Abelard

Abélard #1-2

by Renaud Dillies, Régis Hautière (Illustrator), Joe Johnson (Translator)

To lure pretty Epily, little chick Abelard sees only one solution: to catch the moon for her. So off he goes to America, the country that invented flying machines. Armed with his banjo and his proverb-sharing hat, he launches out on the country roads, where he meets Gaston, a grumpy bear with whom he shares his plan. As opposed to dreamer Abelard, Gaston has his feet firmly planted on the ground. This humorous comic, where the absurd becomes poetry, explores philosophical ideas through a simple, fanciful story.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Bande Dessinée, Adult, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Animals

128 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2011

Reviews

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book because of the cover. I thought it would be like other animal themed graphic novels but it isn't. The book is gorgeously illustrated and the story stars off very bucolic. A young chick named Abelard leads a comfortable life in a meadow.

He meets a beautiful girl and decides to go to America to get her a worthy gift. Starlight. Abelard is woefully naive . And in this story he pays for it. He meets a companion of sorts in the Bear Gaston who reluctantly shares the road with him to the docks.

Later through Gaston's intervention Abelard ends up on a ship heading towards America before his journey takes a dark turn. This was a sad story but had some uplifting moments. I don't think I would have picked it if I knew the themes beforehand but it was an interesting read.

[Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked it up from a library sale for $.50 and it had the audacity to hurt my feelings like it did…

It was what it was though - a bittersweet reminder to appreciate life and childlike wonderment.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a philosophical tale and like "Betty Blues", though anthropomorphic, NOT for children. Abilard has never left his marsh in his entire life but he becomes smitten with a visiting tourist and the ever optimist Abilard leaves to acquire a bouquet of stars in hopes of capturing her attention. With his banjo in hand he sets out and meets up with a pessimistic bear. The unlikely duo become reluctant (on the bear's part) traveling companions and what follows is a bittersweet journey of opposites; naivete vs worldliness, faith vs denial and what happens when reality hits both types of personalities. Finally it is a sad, but touching story of life and death, and life after death both for the dead and the living. Touching and bittersweet. Lovely, emotional art! I must now read Dillies first book translated into English. His work is brilliant.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely an adult graphic novel. Because of the art style, which is beautiful, I thought this would be geared towards children but it talks about race and philosophy and has some crude humour that I laughed out loud at. It was completely different form what I expected, but I did think it'd have been lovely if I was able to read this in French (which I could have, but they didn't have that edition at my library). I felt like the translation took a lot of the magical feeling away from it. I thought this would be a predictable, lovely little story but the ending of this honestly took me by surprise and made me tear up a little bit. Gorgeous story with pretty artwork.

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totes crying at how it ends. But so good. Art is good. Story line is well written. Very philosophical as well.

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so beautiful. And sad.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and heartbreaking.
I loved it so much I read it again right after I finished it.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, I cried ... That was so sweet .... Oh, I cried ....

[Piccolo Diavolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaaaa...predivan <3

[Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read both "Abelard" and "Alvin" in a row so I'm gonna review both of them at the same time.

These two comics were a lot of fun. They are easy to read and the art is great but at the same time, they give really a lot.

If I would try to classify these books I'll put them in the "kids comics for adults" selection and I'll try to explain. These books are for adults since they have alcohol, hookers, gambling, getting beaten for no reason and death after it, so they are not for kids but the way they communicate with readers could be on kids level, the art itself and some messages are very welcome for kids, although I would not let my kid read it because of mentioned elements.

So it really hits the inner kid in the adult while reading and you gonna love it.

The story is great and the characters too, it goes very smoothly and the art really helps a lot.

It was a lot of fun and it's one of those books you gonna read a couple of times for sure.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in French, and was really impressed. I had no idea what to expect when I picked up other than thinking the art was excellent. Great story (sorry, no spoilers) and very engaging. Quality comic, and it was good enough for me to want to look up other stuff by the author. Not a superhero comic, but good for people looking for something a little offbeat, but not too heavy.

[Polly Paupiette · Rating 5 out of 5]

J’ai acheté cet intégral après l’avoir vu aux rencontres de la bande dessinées d’Amiens, je trouvais les dessins mignons. La quatrième de couverture était intrigante
Bah c’était pas mignons ! Je pensais pas pleurer autant …
Mais quelle belle histoire ! C’est une Bande dessinées qui se garde au creux du cœur.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know when you might swallow one that has a razor blade in it. That pretty much sums up this comic: nihilistic and depressing. If you're hoping for something whimsically magical and uplifting, look elsewhere.

[Patchouline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deux très belles bd, aux dessins magnifiques et à l'histoire pleine de poésie... Qui m'a fait verser une larme, c'est assez rare pour le faire remarquer, moi qui ait beaucoup plus de mal à m'investir dans l'histoire d'une bd que dans un roman!

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance this might seem like a children's picture book. Make no mistake, it is not. This contains foul language, violence and uncouth characters. However, the illustrations are warm, gorgeous and even cute. The story, though gritty, contains heart and a philosophical guide to life.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, the ending really got me. This started off so sweet and charming, and the illustrations were so light and lovely. It got darker and more brooding as Abelard ventured forth. It was lovely.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book. It was so cute and so sad and just.
To who ever wrote this, please let me hug you.

[Ksenia]

Don't be fooled by the cute pictures here. This deals with a bunch of adult content BUT it is at times sweet. The ending is gut-wrenching though.

[Rebecca Plaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tender and sometime amusing tale of An innocent duck on a quest for his love. His hat holds aphorisms of advice like a fortune cookie. His friendships reluctant. French graphic novel.

[Sebastian Song · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful tale of finding oneself in the world. Some folks will find it sad but others uplifting. Beautifully illustrated, you can decide if the glass if half empty or half full.

[Vanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abelard
Fibra, 2017.

Wow... Abelard je najljepši strip koji sam pročitala u zadnje vrijeme!

Ovo je slatko-tužna priča o vrapčiću Abelardu, neiskusnom malcu, koji, kako bi osvojio srce lijepe Epilie, odlazi iz svoje močvare, jedinog mjesta koje zna, put daleke Amerike kako bi joj skinuo zvijezde s neba. Divna je ovo priča o čistom srcu koje ne vidi zlo, ali ga, nažalost, putem upoznaje.
Crtež je prekrasan, gotovo dječji, ��to paše uz priču i opis glavnog junaka. Jer Abelard i jest poput djeteta, on tek upoznaje svijet i svemu se čudi otvorena srca. Sa sobom nosi čaroban šešir iz kojeg svakodnevno izvlači mudre misli i pronalazi ljepotu u malim stvarima gdjegod se nalazio.

"-Kiša je zvjezdana prašina koja se pretvara u vodu kad prolazi kroz oblake. Dragi moj seljo, svaka kap kiše je dijete zvijezda. Upravo zato jezera i rijeke svjetlucaju, čak i noću.
-A suze? I one svjetlucaju. A one ne padaju s neba.
-To je zato što i mi dolazimo sa zvijezda. Naše suze čuvaju sjećanje na vrijeme kad smo živjeli gore. One su uspomena na svemir.
-Uskoro ću se vratiti među zvijezde. Zato idem u Ameriku."

Neću vam ispričati koga je sve putem sreo, što je od njih naučio i što mu se na kraju dogodilo, to vam ostavljam da saznate kad pročitate strip, samo ću završiti Abelardovom rečenicom:

"Lijepo nam je ovdje, zar ne?"

[Charan Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grim and serious- at times without hope. Beautiful art work that may fool you to think of it as children's book, which it definitely is not. Has its own humor points, but later half is rather dark.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graphic novel, about a little Candide-ish bird who sets out to travel to America because he hears that they have flying machines there. He wears a big hat that delivers wise sayings on little pieces of paper, and along the way acquires Gaston, a gruff bear, as a traveling companion while having innocence puncturing experiences like being beat up by a drunk. The satire is gentle, and I was sorry to see the plot ultimately take a sad turn because the two central characters have engaging personalities and rapport. Well drawn to keep the pace quick, but the figures have plenty of expression, and often events and interchanges are wordless or conveyed by glances and body language. Some of this will go over the heads of younger readers, so I recommend it for tweeners and up.

[Alyse Liebovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the cover and the cutesy-looking animal characters, I thought this was going to be a graphic novel aimed at children. Nope. It turns into a super dark tale about Abelard's quest to win over the beautiful and it turns out much-sought-after Epily. (Language and themes definitely not recommended for children.)

Abelard's hat magically produces daily notes with words of wisdom written on them and several I thought were worth contemplating and sharing:

"If you want to be appreciated, die or travel."
"If two men agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary."
"Write your troubles in the sand, carve your blessings into stone."
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

[Koen Claeys · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Dromen & Muizenissen' van Renaud Dillies veroverde 2 jaar geleden mijn hart. De toen kersverse uitgeverij Blloan gaf deze melancholisch parel over stilte en eenzaamheid uit. Achteraf dacht ik bij mezelf ik meer van hetzelfde wou en dat is er nu, maar dan in de overtreffende trap, met 'Abeltje'. Het is weerom een strip die, hoewel het eruit ziet als een lieflijk kinderverhaal, af en toe rake uppercuts uitdeelt. Het verhaal is gevuld met universele wijsheden die het hoofdpersonage uit zijn hoed tovert, hoewel hij die wijsheden niet altijd zelf goed snapt zoals hij ook niet goed snapt hoe de vaak keiharde wereld echt in mekaar zit...
'Abeltje' is van een tijdloze schoonheid, een boek die je koestert en hopelijk ook de volgende generaties zal weten te vinden.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

With an ending like that, I can't rate it any higher. Would have given it 1 star if I hadn't liked the artwork and some of the messages that came out of Abelard's hat earlier in the book. But I can't get on board with the final message, which seems to be that Aberlard should never have ventured out into the world, should have never sought knowledge outside his sphere and that innocence and kindness have no reward. And I really can't stand Abelard's end—despair and death. It's great that he rubbed off on Gaston—there was a glimmer of hope there. But it was still a meaningless and cruel end for Abelard, and that is something I can't forgive.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the library just from flipping through and taking a look at the art. Not at all what I was expecting, but the book is quite good. Philosophical and somewhat depressing but well told with beautiful art. Abelard himself is a fascinating character, from the beginning to the end, and Gaston is the perfect foil for him.

[Zéro Janvier · Rating 4 out of 5]

La première partie d’une bande dessinée très jolie, sur les aventures d’un poussin nommé Abelard qui quitte ses amis et le marais où il a toujours vécu par amour pour une demoiselle de passage pour quelques jours de vacances. Le propos est beaucoup plus intéressant et profond que la « mignonnerie » des personnages et des illustrations pourrait le laisser penser.

J’ai hâte de lire la suite !

[LECONTE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incroyable dessins, histoire, morale. Pour que ça devienne encore plus intéressant il faut trouver des raisonnances entre l'histoire et nous même.
En revanche, il est très dur par moment, le livre crache plusieurs brutalités. Bref incroyable livre, riche en valeurs humaines.