Jean-Claude Forest (1930–1998)

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3845542.html

Famous French comic of the 1960s, on which the cult film of 1968 was based. Barbarella is a leader of men and women who biffs as much as she bonks. Her clothes do have a tendency to come off, voluntarily as often as not. Kelly Sue DeConnick has now given us an updated translation, which reads a lot more smoothly and wittily than the long-standing text by Richard Seaver. It's not deep, but it is fun.

Originally serialized beginning in 1978 for the French magazine À SUIVRE, the groundbreaking You Are There (Ici même) showcased the singular talents of Barbarella creator Claude-Forest and legendary artist Tardi. Presented for the first time in English, this nonsensical farce recounts the struggles of Arthur There and his attempts to reclaim his ancestral lands of Mornemont of which he only owns the walls that subdivide the area. Tardi's intricate, cartoony, and beautiful art perfectly show more expresses Forest's ideas and words. The humorous You Are There masterfully satirizes French society and politics unlike any comic before or since. show less

I'm glad I read this because I'm such a huge fan of the movie and sexy sci-fi in general and because I know what an influence this book has had on the genre but it wasn't easy to get through. The ideas are wild and high concept and the character of Barbarella is campy and delightfully femininst but the narrative here is clunky and disjointed. Again, glad I read it, won't need to read it again.

After a first read, You Are There is still something of a mystery to me, although clearly an entertaining and challenging one. This is a fantastical tale of a realm within the nation of France, apparently set in the early twentieth century, and involving all sorts of meditations on materialism, sanity, and political intrigue. While the plot does manage to remain relatively focused, the characterizations are something completely different, as each of the primary protagonists moves in a show more dreamlike state through the events that swirl around them. Jacques Tardi's black-and-white pen work is wonderful and a joy to look at. I think it will take at least one more reading for me to get my head around Jean-Claude Forest's complicated tale, but You Are There appears to be worth the effort - it's a intriguing work of art at the minimum. show less