Saint-Germain, puis rouler vers l'ouest !

European Comics
Saint-Germain, puis rouler vers l'ouest !
By Hervé St-Louis
May 20, 2009 - 21:00

Dargaud
Writer(s): Bruno Le Floc'h
Penciller(s): Bruno Le Floc'h
Inker(s): Bruno Le Floc'h
Colourist(s): Bruno Le Floc'h
Cover Artist(s): Bruno Le Floc'h
ISBN: 978-2-205-06167-3
$28.99 CAN

Living in Paris in the 1960s, Alexis is a musician with bad drinking habits that make him less than lovable. His erratic behaviour takes its toll on the relationship he has with Mary who decides to leave him one day after he has played all night with his band. Without Mary, Alexis is lost. He sets on a course to find the woman of his life, all the while encountering many other women call Marie on his way. But the one Mary he seeks he cannot find. Will Alexis’ soul ever be happy again? Will he give up alcohol?

What attracted me to Saint-Germain is the artwork. What repells me from Saint-Germain is the ridiculous story which feels more like a fable with plot holes the size of France. This is supposed to be one of those stories where the punch line expected at the conclusion is not as important as the trip the readers takes. To force the theme of the protagonist’ search for Mary, Floc'h introduces many trite plot twists that makes the reader doubt whether Alexis really is looking for the woman of his life or just pretending to. Alexis is shallow and the story, shallow throughout the end does nothing to show that there’s some kind of lesson to be learnt from this. Life for Alexis is joyful and carefree and looking for the woman he says he loves could be just a pretext to go ride in the French countryside.

If it weren’t for the interesting visuals, I would have felt robbed by this story. It’s pointless and having pointless graphics does not salvage the mess... People like to say that European graphic novels are more visually centered and less story prone. I disagree, except for Saint-German. Floc'h’s current style feels like late Hugo Pratt but with better page layout and less crowed panels. There are many empty spaces in this comic book, which unfortunately are making the artwork stand out.

Rating: 5/10