Paris everyman who accidentally falls into adventure, there is a wavy, woozy, quality to the line work rather than herge's 'ligne clair', that catches the 'jazzy' soundtrack which follows our protagonist, the 'west coast Blues' of the French title. on second reading, i have more a sense of existential psychology, to a certain degree George's reaction to fatal intent is blunted emotions- but the 'project' of his life clarified: stay alive...
there is some comic, some satirical, aspects that continue from the very short novel- manchette's omniscient voice claiming that all the story is an expression of George's role in production and class, but it is difficult to ascertain whether this Marxist posture is sincere, is a joke, is both. one character is described as a survivor of police riots, political violence, that puts the era some years near the events of '68. one of the killers is really 'into' the adventures of graphic superheroes, such that it will offer him an essential eulogy, there is also the enabling aid of another character, the attack, the unthought certainty that it is ultimately the man behind the killers, who must be confronted...
some of the pleasure of this work is in the deliberate foreshadowing of actions, of 'the day before two men try to kill him', such that there is doubled pleasure, anticipation, action- but also freedom from reading for plot, able to enjoy mood, to be slightly detached and thoughtful about his adventures. there is the ongoing determination of just what music is playing. there is cosmic and comic absurdity. there is the first and final inability to incorporate the adventures in his life, that compels George to later drive at dangerously high speed, with drunken, 'compromised' skills, round and round the beltway of Paris at two thirty or maybe three fifteen in the morning...
first review: this is the graphic version of jean-patrick manchette’s novel, titled in english Three to Kill. i knew the plot, the characters, the violence, the voice, all rendered very well in graphic terms by tardi. i like his art. easy read i thought of how the medium is different and what is lost- mostly psychological sense of protagonist- and what is gained- mostly scenes stripped down, speeded up, and less time to dwell on improbabilities...
161010: later addition: looked at this again last night, decided to critique as if verbal rather than visual fiction, but such is mistaken project- for the sequential artwork is effective, generative, in creating a mood, a style, that requires little dialogue, no extra description than visual. Paris everyman who accidentally falls into adventure, there is a wavy, woozy, quality to the line work rather than herge's 'ligne clair', that catches the 'jazzy' soundtrack which follows our protagonist, the 'west coast Blues' of the French title. on second reading, i have more a sense of existential psychology, to a certain degree George's reaction to fatal intent is blunted emotions- but the 'project' of his life clarified: stay alive...
there is some comic, some satirical, aspects that continue from the very short novel- manchette's omniscient voice claiming that all the story is an expression of George's role in production and class, but it is difficult to ascertain whether this Marxist posture is sincere, is a joke, is both. one character is described as a survivor of police riots, political violence, that puts the era some years near the events of '68. one of the killers is really 'into' the adventures of graphic superheroes, such that it will offer him an essential eulogy, there is also the enabling aid of another character, the attack, the unthought certainty that it is ultimately the man behind the killers, who must be confronted...
some of the pleasure of this work is in the deliberate foreshadowing of actions, of 'the day before two men try to kill him', such that there is doubled pleasure, anticipation, action- but also freedom from reading for plot, able to enjoy mood, to be slightly detached and thoughtful about his adventures. there is the ongoing determination of just what music is playing. there is cosmic and comic absurdity. there is the first and final inability to incorporate the adventures in his life, that compels George to later drive at dangerously high speed, with drunken, 'compromised' skills, round and round the beltway of Paris at two thirty or maybe three fifteen in the morning...
first review: this is the graphic version of jean-patrick manchette’s novel, titled in english Three to Kill. i knew the plot, the characters, the violence, the voice, all rendered very well in graphic terms by tardi. i like his art. easy read i thought of how the medium is different and what is lost- mostly psychological sense of protagonist- and what is gained- mostly scenes stripped down, speeded up, and less time to dwell on improbabilities...
May 22, 2021
Samo zbog jednog dramaturškog propusta 4, inače stil, crtež, pametno podmetanje politike, muzike i književnosti - šmekerski. U jednom trenutku, brzo, a neprimetno preskakanje vremena.
September 27, 2009
A couple of years ago City Lights put out two noir novels by Jean-Patrick Manchette, and they knocked me out. I am a sucker for classic French noir writing and films. Think Melville, not the writer, but the French director. Nevertheless the wonderful Jacques Tardi has put illustrations to the late and much missed Manchette with West Coast Blues.
Like all of Manchette narrations, the act of chance has a major affect on its characters, and this story does not fall off that subject matter. Also I love how music is used through out this graphic novel. With respect to the title, various uber-cool West Coast jazz is mentioned over and over again. The main character uses it as a self-portrait of sorts - but beyond that it is sort of a way-of-life.
Superb book, and I love Tardi's illustrations.
Like all of Manchette narrations, the act of chance has a major affect on its characters, and this story does not fall off that subject matter. Also I love how music is used through out this graphic novel. With respect to the title, various uber-cool West Coast jazz is mentioned over and over again. The main character uses it as a self-portrait of sorts - but beyond that it is sort of a way-of-life.
Superb book, and I love Tardi's illustrations.
July 16, 2011
Oh, shut up! Just shut up! Finish your whiskey. Take a shower. Come to bed and screw.
I don't remember the characters in Jean-Patrick Manchette's Three To Kill being quite that graphic, but French artist Jacques Tardi has definitely captured the anarchic spirit of the original in this new illustrated version. Tardi is famous to fans of European comics, but this the first for me. It's a racy, rude and hilarious rendition of Manchette's revenge noir – although, as I said, Manchette's satire is more sophisticated. Tardi boiled it down to its raw essence; the translation by Kim Thompson is as spiky as the drawing. I chuckled all the way through, delighted by its exuberant darkness - & as soon as I'd finished I ordered the next one.
I don't remember the characters in Jean-Patrick Manchette's Three To Kill being quite that graphic, but French artist Jacques Tardi has definitely captured the anarchic spirit of the original in this new illustrated version. Tardi is famous to fans of European comics, but this the first for me. It's a racy, rude and hilarious rendition of Manchette's revenge noir – although, as I said, Manchette's satire is more sophisticated. Tardi boiled it down to its raw essence; the translation by Kim Thompson is as spiky as the drawing. I chuckled all the way through, delighted by its exuberant darkness - & as soon as I'd finished I ordered the next one.
April 3, 2011
I'm always so excited to find more Tardi books that have been translated and this is a really interesting one. It's actually a graphic novel that has been adapted from the original novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette. I haven't read the original so I am not sure how this compares in terms of accuracy but the best part about this one is the mood. In many ways, the plot is far fetched and yet a little formulaic, though somewhat reminiscent of Cohen Bros. It starts with a late night 90mph drive and an accident..wrong place, wrong time then running for one's life. The protagonist is married with kids but certainly doesn't act the part for one frame of the novel. He meets a whole set of characters on the run from the hired assassins and one gets the impression that he's able to handle everything and everyone that comes to him until his life returns to normal..and if by chance he doesn't really have amnesia about the whole thing, he'll just take his Five Roses Bourbon and his barbiturates before hitting the road again.
This is much less whimsical than the Adventures of Adéle Blanc-Sec and the narrative is more an outlandish crime fiction. Still, the drawings are great and it's engaging enough to make it worthwhile reading.
This is much less whimsical than the Adventures of Adéle Blanc-Sec and the narrative is more an outlandish crime fiction. Still, the drawings are great and it's engaging enough to make it worthwhile reading.
August 9, 2015
Kratko, ali slatko! Neobična priča iz običnog života jednog francuskog komercijalista. Georges, ljubitelj jazz glazbe koji se osjeća skučeno i zarobljeno u svom životu tipičnog pripadnika srednje klase, dobiva priliku postati netko drugi: avanturista, preljubnik, ubojica, kao neki lik iz kriminalističkog romana. I "Mali blues" je upravo to, punokrvan krimi-noir pun neobičnih likova i prožet odličnim crnim humorom. No ujedno je u pitanju i egzistencijalistička priča gotovo dokumentarnog tipa, dojam kojega je postignut upečatljivom kombinacijom naracije i crteža. Strip me na trenutke podsjećao na dokumentarce o životinjama u kojima nam narator objašnjava ono što istovremeno vidimo na ekranu, samo što se ovdje prati najvećeg od svih predatora - čovjeka. "Mali blues" je strip koji se zbog svoje slojevitosti može čitati više puta otkrivajući pritom svaki put nešto novo, i koji nikako ne bi trebali zaobići.
December 14, 2010
An aimless young sales executive who likes to mix booze and barbiturates and drive his Mercedes at 90mph around the rim roads of Paris stumbles onto a crime scene and finds himself pursued by some very bad people. Actually they are bad but strangely ineffective, and the hero, who at first seems clueless and easy pickings, proves to be adept at doing whatever it takes to stay alive. Tardi's drawings quickly establish locales as various as tourist-infested beaches or the French Alps. This is based on a novel by Jean Patrick Machette and captures the feel of the best crime stories of the French New Wave.
June 18, 2017
Ένα πολύ καλό κόμικ συνολικά με έμπειρους διαλόγους και σκίτσο γεμάτο εναλλαγές (τα τοπία,αυτοκίνητα και δολοφονίες πολύ ωραία δοσμένες και τα πρόσωπα λίγο λιγότερο). Το τέλος με άφησε με μια ανεκπλήρωτη αίσθηση και ο λόγος του όλου ανθρωποκυνηγητού κάθε άλλο παρά επαρκής ήταν. Έχει σε κάποια άλλα σημεία ασυνέχειες (όπως η φάση που απλά παραταει την οικογένεια του για μήνες) αλλά είναι ένα κλασικό BD και αξίζει να υπάρχει στην βιβλιοθήκη.
Υ.Γ. Πολύ ωραία τοποθετημενες οι αναφορές στη jazz και τις ταινίες εποχής.
Υ.Γ. Πολύ ωραία τοποθετημενες οι αναφορές στη jazz και τις ταινίες εποχής.
October 15, 2009
Great French film noir/adventure story with pretty much everyone morally if not legally corrupt. Great art and great writing. The translation seemed a little off in places but overall a great read.
January 13, 2019
Manchette e Tardi no seu melhor. A Banda Desenhada na sua essência de arte entre a Literatura, o Desenho e a Pintura, o Cinema e, neste caso, até a música, a cultura popular e a Filosofia.
August 17, 2024
This is a fantastic noir graphic novel, the action oriented protagonist is at times funny and tragic driven to extremes via happenstance. Tardi's artwork is gritty that suits the story really well. This one is a keeper.
February 7, 2021
I am a big fan of Manchette and I was almost determined to not like this comic, in the same way one often don't like the movie after having read the book... and at first it almost worked; it felt incomplete, lacking. It did not match what I remembered from the book. I picked it up because it was one of Tardi's work available at my public library; there is not a ton from him, but I am still looking forward to Godamm this War and maybe a few others!
Lo and behold, the more I got into this book, the more I forgot the original. By the end, this story had taken a life of his own. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, Tardi's art captures the tone of Manchette quite well, even if some part of the storytelling felt rushed (unavoidable when turning a novel into a 70 pages comic book, I suppose.)
Now that I think on it, Manchette's style probably lends itself well to the adaptation into a graphic medium. It is at time telegraphic, inserting violence in an almost choreographic way, and all his books are rather compact (I don't think I have seen one over 200 pages), with the story being propelled forward by deeply flawed and conflicted protagonist. I know there are more adaptations, if I can find them I will probably get them.
Lo and behold, the more I got into this book, the more I forgot the original. By the end, this story had taken a life of his own. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, Tardi's art captures the tone of Manchette quite well, even if some part of the storytelling felt rushed (unavoidable when turning a novel into a 70 pages comic book, I suppose.)
Now that I think on it, Manchette's style probably lends itself well to the adaptation into a graphic medium. It is at time telegraphic, inserting violence in an almost choreographic way, and all his books are rather compact (I don't think I have seen one over 200 pages), with the story being propelled forward by deeply flawed and conflicted protagonist. I know there are more adaptations, if I can find them I will probably get them.
September 20, 2019
Jacques Tardi’s adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette’s novel “Le Petit Bleu De La Côte Ouest” is a very entertaining short read.
This graphic novella tells the story of George Gerfaut. A man who’s on the run from 2 hired guns that are trying to kill him for reasons unknown to Gerfaut. Simple premise, but I was engaged and entertained thoroughly throughout.
Tardi’s art is fantastic, I love his layouts and the French style of lettering that he utilizes. He does a great job drawing the action that takes place in this book and everything on Tardi’s part is fantastically executed.
My issues with this book are with the briefness of the plot. I feel it’s a little rushed at times and the pacing is all over the place. I like Gerfaut and the other characters, especially the antagonists of the book.
I really want to dip my toes into European comics past people like Tardi and Moebius, I love the style and presentation of the books so much.
Overall, I’m feeling a 7.5/10 for this one
This graphic novella tells the story of George Gerfaut. A man who’s on the run from 2 hired guns that are trying to kill him for reasons unknown to Gerfaut. Simple premise, but I was engaged and entertained thoroughly throughout.
Tardi’s art is fantastic, I love his layouts and the French style of lettering that he utilizes. He does a great job drawing the action that takes place in this book and everything on Tardi’s part is fantastically executed.
My issues with this book are with the briefness of the plot. I feel it’s a little rushed at times and the pacing is all over the place. I like Gerfaut and the other characters, especially the antagonists of the book.
I really want to dip my toes into European comics past people like Tardi and Moebius, I love the style and presentation of the books so much.
Overall, I’m feeling a 7.5/10 for this one
September 1, 2009
From the opening panel until the final words, Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Manchette's crime novel Le Petit bleu de la côte ouest sizzles with a dazzling graphic intensity. Salesman George Gerfaut unknowingly becomes embroiled in conspiracy and murder when he stops to aid the victim of a car accident. Much like the 1950s American crime novels they emulate, Tardi and Manchette offer a impressive display of destructive violence, wanton love, and disregard for life. Showcasing Tardi's singular artistic talents, the brilliant West Coast Blues emerges as one of the best crime graphic novels ever produced.
August 2, 2010
i really liked this one. the path of the narration reminds me of a French New Wave film, lots of cuts, like Godard. some things you knew way before they happened. it's not structured like a typical crime story, mostly because the main character isn't a criminal or the law. that said, Gerfaut is in no way a sympathetic character. in fact, the two thugs were my favorite characters by far. the story is a fresh take on crime comix and one of the only ones i can say i liked.
January 4, 2017
Great exercise in style, some surprises and dark humor, good plot, fine pacing, and I liked the cyclical ending, but didn't care a fig about the main character (or anyone else). I suppose that's one of the existentialist points. But I had the same problem with the first two Adele Blanc-Secs; maybe it's a Tardi thing, or a French thing, having unsympathetic, unlikeable main characters?
April 16, 2012
Very European and very unfulfilling. The pacing is hella mediocre too.
May 12, 2012
If I could draw a person driving at night like Jacques Tardi, I would die a happy, slightly bitter, and film-noir addled man.
May 27, 2012
I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did, as crime or noir is not often a genre I take to, but I'm still glad I didn't have to wade through the entire novel.
July 6, 2014
Gritty, noir fiction set in France, illustrated in black and white. Quite good.
June 30, 2024
4.5/5
I might elevate my rating from 4.5 to 5 stars after reading Manchette’s original novel. The characters in "West Coast Blues" were compelling, and the plot was gripping and thought-provoking up until the final quarter. However, the resolution felt overly simplistic and didn’t quite match the depth and tension built throughout the story. It would have been beneficial if some of the intriguing characters introduced earlier had more significant roles in the later parts. The artwork was truly magnificent. Tardi's rendering of various environments (eg: the scenes in the woods) was particularly atmospheric and immersive.
I might elevate my rating from 4.5 to 5 stars after reading Manchette’s original novel. The characters in "West Coast Blues" were compelling, and the plot was gripping and thought-provoking up until the final quarter. However, the resolution felt overly simplistic and didn’t quite match the depth and tension built throughout the story. It would have been beneficial if some of the intriguing characters introduced earlier had more significant roles in the later parts. The artwork was truly magnificent. Tardi's rendering of various environments (eg: the scenes in the woods) was particularly atmospheric and immersive.
April 17, 2024
Gritty, but gripping graphic novel.
June 5, 2024
C'était très agréable de parcourir les paysages décrits très ancrés dans la vie de tous les jours, mais je crois que je n'ai pas réussi à adhérer à l'histoire proposée :(
September 20, 2024
Hell yeah brother.
I will say that a lot of the jazz mentioned is actually pretty bad and not fitting for the narrative IMO
I will say that a lot of the jazz mentioned is actually pretty bad and not fitting for the narrative IMO
February 24, 2013
It seems that this novel is one of those moments that make me think that the European style is doomed to fail in comparison to the American comics school. When it comes to comics and illustration, there are enough Frenchies that can blow Tardi's caricatural yet soulless style sky high - take Franquin and Uderzo and Goscinny, for example. Those are truly masterful comics artists, and this book serves as an excellent example for "don't"s in comics. It's sloppy in execution (especially the violence scenes appear as rather contrived and tasteless, save for the headshot delivered to Gerfaut's newly acquired girlfriend), and unbelievably insipid and minor in scope. The slang doesn't help too much either in making things flow more easily. Initially, I was tempted to flame this also for the jazz references, thinking that the narrator sought desperately to make the atmosphere more "groovee", but after seeing more of the objects implied in the scenery (Cutty Sark bottles and so on) I prefer to think that the jazz thing is well integrated into the social melting pot that seems to be on subtle display over the course of the novel. Tardi's options in approaching human physiognomy are something of a knife sharpened on both edges - one could praise him for the tiny differences that he manages to draw between very similar faces of different characters, or could criticize his creations for the very same reason, the all too striking similarity between character's faces.
All in all, a disappointing read. I don't know where the "mordant wit" vanished in this novel, but I do know that it lacks any power of making more seasoned readers want to read it again.
All in all, a disappointing read. I don't know where the "mordant wit" vanished in this novel, but I do know that it lacks any power of making more seasoned readers want to read it again.
May 20, 2022
Esta novela es la adaptación gráfica de "Balada de la costa Oeste" del mismo autor Jean-Patrick Manchette.
La verdad es que no conocía la novela original y no ha sido hasta después de leerme la adaptación que he caído en la cuenta de que no era una novela gráfica original sino que procedía de una ya existente.
Dado que no me he leído la novela no puedo comparar a nivel de adaptación cómo ha sido el proceso.
Lo que sí puedo compartir es que esta adaptación es muy cortita, con los dibujos de estilo europeo y viñetas en blanco y negro.
Cuenta la historia de Georges Gerfaut un hombre de éxito a nivel profesional que tiene mujer y dos niñas y un día, tras ayudar a un hombre que ha sufrido un accidente de tráfico, comienza a ser perseguido por dos asesinos. La novela irá relatando sus encuentros con estos y cómo irán desarrollándose las acciones en torno a los mismos.
A nivel general es una novela gráfica de acción en todo momento pero el que sea tan cortita si que ha hecho que parezca que toda la acción se precipita. Me hubiera gustado que desarrollasen un poco más a los personajes o incluso dejar más margen entre las acciones. Aún así es una novela gráfica entretenida, rápida de leer y que cuenta una historia muy interesante.
Recomendable a todas las personas que, por un lado hayan leído "Balada de la costa Oeste" (si lo leéis por favor comentadme si la adaptación es bastante leal y/o qué echáis en falta de la misma) y a todas aquellas personas de más de 16 años que disfruten con las novelas gráficas de estilo thriller, persecuciones y misterio.
La verdad es que no conocía la novela original y no ha sido hasta después de leerme la adaptación que he caído en la cuenta de que no era una novela gráfica original sino que procedía de una ya existente.
Dado que no me he leído la novela no puedo comparar a nivel de adaptación cómo ha sido el proceso.
Lo que sí puedo compartir es que esta adaptación es muy cortita, con los dibujos de estilo europeo y viñetas en blanco y negro.
Cuenta la historia de Georges Gerfaut un hombre de éxito a nivel profesional que tiene mujer y dos niñas y un día, tras ayudar a un hombre que ha sufrido un accidente de tráfico, comienza a ser perseguido por dos asesinos. La novela irá relatando sus encuentros con estos y cómo irán desarrollándose las acciones en torno a los mismos.
A nivel general es una novela gráfica de acción en todo momento pero el que sea tan cortita si que ha hecho que parezca que toda la acción se precipita. Me hubiera gustado que desarrollasen un poco más a los personajes o incluso dejar más margen entre las acciones. Aún así es una novela gráfica entretenida, rápida de leer y que cuenta una historia muy interesante.
Recomendable a todas las personas que, por un lado hayan leído "Balada de la costa Oeste" (si lo leéis por favor comentadme si la adaptación es bastante leal y/o qué echáis en falta de la misma) y a todas aquellas personas de más de 16 años que disfruten con las novelas gráficas de estilo thriller, persecuciones y misterio.
January 19, 2010
While I like the art a great deal, I also had some major problems with how some scenes were conveyed. There are too many people smiling directly into "the camera" during the beach fight, the layout of the confrontation in the woods doesn't line up, and the behavior of the gas station attendant in that shootout is non-sensical. the dialogue is also really weird at times, especially when it comes from the main character. Girfaut is completely blank personality-wise and thus is uninteresting and unsympathetic because of it. His wife calls him by his last name, they seem to hate each other, he does things for no reason... he just didn't grab my attention enough for me to care about what was happening to him. And I've got to voice what really is a minor quibble, that the guy says in the frame story at the very beginning that he killed two people in the past year... and then he kills three in the flashbacks. (I also didn't even really GET that it WAS a frame story and a flashback for several pages either.)
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