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Dear Julia : Part Three : A Story in Four Parts
Boyd Soloman believes he can fly and is eight floors above a San Francisco street intending to prove it. "Dear Julia", is the story of how he got there. Boyd's vivid memory of the past and shaky comprehension of the present give clues to the events that lead him to the his childhood, his parents, and a particular trip to Tucson, Arizona where everything began to go terribly awry. Brian Biggs tells the tale with deft wit and a sharp eye, leaving crumbs both verbal and visual along the reader's path to the climactic end.
Unknown Binding
First published February 22, 2000
41 people want to read
About the author
Brian Biggs
116 books32 followersBrian Biggs is the author and illustrator of more than a dozen children's books including the Everything Goes series, Tinyville Town, The Space Walk, and My Hero. He has also illustrated more than 60 book written by authors such as Jon Scieszka, Katherine Applegate, Cynthia Rylant, and Mac Barnett.
In addition, Brian created the graphic novels Frederick & Eloise, published by Fantagraphics in 1993, and Dear Julia, published by Top Shelf in 1999.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Brian lived in Texas, New York, France, and California before settling down in Philadelphia, where he lives with his wife and several imaginary friends.
In addition, Brian created the graphic novels Frederick & Eloise, published by Fantagraphics in 1993, and Dear Julia, published by Top Shelf in 1999.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Brian lived in Texas, New York, France, and California before settling down in Philadelphia, where he lives with his wife and several imaginary friends.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 5, 2022
A strange yet engrossing GN: chronicles the descent into madness of Boyd Soloman, a man fixated on the delusion that he can fly. Reminded me of a modern retelling of the Icarus myth - very touching while also being very disturbing. Raises contemporary questions of how we treat the mentally ill in our society - a well crafted tale.
April 8, 2016
Told from the perspective of a man gradually descending into madness, Dear Julia does not feature the most straightforward of narratives: it is often difficult for the reader to draw a clear line between fantasy and reality, past and present. Yet Brian Biggs always provides just enough clues and reference points to retain the reader's curiosity, walking a fine line not many storytellers are able to walk. The result is a fascinatingly ambiguous story that resonates in the mind long after the book has been put back on the shelf.
Biggs is currently best known as a children's book illustrator, and it is easy to see why his stunningly designed and beautifully rendered pen and ink work is in demand. Still, here's hoping he will eventually create another graphic novel, as Dear Julia demonstrates a rare talent for original, complex, and absorbing storytelling.
Biggs is currently best known as a children's book illustrator, and it is easy to see why his stunningly designed and beautifully rendered pen and ink work is in demand. Still, here's hoping he will eventually create another graphic novel, as Dear Julia demonstrates a rare talent for original, complex, and absorbing storytelling.
August 29, 2018
This was good! It’s more visually driven than narratively, and he really spends a lot of time creating these dizzying, intricate panels that really absorb the eye into their center. The story is a bit of a mystery, a bit of a vertigo, effectively peculiar.
July 3, 2019
Suitably zany.
November 6, 2009
Brian Biggs is a new cartoonist to me, but I'll certainly be looking out for him in the future. There is a vulgarity to the linework and contrast throughout that leaves one ill at ease(think of a less photorealism influenced Charles Burns) without ever being explicit in even the vaguest way. More astonishingly, despite the general feeling of moroseness that permeates this novella, the story is not unhopeful, and that is some magic trick indeed.
June 10, 2015
#didnotgetit
March 22, 2019
Brian Biggs is known today mostly for his illustrations in kids’ books, in various series like “Everything Goes,” “Tinyville Town,” and “Frank Einstein.” He’s got a simple, direct, cartoony style that’s appealingly unfussy so I was surprised to come across this slim graphic novel from early in his career, a dreamy fable that’s meant for adults and features some truly lovely, highly-detailed art. “Dear Julia” is like discovering a secret hidden room in a house you’ve lived in for years.
“Dear Julia” tells the story of Boyd Soloman, a man of indeterminate age who’s obsessed with the idea of flight, possibly related in some way to a mysterious death he came across while on a desert vacation when he was a child. The comic blurs the line between past and present, giving the story a hazy, surreal quality; you can never be quite sure what’s real and what’s exaggerated for effect. “Dear Julia” never really lets you get your feet under you, which I guess is appropriate for a book that concerns flight. The thing that really elevates (pun intended) the book, however, is Biggs’ art. It’s eccentric and quirky without being precious and it enhances the dream-like atmosphere by leaps and bounds. Delicate feathers, bugged-out eyes, velvety hardwoods, etc. all come together to create a truly unique world. I’m not 100% sure what exactly was happening in the book but I could’ve spent much longer in its world.
Alongside the magical-realist works of Nate Powell and Caitlin Skaalrud, “Dear Julia” is the kind of comic that gets in your head and gently digs its tentacles into your mind. I really liked it. And it makes me even more certain that there’s a quiet mini-comics revolution happening in kid’s lit. Joining indie comics creators like Jeffrey Brown and his “Star Wars” YA books, and the plethora of outsider-y artists who contribute to “MAD” magazine, Brian Biggs is helping usher new fans into the world of comics. I hope some of his young readers pick up “Dear Julia” and have their minds blown as much as mine was.
“Dear Julia” tells the story of Boyd Soloman, a man of indeterminate age who’s obsessed with the idea of flight, possibly related in some way to a mysterious death he came across while on a desert vacation when he was a child. The comic blurs the line between past and present, giving the story a hazy, surreal quality; you can never be quite sure what’s real and what’s exaggerated for effect. “Dear Julia” never really lets you get your feet under you, which I guess is appropriate for a book that concerns flight. The thing that really elevates (pun intended) the book, however, is Biggs’ art. It’s eccentric and quirky without being precious and it enhances the dream-like atmosphere by leaps and bounds. Delicate feathers, bugged-out eyes, velvety hardwoods, etc. all come together to create a truly unique world. I’m not 100% sure what exactly was happening in the book but I could’ve spent much longer in its world.
Alongside the magical-realist works of Nate Powell and Caitlin Skaalrud, “Dear Julia” is the kind of comic that gets in your head and gently digs its tentacles into your mind. I really liked it. And it makes me even more certain that there’s a quiet mini-comics revolution happening in kid’s lit. Joining indie comics creators like Jeffrey Brown and his “Star Wars” YA books, and the plethora of outsider-y artists who contribute to “MAD” magazine, Brian Biggs is helping usher new fans into the world of comics. I hope some of his young readers pick up “Dear Julia” and have their minds blown as much as mine was.
February 23, 2020
An offbeat tale of a man who wants to fly under his own power. But before he finally takes the leap from his eighth-floor window, he writes a letter to his ex-girlfriend Julia trying to explain why. It is a perfect demonstration of a book being both simple and complex simultaneously. A true work of art. There is a lot of comparison between Briggs style and Edward Gorey's, with good reason, but Briggs is his own man here.
August 20, 2020
An offbeat tale of a man who wants to fly under his own power. But before he finally takes the leap from his eighth-floor window, he writes a letter to his ex-girlfriend Julia trying to explain why. It is a perfect demonstration of a book being both simple and complex simultaneously. A true work of art. There is a lot of comparison between Briggs style and Edward Gorey's, with good reason, but Briggs is his own man here.
December 31, 2018
A bit odd, this one. Graphic novel about a man who jumps out of his window with some sewn-together wings after some sort of struggle with mental illness, the dissolution of a marriage, and a visit from a creepy little dude.
March 4, 2020
I'm not sure I completely understood this story but regardless it was a cool story with an interesting concept. The art was cool and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
February 8, 2022
bizarre in that way that begs you to write an essay about it.
June 7, 2012
I am not sure why I wanted to read this. It was a little weird story about guys who make flying wings and risk death and maybe sometimes die? There was some element of mystery to that? The four panel page style with each panel drawn as its own work of art, it felt, left the book without a smooth flow that maybe would have helped me understand it. Alas! The dudes in this book looked cool with their bug eyes and lumpy faces, but I felt like, in the end, they didn't really end up doing too much.
March 16, 2008
Weird little ethereal story told in four-panel pages about a guy who finds an inexplicable dead body, becomes separated from his wife, desperately wants to fly, gets visited by a creepy little man, and jumps out the window of his apartment in an attempt at flight. Better than the above description would suggest.
August 29, 2008
Such a touching yet strange comic. Every character speaks in a different font. I ordered directly from the author/illustrator and got a hand-drawn doodle.
December 23, 2008
I love the art. Amazing drawings. Very weird story. I like the collage aspect of the photos.
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October 18, 2013Really gorgeous artwork, and a pleasant, mysterious story.
July 2, 2011
Delightfully quirky stylistics combined with a quiet and surreal story = home run. The only complaint I had was that I wanted more. Recommended.
February 6, 2012
How did I not discover this sooner? Odd and hypnotizing. The text is sparse, and does not overshare.
March 22, 2015
Wired .. Great illustrations ... Didn't really get the story but I guess that's the point
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews