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The Voyeurs
The Voyeurs is a real-time memoir of a turbulent five years in the life of renowned cartoonist, diarist, and filmmaker Gabrielle Bell. It collects episodes from her award-winning series Lucky, in which she travels to Tokyo, Paris, the South of France, and all over the United States, but remains anchored by her beloved Brooklyn, where sidekick Tony provides ongoing insight, offbeat humor, and enduring friendship.
“The Voyeurs is the work of a mature writer, if not one of the most sincere voices of her literary generation. It’s a fun, honest read that spans continents, relationships and life decisions. I loved it.”
— Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library
“As she watches other people living life, and watches herself watching them, Bell’s pen becomes a kind of laser, first illuminating the surface distractions of the world, then scorching them away to reveal a deeper reality that is almost too painful and too beautiful to bear.”
— Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
“A master of the exquisite detail, Bell provides a welcome peephole into our lives.”
— Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker
“I don’t think I could tolerate her if she wasn’t so talented.”
— Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Gabrielle Bell’s work has been selected for the 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Houghton-Mifflin Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and has been featured in McSweeney's, The Believer, and Vice magazines. ‘Cecil and Jordan In New York,’ the title story of her most recent book, was adapted for the screen by Bell and director Michel Gondry in the film anthology Tokyo! She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
“The Voyeurs is the work of a mature writer, if not one of the most sincere voices of her literary generation. It’s a fun, honest read that spans continents, relationships and life decisions. I loved it.”
— Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library
“As she watches other people living life, and watches herself watching them, Bell’s pen becomes a kind of laser, first illuminating the surface distractions of the world, then scorching them away to reveal a deeper reality that is almost too painful and too beautiful to bear.”
— Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
“A master of the exquisite detail, Bell provides a welcome peephole into our lives.”
— Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker
“I don’t think I could tolerate her if she wasn’t so talented.”
— Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Gabrielle Bell’s work has been selected for the 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Houghton-Mifflin Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and has been featured in McSweeney's, The Believer, and Vice magazines. ‘Cecil and Jordan In New York,’ the title story of her most recent book, was adapted for the screen by Bell and director Michel Gondry in the film anthology Tokyo! She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2012
16 people are currently reading
2003 people want to read
About the author
Gabrielle Bell
58 books184 followersGabrielle Bell was born in England and raised in California. In 1998, she began to collect her “Book of” miniseries (Book of Sleep, Book of Insomnia, Book of Black, etc), which resulted in When I’m Old and Other Stories, published by Alternative Comics. In 2001 she moved to New York and released her autobiographical series Lucky, published by Drawn and Quarterly. Her work has been selected for the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and she has contributed to McSweeneys, Bookforum, The Believer, and Vice Magazine. The title story of Bell’s book, “Cecil and Jordan in New York” has been adapted for the film anthology Tokyo! by Michel Gondry. Her latest book, The Voyeurs, is available from Uncivilized Books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
(source: http://gabriellebell.com/contact/)
(source: http://gabriellebell.com/contact/)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
November 25, 2016
"I've Wasted My Life..."
Almost half way through her comic-book diary, Gabrielle Bell gets depressed when looking back at her early entries. She is “struck by the overwhelming banality of [her] life” and comes to the dramatic conclusion: “I've wasted my life.” To her boyfriend she explains: “I’m crying because I’m sad! I’m sad because I’m sad.” As far as the first two thirds of the book are concerned, I am afraid that is about as deep and insightful as things get.
The problem is not Bell’s life itself, but the fact that this diary does not bother to take a close look at it, and thus ultimately does not have all that many interesting things to say. Bell writes comic books for a living, flies around the world, her boyfriend at the time is much-admired movie director Michel Gondry, she meets legendary cartoonists like Kim Deitch and Robert Crumb – most readers of alternative comics would consider that potentially interesting story material.
Unfortunately, Gabrielle Bell does not seem to understand people all that well, including herself, which is a problem for an autobiographical cartoonist. Sure, the exploration of a shortcoming like this could theoretically make for a fascinating or at least amusing read, but as one of her friends puts it: “You gloss over things too much in your diary comics.” Neither her personal situation nor her broader social reality is explored in any depth, and the result is a rather shallow and in places just plain boring narrative.
Thankfully, the story finally comes to life during a partly (or completely?) fictional telephone conversation between Gabrielle and her mom, which probably is no coincidence as Bell points out that “whenever [she] put[s] her in a comic it’s invariably a success.” Her mother seems to be just about the only person Bell has anything to say about - if only more pages were devoted her! Still, mom’s brief appearance has an energizing effect on the book’s remaining pages that are surprisingly engaging and well observed, particularly the San Diego experiences.
Is this downright lively and entertaining last third enough to recommend the whole book? You decide. If you are looking for autobiographical comics by female cartoonists, I definitely recommend you give immensely talented creators such as Alison Bechdel, Julie Doucet or Julia Wertz a try. As far as Gabrielle Bell is concerned, I have a feeling she still has better, more fully realized stories up her sleeve.
Almost half way through her comic-book diary, Gabrielle Bell gets depressed when looking back at her early entries. She is “struck by the overwhelming banality of [her] life” and comes to the dramatic conclusion: “I've wasted my life.” To her boyfriend she explains: “I’m crying because I’m sad! I’m sad because I’m sad.” As far as the first two thirds of the book are concerned, I am afraid that is about as deep and insightful as things get.
The problem is not Bell’s life itself, but the fact that this diary does not bother to take a close look at it, and thus ultimately does not have all that many interesting things to say. Bell writes comic books for a living, flies around the world, her boyfriend at the time is much-admired movie director Michel Gondry, she meets legendary cartoonists like Kim Deitch and Robert Crumb – most readers of alternative comics would consider that potentially interesting story material.
Unfortunately, Gabrielle Bell does not seem to understand people all that well, including herself, which is a problem for an autobiographical cartoonist. Sure, the exploration of a shortcoming like this could theoretically make for a fascinating or at least amusing read, but as one of her friends puts it: “You gloss over things too much in your diary comics.” Neither her personal situation nor her broader social reality is explored in any depth, and the result is a rather shallow and in places just plain boring narrative.
Thankfully, the story finally comes to life during a partly (or completely?) fictional telephone conversation between Gabrielle and her mom, which probably is no coincidence as Bell points out that “whenever [she] put[s] her in a comic it’s invariably a success.” Her mother seems to be just about the only person Bell has anything to say about - if only more pages were devoted her! Still, mom’s brief appearance has an energizing effect on the book’s remaining pages that are surprisingly engaging and well observed, particularly the San Diego experiences.
Is this downright lively and entertaining last third enough to recommend the whole book? You decide. If you are looking for autobiographical comics by female cartoonists, I definitely recommend you give immensely talented creators such as Alison Bechdel, Julie Doucet or Julia Wertz a try. As far as Gabrielle Bell is concerned, I have a feeling she still has better, more fully realized stories up her sleeve.
March 1, 2013
There are times when I think back on a book and decide my thoughts based on the vocabulary, the plot, the authors use of literary techniques and a million other judgements I've picked up over the years to assess the words scrolling through my brain. This graphic novel, by Gabrielle Bell I judged not on the artwork, which was fabulous and humbling, but solely based on the way that I felt before, during and after reading it. I can only conclude that I am less alone for having picked up this book.
October 29, 2012
Gabrielle Bell is in Japan with her filmmaker then-boyfriend Michel Gondry, who she is collaborating on a film with, and she has a free day. She skips sightseeing to hang out in the hotel room in her robe and sketch. At one point she darts over to the door to watch Michel through the peephole as he finishes a conversation, then turns to unlock the door. She skitters back to the desk, but is totally busted. He knows that this part social-part loner artist has been peeking.
“Was it obvious?” she asks.
“No, but it’s weird. You should put that in your journal,” he tells her. “You’re not going to, are you?”
“It’s not that interesting. Everyone looks through peepholes,” she says.
“But it’s funny. And honest. You should be honest in your work,” he tells her.
And here it is, part of Bell’s “The Voyeurs,” a collection of her dear diary-style comics, including some that have appeared on her website and published by Minneapolis-based Uncivilized Books. The whole collection has a sort of through-the-peepholeness, or maybe more like microscope, as Bell creates memoir-like short stories that reveal curiosities about the world and herself. I think I’ve called her this before, but Gabrielle Bell is the the quintessential old-school confessional blogger as cartoonist and her work is generally pieces about things that happen around her in the course of a day -- whether real or real at the root then heightened with imaginary, sometimes supernatural, outcomes.
The last thing I read by Bell -- aside from what she posts online -- was “Lucky,” which is a sort of meandering trip through Brooklyn, a lot of apartment swapping, odd jobs and misanthropy, done in black and white. It’s good, of course. I consider Gabrielle Bell (such detailed comics with a just-north-of-realism) to be number one of my Big Three, a list that includes Julia Wertz (so g’damn funny) and Vanessa Davis (her images have so much joy). But this is like a whole new level. It has scenes spanning from 2007 to 2010 and it’s done in full color and it catches her at a time when she’s got name recognition even outside of comic-con. Her impulsive decision to adapt the Scum Manifesto for an anthology becomes fast news that hits plenty of outlets and gets a funny bit in this series. Anyway, at this point in her life, she seems to be doing this full time and well enough to have a long distance relationship on a different coast and the ability to travel to and fro. Of course that makes for more interesting, larger scoped daily musings.
Whether she is asking a computer tech to unhook the internet from her computer so she can hole up more effectively or jumping naked into a river, it has such a realness that is just delicious. At one point she has created a DIY Bakram Studio using blankets and two space heaters, blowing out the electricity in her apartment building. At another point she opens an old sketch book, flips through the pages and weeps that she’s wasted her life.
Fun fact: Part of this book includes a series about Bell’s trip to Minneapolis in October 2009 and includes burgers at Grumpy’s with the owner of Big Brain Comics, hotdish and speaking in front of Zak Sally’s class. (She also dorks out on Lorrie Moore at a book festival).
“Was it obvious?” she asks.
“No, but it’s weird. You should put that in your journal,” he tells her. “You’re not going to, are you?”
“It’s not that interesting. Everyone looks through peepholes,” she says.
“But it’s funny. And honest. You should be honest in your work,” he tells her.
And here it is, part of Bell’s “The Voyeurs,” a collection of her dear diary-style comics, including some that have appeared on her website and published by Minneapolis-based Uncivilized Books. The whole collection has a sort of through-the-peepholeness, or maybe more like microscope, as Bell creates memoir-like short stories that reveal curiosities about the world and herself. I think I’ve called her this before, but Gabrielle Bell is the the quintessential old-school confessional blogger as cartoonist and her work is generally pieces about things that happen around her in the course of a day -- whether real or real at the root then heightened with imaginary, sometimes supernatural, outcomes.
The last thing I read by Bell -- aside from what she posts online -- was “Lucky,” which is a sort of meandering trip through Brooklyn, a lot of apartment swapping, odd jobs and misanthropy, done in black and white. It’s good, of course. I consider Gabrielle Bell (such detailed comics with a just-north-of-realism) to be number one of my Big Three, a list that includes Julia Wertz (so g’damn funny) and Vanessa Davis (her images have so much joy). But this is like a whole new level. It has scenes spanning from 2007 to 2010 and it’s done in full color and it catches her at a time when she’s got name recognition even outside of comic-con. Her impulsive decision to adapt the Scum Manifesto for an anthology becomes fast news that hits plenty of outlets and gets a funny bit in this series. Anyway, at this point in her life, she seems to be doing this full time and well enough to have a long distance relationship on a different coast and the ability to travel to and fro. Of course that makes for more interesting, larger scoped daily musings.
Whether she is asking a computer tech to unhook the internet from her computer so she can hole up more effectively or jumping naked into a river, it has such a realness that is just delicious. At one point she has created a DIY Bakram Studio using blankets and two space heaters, blowing out the electricity in her apartment building. At another point she opens an old sketch book, flips through the pages and weeps that she’s wasted her life.
Fun fact: Part of this book includes a series about Bell’s trip to Minneapolis in October 2009 and includes burgers at Grumpy’s with the owner of Big Brain Comics, hotdish and speaking in front of Zak Sally’s class. (She also dorks out on Lorrie Moore at a book festival).
December 28, 2012
Really enjoyed this book of diary comics & autobiographical tales from Gabrielle Bell, only the second collection of hers that I've read to date. Much as I admired July Diary this is even better because it’s much longer and I could carry it around and read it on public transportation and stuff. Lately I've been into reading graphic novels and comics at a much more luxurious pace than I used to, stretching them out not only to make them last longer but to really look at the graphics, to appreciate all the hard work that goes into creating them. (With complicated landscape type panels or skillfully rendered historical stuff I also try to figure out How the Hell He/She Did That.) It took me a while to fully appreciate Bell’s drawings as much as her text, mostly because her writer’s voice is so strong. She pulls off some genuinely literary type of pieces that remain very personal but illuminate universal themes of alienation, creativity, and finding one’s place in the world. “Manifestation,” her pseudo adaption of Valerie Solanas’ notorious Scum Manifesto is real highlight; it’s genuinely clever and funny, with an unexpectedly moving final coda. The book concludes on a dark, existential bent, revealing Bell as an artist with great difficulty connecting with others on a day-to-day, moment-by-moment basis, and likely ambivalent about the need to even do so. There is a lot going on her work and you should read it.
May 21, 2015
This is a collection of work by Bell, different chapters about different aspects of her life. She's anti-social, doesn't understand herself or others well, is not particularly insightful about anything, and yet I found myself reading every page and liking it. Some of it more than others. Relationships seem painfully hard for her. Maybe it's ironically fascinating in that she doesn't really get along with people and shares herself with us, anyway. Reminds me of Adrian Tomine in some ways, in that he is an unlikeable character or creates them in his fictions, and yet I am somehow intrigued by him and these characters, anyway. There's honesty in that.
There are some interesting experimental memoir pieces like the one about Scum Manifesto where much of it seems to be made up. Or a kind of surreal exchange with her sidekick, Tony. He says, "When you're here it's like a ghost is passing through… You're only partially present." That's true for us as readers, too, and so why should we care about her when she is so unapproachable and off-putting and distant? Well, because she somehow still manages to be intriguing; we want to like her, and part of that is her artwork, which manages to be just cute enough and inviting, visually. "Your work is your consciousness," Tony tells her in that concluding piece, and maybe that is the attraction. She's honest about her alienation. I like it. Sometimes I really like it. I'll keep reading her.
There are some interesting experimental memoir pieces like the one about Scum Manifesto where much of it seems to be made up. Or a kind of surreal exchange with her sidekick, Tony. He says, "When you're here it's like a ghost is passing through… You're only partially present." That's true for us as readers, too, and so why should we care about her when she is so unapproachable and off-putting and distant? Well, because she somehow still manages to be intriguing; we want to like her, and part of that is her artwork, which manages to be just cute enough and inviting, visually. "Your work is your consciousness," Tony tells her in that concluding piece, and maybe that is the attraction. She's honest about her alienation. I like it. Sometimes I really like it. I'll keep reading her.
January 28, 2013
Thanks to my friend Karen for sending me this, I'll now have to spend a day reading the entire Lucky web comic that The Voyeurs is pulled from. This is like watching someone's daily life, with all the awkward and terrible moments sprinkled with the surprising touching interactions that happen to all of us.
By the way, the page about hugging, I felt like I knew a person who thought about hugging just like that!! I also saw myself in the forced-writing moments, for sure.
By the way, the page about hugging, I felt like I knew a person who thought about hugging just like that!! I also saw myself in the forced-writing moments, for sure.
July 15, 2024
Pointless. Abysmally self-involved. Adulthood-allergic. Annoying. Never interesting. Utterly un-funny. Wildly immature. So…. yeah. Not for me. But it’s also fair to wonder why stuff like this gets published.
March 23, 2025
Estupendo "diario" ilustrado de Gabrielle Bell, donde nos muestra su soledad, miedos y sus manias. Propone y se detiene escenas donde "no pasa nada" mientras esta rodeada de un mundo de estumulos que no son lo verdaderamente importante. El día a día te come.
January 17, 2016
Around the Year Reading Challenge Item #1: A Book You Meant to Read in 2015
(Having picked this up in November with the intent to read it and return it quickly, I figured it counted as a book I meant to read in 2015, as I had no intention of continuously renewing it, unread, until January -- but that is exactly what happened!)
I have to walk past the graphic novel rack every time that I go to the library after work to get my report sent before 6 pm, so I keep ending up with these "impulse check-outs" from that department even though graphic novels aren't my favorite genre, nor does my library have that great a collection!
Still, I am beginning to learn that, as much as I love "traditional" memoirs, I may love "graphic" memoirs even more. I love to read published diaries, and in many ways that is what "The Voyeurs" is -- although there is not a clear "throughline" or overarching "plot" tying the many vignettes together, each of them has its own rising and falling tensions, along with a sense of universalism balanced with individuality and plenty of vulnerability. I am not a cartoonist, but I related to many of Bell's struggles as an introvert who does most of her work within the confines of her own home, having also given into obsessive email checking, the need to totally "unplug" for a few days, resistance to leaving my home, and bouts of depression as she describes.
This is my first time reading Bell, and unfortunately, it's the only collection by her my library carries. Still, I will keep my eyes peeled and gladly read more if the opportunity arises.
(Having picked this up in November with the intent to read it and return it quickly, I figured it counted as a book I meant to read in 2015, as I had no intention of continuously renewing it, unread, until January -- but that is exactly what happened!)
I have to walk past the graphic novel rack every time that I go to the library after work to get my report sent before 6 pm, so I keep ending up with these "impulse check-outs" from that department even though graphic novels aren't my favorite genre, nor does my library have that great a collection!
Still, I am beginning to learn that, as much as I love "traditional" memoirs, I may love "graphic" memoirs even more. I love to read published diaries, and in many ways that is what "The Voyeurs" is -- although there is not a clear "throughline" or overarching "plot" tying the many vignettes together, each of them has its own rising and falling tensions, along with a sense of universalism balanced with individuality and plenty of vulnerability. I am not a cartoonist, but I related to many of Bell's struggles as an introvert who does most of her work within the confines of her own home, having also given into obsessive email checking, the need to totally "unplug" for a few days, resistance to leaving my home, and bouts of depression as she describes.
This is my first time reading Bell, and unfortunately, it's the only collection by her my library carries. Still, I will keep my eyes peeled and gladly read more if the opportunity arises.
August 15, 2012
The Voyeurs is difficult to describe. The title partly describes the life of the central character, supposedly based on Bell herself. If it is truly autobiographical, I'm amazed that Gabrielle Bell hasn't died of terminal moping, as she portrays herself as the most depressed and depressing person on the planet much of the time.
The story is intriguing because she travels to all sorts of exciting places, interacts with amazing and creative people, and somehow comes out of it making the reader think that she should get her meds checked.
Bell is a self-educated artist who is really good at design and visuals, but she's also very good at self-deprecating writing. She comes across as an agoraphobic depressive for much of the book, but somehow manages to make that interesting, as if we're voyeurs ourselves, watching this wreck of an artist. Whether we're watching her eat her way through a San Diego ComicCon or ignore the French countryside, it's actually riveting.
The story is intriguing because she travels to all sorts of exciting places, interacts with amazing and creative people, and somehow comes out of it making the reader think that she should get her meds checked.
Bell is a self-educated artist who is really good at design and visuals, but she's also very good at self-deprecating writing. She comes across as an agoraphobic depressive for much of the book, but somehow manages to make that interesting, as if we're voyeurs ourselves, watching this wreck of an artist. Whether we're watching her eat her way through a San Diego ComicCon or ignore the French countryside, it's actually riveting.
June 1, 2013
I liked this so much it makes me want to revisit Lucky, which I don't remember liking at all, but then again I read it in one sitting on a folding chair in a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan when I was feeling rejected and emo and not likely to appreciate much of anything.
November 30, 2012
It is hard to read a perfect thing like this without caving in to envy and despair, but whatever, sometimes you just have to suffer in your awful desperate jealous cave. SO GOOD.
January 3, 2013
Banal, narcissistic twaddle.
March 19, 2020
Otros cómics de Gabrielle Bell me han resultado más entretenidos e interesantes, pero este se me ha hecho largo y en ocasiones incluso tedioso. No sé si englobarlo dentro de ese ombliguismo del Primer Mundo del que los Estados Unidos ha proporcionado bastantes ejemplos. Me refiero a relatos perfectamente inanes de treintañeros que llevan vidas privilegiadas pero que intentan convencernos de su alienación, que se extienden sobre cada suceso trivial como si se tratara de algo extraordinario que todos debemos conocer y aplaudir como una muestra de su adorable perspicacia. No todo este Voyeurs es así, hacia el final tiene algunas viñetas que llegan a ser graciosas y la historia sobre Scum está bien. Por lo demás, este cómic es un contenedor de cinco litros de helado de nata, que tienes que comerte confiando en llegar en algún momento a un trocito de chocolate, una veta de caramelo o aunque sea una zona de helado de otro sabor, pero solo hay nata y más cucharadas de insípida nata. (Por supuesto, hay gente a quien le gusta el helado de nata. Para gustos los colores y los sabores de helado, ¿no?)
February 20, 2020
This is a collection of Bell's earlier work (I think I had most of it in mini-comics form, but it's nice to have it collected and in color!). I read her latest, "My Dog Ivy", recently, so I could see her growth as a writer from these earlier comics to now. Everything in The Voyeurs is worth reading and contains Bell's usual wit and keen observations, but she hadn't quite perfected her blending of straightforward diary comics with surreal departures from reality.
February 25, 2018
Me encanta el dibujo de Gabrielle Bell y los colores que utiliza. Puede parecer que la letra es un poco pequeña pero te acostumbras rápidamente. Gabrielle es una autora autobiográfica y nos cuenta las cosas que le van pasando, una sucesión de hechos y anécdotas con el transfodo pesismista que podemos encontra en Harvey Pekar o en Felipe Almendros. Reflexiones sobre la vida, sobre sus novios, etc. De donde viene y hacia donde va. La crisis post-treinta. Mejora hacia el final del libro.
October 15, 2013
Hooray! I finally found a Gabrielle Bell book I really like!
I don't know if it's the color, or the fact that I've heard of most of her boyfriends, or that she travels and name-drops, but I really enjoyed reading this volume. I laughed out loud several times and identified with her. I really dug the first few entries, where she goes to a party on a roof and goes to Roosevelt Island. Her trips to France and Japan, inside scoop on ComicCon, and struggles with adapting a feminist monsterwork were all fun to read too.
Most of the pieces (maybe all?) have been available in other works, but I feel like she exposes herself more here. She goes into her romantic entanglements, and I appreciated the structure of putting these in explicit chronological order.
Honestly, it may have been Aaron Cometbus' introduction that really made this gel for me. The whole (very short) intro is definitely worth reading, but the last line: "Gabrielle's way of leaving you guessing is her way of turning life into art." clicked for me. It's true, Bell's work isn't as tell-all as many of the graphic novel creators I love. But that's her art, really.
Definitely worth the read, even if you haven't enjoyed her work before.
I don't know if it's the color, or the fact that I've heard of most of her boyfriends, or that she travels and name-drops, but I really enjoyed reading this volume. I laughed out loud several times and identified with her. I really dug the first few entries, where she goes to a party on a roof and goes to Roosevelt Island. Her trips to France and Japan, inside scoop on ComicCon, and struggles with adapting a feminist monsterwork were all fun to read too.
Most of the pieces (maybe all?) have been available in other works, but I feel like she exposes herself more here. She goes into her romantic entanglements, and I appreciated the structure of putting these in explicit chronological order.
Honestly, it may have been Aaron Cometbus' introduction that really made this gel for me. The whole (very short) intro is definitely worth reading, but the last line: "Gabrielle's way of leaving you guessing is her way of turning life into art." clicked for me. It's true, Bell's work isn't as tell-all as many of the graphic novel creators I love. But that's her art, really.
Definitely worth the read, even if you haven't enjoyed her work before.
December 30, 2020
Two stars may be a bit harsh, but this really didn't do much for me. When Bell recounted meeting Jeffrey Brown and reported how much she loved his comics, a big part of the reason why clicked. Like Brown, though perhaps to a somewhat lesser extent, Bell focuses on the mundane. The pointlessness of the anecdotes is less aggressively the point than in Brown, and she draws better, but still, much of what she recounts seems almost to avoid addressing anything significant or interesting--at least to me. The comics themselves even occasionally comment on how little they reveal. Nor do I find her visual style particularly engaging. It's very much a functional approach, most of the time--rigid grid, minimal variation to point of view, competent but undistinguished rendering. There are echoes of various others in her style--Julie Doucet (there's even an essay collection on the two artists, unsurprisingly), Crumb, etc--but I doubt if I saw a Bell strip without knowing it was her, I would recognize it. I imagine hard-core fans of journal/autobio comics would like this, but it's not really my thing.
September 24, 2012
The Voyeurs is an obsessively-drawn, very personal graphic memoir, set up as a series of diary entries. Gabrielle Bell illustrates little snippets of her days, from the various comic-cons to a trip to France with boyfriend at the time Michel Gondry, to interactions with friends and family. She comes across as often depressed and neurotic, but the comic still feels light.
The first comic shows Gabrielle and her friends on the roof on a building watching some neighbors having sex. The rest of the book, the readers are the voyeurs, observing Gabrielle's life, warts and all. Entertaining.
The first comic shows Gabrielle and her friends on the roof on a building watching some neighbors having sex. The rest of the book, the readers are the voyeurs, observing Gabrielle's life, warts and all. Entertaining.
February 5, 2013
This is my first book (comic) by Gabrielle Bell and it won't be the last. Can't wait for my next Amazon package to arrive with "Lucky".
The book had no explicit theme but to show the real life, and oh, my...it was raw and funny and entertaining and...really depressing.
I absolutely loved it, I could identify with most of it, I loved the fights she had with her boyfriend (how real was that! Wow!) and her mood swings (me too!) and it was just so well drawn, so detailed, the conersations captured so, so very well!
Wow!
The book had no explicit theme but to show the real life, and oh, my...it was raw and funny and entertaining and...really depressing.
I absolutely loved it, I could identify with most of it, I loved the fights she had with her boyfriend (how real was that! Wow!) and her mood swings (me too!) and it was just so well drawn, so detailed, the conersations captured so, so very well!
Wow!
December 3, 2012
I really loved this - Gabrielle Bell does the kind of diary comics that I do, only better. I follow her blog but she's curated this collection, and it has lots more power as a book. She picked a theme - voyeurism - and kept revisiting it. The observations, the dialogue, is always super-sharp, and I related to her feeling of being a voyeur in one's own life - of always watching and not necessarily fully participating.
January 22, 2013
If it's going to be another graphic novel about every day life with nothing really going on, then the art should be beautiful and here it is merely adequate. Even though I'm introverted too, I found Gabrielle's habit of running away from people and peering out of peepholes kind of creepy and annoying.
November 24, 2012
This is my favorite Gabrielle Bell book so far. She has really hit her stride.
November 30, 2012
I could read 500 more pages of this. She makes drawing and writing look effortless. So good.
December 4, 2017
It is us, the readers, who are the voyeurs, peering in through this window into the mind of Bell in this graphic memoir version of her daily comic journal. Very angsty and conflicted, but well traveled. I enjoyed her weird point of view on things and liked the behind the scenes at comic-cons and bookstore events where she rubbed shoulders with other comic creators. Picked this up because another of hers was on a Ten Best list, but this is the only book by her at our local library. Would love to read more.
August 9, 2017
Soooo good. It's rare that I will laugh out loud while reading, but with this book I was constantly doing so. Bell calls attention to the ridiculous banalities that we all have to suffer through and also the redeeming qualities of people or a single moment. Lovely book!
September 2, 2019
In the comics collected in The Voyeurs, Gabrielle Bell takes the shocking aspects of everyday life and makes them seem, even more shockingly, mundane. She is able to find the absurd “gags” buried in her daily, anxiety-ridden experiences and turn them into one-to-six-page comic strips with a punchline, a lesson, an insight, and, occasionally, a meaning.
February 12, 2020
My first Gabrielle Bell! I loved it! A nearly perfect blend of moody, funny, thoughtful, perceptive, and honest whose sum is greater than its parts...and so, at times, completely without meaning to, it touches on the sublime.
February 29, 2020
I've always liked Gabrielle Bell's comics but after this I'm committing myself to reading everything she ever does. An insightful work about what life is like in the 21st century, with a healthy dash of surrealism, just like the 21st century.
June 22, 2018
Took a while to get caught up in this book but still an interesting “day by day” telling of life in the vein of Harvey Pekar in American Splendor.
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