Cyril PedrosaReviews

Loved the artwork! And the story is building to something interesting in the second volume.

Beautiful, allegorical fairytale. An idyllic family of three living in the woods, become aware that there are three shadows watching them, seemingly getting closer. The father attempts to protect his family from the mysterious trio, without knowing what they want or having any idea of what they will do next.

The book is beatifully drawn, with lots of controlled scribbly lines (a little reminiscent of a slightly lighter Mattotti), but Pedrosa varies his style to good effect. Some of the pages are really stunning.

Pedrosa is an animator for Disney, and it really shows - the images are really dynamic. Sometimes the characters themselves can be a little too cartoony, the expressions a little too exaggerated. It's not unattractive, but I found it a little jarring against the rest of the art. I got used to it though. Also, I found his pacing was a little erratic - the flow didn't seem to be quite right. I may be wrong, but I think this is not uncommon in animators coming to comics. I'm not sure what causes this feeling - it'd be a good area for more thought and analysis.

In the end, the story, while pleasant and enjoyable, feels a little slight, and maybe takes a little too long in the telling (certainly, it seemed to keep going longer than necessary). I would recommend this book on the strength of its art, and I hope that Pedrosa's comics chops improve. I'll keep an eye out for his other work.

E correre...

Correre senza mai fermarsi.

(202-3)

In un paesaggio primaverile,
non c'è meglio o peggio.

(265)

La natura ha
donato a tutti la
medesima forma.

E tutti riscalda del
medesimo calore.

(93)

C'é stato
un tempo
giovanotto...

...in cui valli e montagne
non erano delimitate da
muri. In cui gli uomini
andavano e venivano
liberamente...

...dandosi per
regole solo quelle
che avevano scelto.
Uniti nella disgrazia
e nella felicità...

A quei tempi gli uomini
condividevano tutto, nei
periodi di abbondanza e
di carestia come fratelli.

L'età
dell'oro

(110)

I grabbed this graphic novel off of my cataloguing cart. I was drawn to the dynamic art--each page contains a set of panels with part of the story being told with a colour scheme: pinks and purples, or blues and blacks, or reds and blacks, but the changes are so subtle and gradual from page to page, that I had to flip back and forth to discover where they were happening, as I was pulled into the narrative. Tilda is a princess in a medieval land blighted by corruption. Her father dies and she is set to claim the throne, when she is overthrown by her younger brother (propped up by her bitter mother) and flees into exile with two loyal courtiers. Injured and isolated, she begins to have visions, of a future (perhaps) that she doesn't recognize or understand. She encounters characters along the road, including a sect of "utopia-ists" who believe in the once and future existence of a society (the titular Golden Age) where lords and serfs do not exist, and all are equal. Eventually she finds her way, through war and calamity, to a secret treasure, which her father had found years before, and had apparently meant for her to discover. She finds it, and it is revealed to her ... and that's where this part of the story ends. I will confess, the very illustration style that drew me in, also made me flounder through the narrative at times, as in many cases the drawings are bleak and merely suggestive, and filled with phenomenon rather than reality. But, the cliffhanger still left me looking around to find out where I can read the second half of the story.

The plot was all over the place and unoriginal and not even a decent take on it. The color palette is terrible. Not worth reading.

A great story told with amazing grand scale art.

Beautiful and expressive art, engaging plot line. Looking forward to the sequel!

On one hand, after reading this, I'm desperate to go back to France and finally visit Portugal. The depiction of everyday life in those places lulls you like a good dream (it's certainly helped by the frequent palette as seen on the cover). However, I found Simon to be a bit of a turd, which didn't make me feel totally invested in his genealogy hunt. Pedrosa's style is kind of spidery, making it a mess sometimes and lovely others. A lot of the book is spent on the idle chatter of whatever environment Simon happens to be in, and often the Portuguese goes on for several panels with (what feels like) only a pithy translation by a character, which, again, does lend to the atmosphere of the book, but feels distracting as well. So...I guess I'm really just on the fence about this overall.

Series Info/Source: This is the first volume in The Golden Age. I got a copy of this as a gift for Christmas.

Story (3/5): This wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. It’s more of an epic fantasy in graphic novel format than an outright fantasy. The storyline is fairly typical of epic fantasies. Tilda is outcast from her kingdom by her younger brother (and some power-hungry nobles) the night after her father’s death. She journeys the kingdom trying to get support to win back her father’s throne. It’s a pretty tired storyline and it’s ambitious to try to do it in a graphic novel format. In the end it was okay; nothing all that exciting or unique but decently done.

Characters (3/5): A lot of characters and names are introduced quickly and they can be rather confusing to keep track of. The characters are distinctly drawn, so that helps. Tilda was the most interesting character and is forced to make some rather morally grey decisions in order to work on getting herself put back in power.. for what she sees as the greater good. Most of the other characters kind of blend into the background. There are parts where we follow three peasants and I didn’t really understand the point of those characters by the end of the story.

Setting (4/5): This was a typical fantasy setting but I really enjoyed the illustration style and how things were pictured.

Writing/Drawing Style (3/5): The high point of this book for me was the unique and beautiful drawing style. This is a large format graphic novel and is a hefty book. The writing style I didn’t enjoy quite as much. We jumped around a lot and there were parts that didn’t add much to the story for me. Too many characters introduced and too much happening at once; especially at the beginning of the book. It’s an ambitious task to make a classic epic fantasy story in graphic novel format and there were some hits and misses here.

My Summary (3.5/5): Overall this was okay. I liked some things about it and disliked others. The drawing style was creative and well done. I also liked some aspects of Tilda’s character. I also felt like this was just such a predictable and typical epic fantasy plot, there just wasn’t a lot to intrigue me and pull me into the story. I don’t plan on continuing this series.½

Very busy scrawly art, indifferently colored.

If I had the time or desire, I'd read through this GN a second time and ponder it more thoroughly. But alas, I have too much to do and little desire to observe the loneliness and sadness these pages hold.
However, for those who want to venture here you will find a couple of story lines, which take place in France, with multiple characters who appear to be at odds with others or who have experienced loss.
I suppose, it was just me, not being in the mood for sadness and discontent.
On the positive side, one thing I did enjoy was the archaeological aspect of the story.

My husband has long been a graphic novel fan. In fact, he's traded getting some individual comics issues for waiting for the graphic novel instead. Obviously he's programmed to read text and image at the same time without any trouble. I still struggle with this a lot, feeling like the pictures break up my reading, and not in a thoughtful, positive way. But this is clearly my issue, not a genre issue. And so I keep trying to find my way in to graphic novels that otherwise fit my interests, like Portugal, a slow, dreamy graphic novel by Cyril Pedrosa.

Simon Muchat is a comics illustrator but he's completely blocked artistically, teaching children's classes instead of drawing himself and unhappy with his previous work. He seems to be standing at a cross roads in his life, not certain which road he should choose. His girlfriend tries to prod him towards work but their relationship is as unrewarding as his drawing and eventually she leaves him. Finally Simon decides to visit Portugal for his cousin's wedding. He doesn't speak the language and he doesn't really know the story of his father's family but this trip will help him find his history and find himself in the process.

The story is one of subtle and slow transformation as Simon is inspired by the magical country and the welcoming people he encounters. The colors in the pictures are duller, more earthbound in the beginning before he leaves France. Once he is in Portugal, a golden light and warmth suffuses many of the panels. In the beginning there is more text, telling clearly of his discontent and frustration. As the story progresses, there is far less dialogue and exposition. The Portuguese is left untranslated, which allows the English speaking reader to experience the lack of understanding as language washes over them just as it does for Simon. The simple line drawings and the wash of watercolors adds to the dreamy feeling of the story. The tale itself is observational and contemplative, detailing many simple, everyday occurrences. It is a wandering story of a man looking for and finding quiet inspiration and his own lost creativity. It is a story of connection with history, with a personal past, and with family. I struggled with it but I do think that has everything to do with me and little to do with the book itself.

I picked this up on a whim, while wandering the library last week. There's nothing I love more than to peek at what they've added to the graphic novel section under "library favorites". Someone out there wanted me to read this, and I happily obliged! Especially once I opened it to take a cursory glance at the first page. Three Shadows both looked, and sounded, like something I needed to take home with me. So, I did.

This is the story of Joachim, an adorable bundle of excitement and youth. The reader is introduced to his little family unit and the safe haven they call home. Full of fish to catch, berries to pick, and any number of adventures a young boy might want to have. I took instantly to Joachim and his family. They were so happy. So very peaceful. Then, as the synopsis promised, the shadows appeared. Suddenly this little family was afraid, and on the brink of breaking. I can assure you, this isn't always the happiest of stories. It is, however, a beautiful one.

What sold me on this book, more than anything else, was the illustrations. Three Shadows is done in a style that is very sketch-book in nature. Stark white and black, but with so much movement that it's not hard at all to follow along. I actually appreciated the lack of color in these panels. It allowed me the opportunity to bring my own color to the story. To paint in the joy, the innocence, and even the heartbreak. It was a daring move on the part of the illustrator, since so many graphic novels are richly colored, but it is well suited to this particular story.

I can't say much more without spoiling anything. This is a story of love, loss, and the great lengths that people will go to in order to protect the ones that mean the most. I don't know what I was expecting when I first picked this up, but I can assure you that it lived up to whatever that was. This wasn't my favorite graphic novel of the year, but it's definitely up there. Recommended to all.

If you have an impulse to stop reading this book by page 30, go with it. I should have. I read every word and looked at every panel and regret every wasted moment.

A whole lot of nothing characters do a whole lot of nothing for over 300 pages. Tedium packaged for your consumption.

Comics artist Simon Muchat is suffering writer's block, in art and life, but when he's invited to a books festival in Portugal, where his family is from, the country and its people may give him the breath of fresh air he needs. This is just beautiful! The narrator starts off a little whiny, so I was somewhat worried in the beginning, but once we get into his family story, I was completely engrossed - the characters are spectacular and all so odd and real. The art is very impressionist, though, so may take a little getting used to, but Pedrosa's color choices are spot on. And, I understood most of the Portuguese dialogue(!), but that's a personal achievement rather than a requirement for understanding the book - in fact, I think you are NOT meant to understand so you feel more in tune with the narrator.½

One of the most beautifully drawn and written graphic novels I've ever read. Simply fantastic! Pedrosa's drawing style is fluid, expressive, and surreal. The story is fantastical and very touching, executed with great care. This graphic novel is superb.

Lovely artwork, the visuals speak to you. The story is simple, poignant and beautiful.

This story was incredibly sad to me - I wouldn't read it again. As a parent it was so hard to get through, because I kept putting myself and my sons in the place of the parents and Joachim. Beautifully done, but heartbreaking and it hit me deeper than I expected.

Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa is a tension-filled story of just how far a father will go to keep his son safe. The story begins with a depiction of a nearly idyllic family complete with mother, father, and son who are living off the land in perfect bliss until...the three shadows appear. It is a story of fear, determination, and the lengths a father will go to when he feels his son is threatened. It's also about grief and the inevitability of death. I think this is an important book for a couple of reasons. Firstly, if there is someone in your life who is currently struggling with a loss it could provide a measure of comfort that they are not alone. Secondly, if a parent is trying to explain life and death to their child then this might be the way to go. I know there are other children's picture books that touch on this topic but this definitely discusses not only the sadness but the fear of death which I think adults relate to even more so than children. Thirdly, the artwork really complements the story. It's without color, straightforward, and charming. I'm giving this one a 7/10.½

Simon scrittore e disegnatore, erede di una generazione di Portoghesi emigrati in Francia, torna alle origini della sua famiglia, riavvicinandosi sia a parenti che al suo passato.
Una bellissima graphic novel, intrisa di musicalità e di lingue diverse; un viaggio nelle emozioni di Simon, indeciso sulla proprie scelte di vita.
Molto belli i disegni con vignette più rigide nella parte iniziale e molto più rilassate quando Simon raggiunge la sua serenità in Portogallo.

---
Simon is a writer and an illustrator coming from a generation of Portuguese emigrated in France. He will come back to the origin of his family, getting in touch with his family and their past.
A very good graphic novel, rich of music and various languages; a voyage in the emotions of Simon, uncertain what choice to make.
Very nice drawings, more rigid in the beginning and loose when Simon gets his serenity in Portugal.

Truly an amazing, stunning work. How far will a parent go to save his child, even when he knows the shadows will come for him in the end regardless? The love and desperation are palpable as father and son journey farther than either has gone before to escape the inescapable. Art varies between a cartoony style and scratchy pen-and-ink illustrations; both have their uses and neither is out of place. This is not a forgettable book, but rather another triumph for First Second.

The main idea is that things are and things happen. We may think they are bad or they are good, but they just are. Our task is to cope with them. We can do it with smile or we can just cry. There´s always a choice.

Art was beautiful, plot was interesting. This comic book is not only for lovers of comics, it belongs to the hands of every person, who likes art, philosophy or just emotions.

Cyril Pedaroa is a former artist for Disney, but has since transferred his creative and artistic talents to the world of graphic novels. Three Shadows is a story of life, a family's love, grief, and death rolled into an all too short novel. A small farming family, father, mother, and their young son named Joaquim. They live an ideal life with all that they could ever need in their lives. Until the day Joaquim approaches his parents and tells them of the three shadows outside watching him. The father takes Joaquim and journeys in hopes of escaping the shadows. Joaquim's father is willing to do anything to protect his son, including giving up his own life.

In the end, all of the characters introduced in the novel, find that no matter how hard you try, you can't escape death. The story itself would appear to be a simple one, but the twists and turns of the lives portrayed make it a compelling story. Although the story is more father and son, the mother's love is evident by her sacrifice to allow father and son to undertake their journey. Both parents handle the situation as best as they know how and exemplify a family's love for one another. The story's overall message is that even in death, you can find hope, and that even though death may come, life will still go on.

What really sells the story and draws the reader in, are the illustrations. The illustrations in the novel are simple black and white line drawings, but through Pedrosa's use of lines they convey emotion and energy. Even without words, the drawings are able to convey joy, fear, grief, and love through the characters expressions and movements. The reader becomes not a mere witness to the story, but a participant, feeling a sense of the place, the time, and the people. The characters cease to be mere drawings on the page, but become real to the reader, as if we could meet them in real life.