REVIEW: RenÃ©e

Writer/Artist: Ludovic Debeurme
Publisher: IDW

French novelist and illustrator, Ludovic Debeurme, continues his amazing legacy with RenÃ©e. Since his breakthrough back in 2006, with his graphic novel Lucille, Ludovic has been known for his unique artwork and vivid story lines; RenÃ©e is no different. It is a collection of intertwined and pensive short stories. Each with their own theme about regret, love, and loss. The art is simple, but tailored very well to the book. The visualization for each character and setting is unique, and it tells a story on it“s own. Ludovic“s writing is the real treasure however. Each narrative in this book evokes graphic emotions. And the dialogue can be, at times, haunting.

It is difficult to come up with a summary for this book, since there is just so many different branches, in so many different directions. One by one, Ludovic introduces us to the characters: A clinically depressed female, an abandoned ugly boy, a withdrawn wife, a cheating husband, a torn prisoner”¦ the list goes on. And each of the characters is related to one another by a series of wild coincidences. While each story is beautiful and complex, there are two main pieces that make for sound summary.

First is the story of a woman, and her turbulent love life. While navigating her own debilitating depression, RenÃ©e meets her first love at a jazz club. The two hit it off with an awkward first impression at an underground party. As the story progresses things seem well for the happy couple, until Pierre, the sax player, reveals a part of his life that devastates her. If their age difference was not hard enough, this new information strains their relationship further. This tale of RenÃ©e and Pierre is graphic as winds its ways through their very tumultuous relationship. And it rages on and on until the very end.

The next narrative is about a man, Arthur and his wife. While this story has elements about the harshness of prison, it was really about being trapped, in every sense of the word. The peer pressure that is imposed on Arthur, from his fellow inmates, shows a poetic meaning to the conflict of inner peace and social acceptance. The whole story is in conflict and self-doubt. His wife during this story goes through the same motions. She has to deal with her mother, who she resents, and her own depression from being away from her husband. Both of them formed a very close bond that tests their mettle. By the end, the both of them are exhausted.

All the other pieces in this story connect these two in such a powerful way. A fisher who is sent to prison, a wife divorced, a mother finding her happiness. These are necessary and beautiful components for this book about love, loss, and regret.

The art fits this book so well. Each borderless panel appears to be so effortless, but it isn“t. There is so much complication and emotion with each facial expression and ripple of water. Every character is drawn so perfectly to their personality that it is impossible to mistake one for another. Ludovic“s backgrounds are also amazing. His grassy hills look soft, and his water looks cold. And the dream and fantasy sequences are only things that can be shown by pictures, not words. The texture is unique, and each page is engaging. Out of 400+ pages, there were only a few that were convoluted, but those were pages that had some complications that more precise shading would have solved. The panel that really stood out amongst the rest was the child getting his foot caught in a bear trap.

While the art was captivating, Ludovic“s writing was what really elevated this book. The stories and themes are haunting. There are some dark places that he goes; places that solicit deep thoughts of personal experience, that are not necessarily related. The mystery that is cultivated here is incredible. The thirst for how, and why, each of these narratives are connected makes the story so much more inviting to this strange world. Page after page, chapter after chapter, this book just winds through all of these heavy issues, until it reaches this climax of clarity. Once there, the suspense is held until the very end, but getting to that point is exhausting. However, the journey is well worth the time spent.

In addition to some flawless narrative, Ludovic also blesses the reader with outstanding dialogue. Each of his characters felt so alive. Their pain and rage just lept from the pages, into the readers hearts. There are moments where a character is lovable and fun, but then they turn around for a devastating effect. A particular powerful stage in RenÃ©e“s story was her sex scene. She finally lays herself bare to Pierre, spilling out her most hidden desires, and is rejected. It is gut wrenching to read. Ludovic seems to have fun playing with the audience’s heartstrings, and as he should.

RenÃ©e is massively beautiful book. The uncomplicated art flows so graciously with the rhythm of the narrative. The dark tones, underlying themes, and mystery is what the industry needs, desperately, and it is given to us here in high doses. Thank you Ludovic Debeurme for these characters and this book. Everyone should get out there and buy a copy for themselves. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Author Profile

Dylan Hicks

I just graduated from MSUD with my BAS in Mathematics. I live in a small 1 bedroom apartment with my girlfriend, and our two cats. I work full time for NTIA-ITS as a Computer Scientist. All I really do is engineer mathematical models and write code all day. I took up this second job at Comic Crusaders as a way to become more involved with the comic book community. Since I was a child I have loved comics. I grew up reading Spider-Man, Shi, New Mutants, Spider Woman, and Gen13. As I got older, however, my tastes started to shift from almost exclusively Marvel to various independent labels. Now I read a huge variety of comics: Valiant, Black Mask, Aspen, Avatar, Image, Dynamite, Boom, Aftershock, etc.. If anyone wants to know, my favorite publisher, hands down, is Valiant.
I am also working on writing a few comic books myself. I have about 4 ideas in the fire, but only 1 of them is really getting anywhere; I have 6 of the 10 books finished. In addition to writing, I am also a practicing colorist. If you want to checkout any of my writing samples, or coloring samples, please check out my DeviantArt and let me know what you think.
dirtgrubdylan.deviantart.com.
Some more about me? I love black metal and video games. I usually spend most of my time hanging out with my girlfriend. We have been together for 6 years, so at this point she is basically my best friend. But when I am not with her, I get together with my friends to drink some beer and play some Magic, the Gathering. And, as pretentious as this is, I am also working on starting my own engineering firm. So that involves me reading a lot of textbooks on Mathematics and Computer Science.
So yeah, if you have made it this far thank you very much! I am crazy excited to start my career in writing. Let's see what I can do with this.