Altamont

by Herik Hanna (Contributor), Charlie Adlard (Drawings)

Après le peace & love de Woodstock, la fureur et le désastre d'Altamont... Décembre 1969. Woodstock et la vague du Flower Power ont déferlé sur la côte Est des États-Unis quelques mois plus tôt. En réponse, la côte Ouest décide à son tour de faire monter les décibels lors d’un festival qui se rêve légendaire… Les plus grandes stars de l’époque sont censées y participer, à commencer par les Rolling Stones en têtes d’affiche pour enflammer la scène. Hors de question pour Jenny et ses potes de rater le concert du siècle ! Dans leur combi Volkswagen qui roule depuis Los Angeles, l’ambiance bon enfant fleure bon la marijuana. Peu importe si l’organisation s’annonce un peu fantaisiste, ce qui prime, c’est la musique ! 300 000 personnes sont attendues pour ce rendez-vous peace, love et rock’n’roll qui aura finalement lieu sur la piste automobile d’Altamont, en Californie du Nord. Sauf que peu de temps après l'arrivée du groupe d'amis, une première altercation éclate, ne présageant rien de bon. Si tout commence dans l’exaltation, la tension est palpable. Embauchés pour assurer la sécurité et payés en bière, les Hells Angels commencent à éloigner la foule de la scène à coups de batte et de chaîne. Tandis que Thomas escalade les échafaudages et que Matt se perd dans un trip d’acide, Leonard comprend qu’ils ne sortiront pas indemnes d’Altamont. Cela devait être un beau festival, gratuit, une célébration de l’amour et du partage. Au lieu de ça, la tragédie d’Altamont est devenue le symbole de la fin d’une époque. Charlie Adlard et Herik Hanna reviennent sur cet épisode tristement célèbre du rock en nous livrant le portrait désenchanté d’une jeunesse libre et rêveuse, marquée par la guerre du Vietnam. Illustré par le dessinateur-culte de Walking Dead dans un style vintage emprunt au pop art, ce road-movie graphique qui sonne juste se lit d’une traite, le temps d’un voyage iconique.

Genres: History, Music, Graphic Novels, Comics, Bande Dessinée

136 pages, Hardcover

Published August 30, 2023

About the author

Herik Hanna is a French writer of comics. He was born in France in 1977.

Reviews

[Bojan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally written for "Graphic Librarians" bookstagram.

This graphic novel, inspired by real-life events, gives us a taste of a hippie life on the road: Volkswagen Type 2, rock music, peace, love, and adventure—all spiced up by drugs.

Close your eyes and imagine—it’s 1969, you are a young hippie from California, and you found out there is a massive rock festival nicknamed « Woodstock West » happening at the Altamont Speedway. The stars are aligned, and the gods of peace and love have surely blessed this event. You are on fire!

For sure, that’s a feeling that the group of hippie friends—Jenny, her boyfriend Matt, Shizo, Leonard, and his friend Samantha—felt while travelling to the infamous Altamont Free Concert to listen to Rolling Stones, Santana, and other rock bands. Each of them has a story. Matt came back from the Vietnam War, where he lost his eye, and now carries a heavy psychological burden. Jenny is attempting to deepen her relationship with Matt; Shizo has uncontrollable drug usage; Leo is dealing with his problematic family situation; and the recent newcomer, mysterious Sam, just goes to enjoy music.

Hanna’s masterful character presentation and Adlard’s magnificent, vintage-style artwork effectively provide a base for description of the wider historical context of the counterculture of the 1960s era: war, capitalism, social values, and politics shaped each person differently; each hippie was different, but they were all united by a love of rock music!

As our heroes arrive at the fateful festival, it becomes clear that something is wrong. Organisational and logistical problems were everywhere: inadequately small stages, insufficient facilities and space, security provided by the violent motorcycle group Hell’s Angels, etc. As drugs and alcohol enter the story, things quickly get out of control, and our heroes will have to deal with various demons—the outside and the inside ones—nobody is free from them.

With a wonderful mixture of fiction and reality, Altamont will transport you back in time to the event that, for many, marked the end of an era.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Altamont spends more time inside a van with characters talking about things that don’t really matter than it does at the festival that gives the book its title. I found the story pretty underwhelming overall, though the twist at the end was a nice surprise and honestly what saved it for me.

The actual Altamont Festival section felt way too short. I was hoping for something more historical, something that really captured what happened there, rather than a random story about these characters I didn’t find particularly interesting. I also wasn’t a fan of the art style or the characters themselves.

In the end, Altamont had potential, but it didn’t deliver the depth or focus I was expecting. The ending twist was the only part that truly stood out.

[Curious Madra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yknow for a “fictional” story surrounding an actual real life event was quite decent! I actually thought the characters as a group were quite interesting like I wish it could provide more scenes. I think if they made the ending less abrupt like I just wanted more from this story. It’s just really good like it needs to be an actual movie tbh!

[Odo · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Adri Holt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doc and his friends are on a road trip to Altamont to see The Rolling Stones. Thousands of people, free love, drugs, what could go wrong? Honestly, this story is a lot more than that and it does reflect the period it takes place in. Soldiers didn’t come back the same from Vietnam (if they did come back). Others purposely dodged the draft into Vietnam. Friends talked about their favorite musicians. Various folks subscribed to the free love, drugs, sex, etc. However, not everyone was okay with the philosophy or lifestyles of hippies. The sixties were simply a very eventful period in the United States. This one is worth the read.

#ThxNetGalley #HerikHanna #Altamont

[Robert Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating exploration of the death of the 60’s. The fateful Rolling Stones show at Altamont is the backdrop, gorgeously rendered by Charlie Adlard, but the thematic heavy lifting is played out by a small cast of characters. Beautifully drawn, elegantly written. Needs an English translation asap.

[Tess | Disorder Reef · Rating 3 out of 5]

Altamont, c'est un festival de musique qui a eu lieu après Woodstock et où rien ne s’est passé comme prévu. Dans cette BD, on va suivre un groupe d’amis qui se rend justement à ce festival. Ce sont des petits clichés de l’époque, sous acide, je m’en foutiste... Bref vous voyez le truc.

De mon côté j’ai eu un peu de mal à les identifier et à faire la différence entre les pensées de chacun. Je pense que le style de dessin et les couleurs n’ont pas aidé. Ça va très bien avec l’histoire, mais ce n’est pas vraiment un style qui me correspond et avec lequel je suis familière.

C’est plutôt sombre comme histoire, on n’a pas vraiment envie de se retrouver à leur place. On capte bien que la vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid, aussi ! Mais, du coup, en se concentrant autant sur la petite bande, on perd en informations sur le festival. Et j’aurais aimé donc plus de détails à ce sujet.

Dans l’ensemble c’est un ouvrage que j’ai apprécié et qui ravira les fans de l’époque. Mais j’attendais sans doute quelque chose d’un peu différent.

[Frankkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about the Altamont festival going in, so this ended up being an interesting, uneasy look at the darker side of the late ’60s. The story follows a group of friends hoping for a Woodstock-style weekend, but the mix of bad event planning, a volatile crowd, and Hells Angels “security” pushes everything toward violence.

Most of the story centers on Doc and the weight he’s carrying from Vietnam. He’s trying to have fun with his friends, but his trauma keeps slipping through the cracks, and that tension works well against the chaos of the festival. Where Woodstock represented the bright, idealistic version of the era, Altamont feels like the opposite with violence and unrest; all the fractures underneath the counterculture shine through here.

It starts slow, but once they reach the festival the pace picks up and I read the rest straight through. Really liked the ending - I never trusted Schizo.

(3.5 stars rounded down)

Thank you NetGalley and Image Comics for an eARC.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm… Dramatisation of the sh*t that went down at Altamont, with the druggies and the biker security at odds over a couple of days of bad drugs, bad drink, bad weather and arguably not much better music. The problem is that so much of this has to evoke the times through meaningless dialogue, which is not exactly entertaining to experience. They can yack all they like about free love, the guitarists of the day and their experiences when high, and they can dwell on Vietnam to add to the whole end-of-innocence mood, but it's dull at times. Things improve when things get meatier, but the art doesn't improve the clarity of the picture. I'm sure this could have been a whole lot worse, but it wasn't great.

[Federica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this graphic novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This short volume recounts the experiences of a group of friends as an example of the events that took place during the Altamont music festival in 1969, a page of American history that I was unaware of since I am not passionate about music history. Nevertheless, I was curious to learn more, and this graphic novel turned out to be the right choice after all.

It is well structured, gives equal space to all the characters, and the final twist is quite unexpected. I can't say it won me over, but it was still an enjoyable read.

[Kyle Spishock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I was expecting something from the real life events of “Altamont”. Instead, the concert tragedy serves as a backdrop to a fictional narrative about post-war reconciliation, the sudden decline of the hippie movement, and generational vengeance.
The artwork by “Walking Dead” stalwart Charlie Adlard carries the story. However, those seeking a detailed account of the nefarious concert will be disappointed by the liberties taken in the narrative.

[Patrick Fabri · Rating 4 out of 5]

De chouettes dessins, une histoire sans doute un peu cliché, mais au final une bd très agréable à lire.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intéressant graphiquement, mais au final, c’est plutôt une déception. La faute principalement à des dialogues pas très bien écrits et des scènes d’exposition un peu lourdes, dommage !

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐⭐1/2

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being unalive at the time of the actual events, all I knew about Altamont was what I'd read or seen in snippets. So this graphic novel was great because it put a human face/actual story to the lead-up and tragic events and made it all more clear. Interesting characters with wild dynamics, building sense of dread, and a twist ending made it even better.