Blackbird

by Pierre Maurel

Plus près de chez nous : les députés ont adopté la loi qui supprime le prix unique du livre, à laquelle se rattache l’interdiction de l’auto-édition. En effet, toutes les publications devront désormais passer entre les mains d’un éditeur certifié et agréé, afin de mieux contrôler les contenus à caractère litigieux et offrir aux auteurs des conditions optimales de distribution de leurs ouvrages.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Art, Comics

103 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Urbon Adamsson]

PT Interessei-me por esta obra principalmente pelo traço do autor.

Infelizmente, a história acabou por ser bem mais fraca do que esperava. Um grupo de miúdos que cria uma fanzine vê-se de repente proibido de distribuir a sua revista, depois de o governo impor uma proibição geral. À primeira vista, parece ser uma obra sobre liberdade de expressão e censura, mas honestamente, nunca senti isso durante a leitura. Nada na história nos faz sentir que as personagens estão realmente a lutar por esses valores. Parecem mais miúdos amuados a desafiar a vontade dos pais só porque sim.

O traço do autor é muito bom, mas a história não me conquistou. Falta-lhe sentido de urgência e de propósito. No final, acaba por parecer apenas uma sequência de acontecimentos sem grande alma, infelizmente.

--

EN I was mainly interested in this book because of the author's artwork.

Unfortunately, the story ended up being much weaker than I expected. A group of kids who create a fanzine suddenly find themselves banned from distributing their magazine after the government imposes a general ban. On the surface, it seems to be a story about freedom of expression and censorship, but honestly, I never really felt that while reading it. Nothing in the story makes us feel that the characters are actually fighting for those values. They come across more like sulky kids going against their parents' wishes just because they can.

The author's artwork is very good, but the story didn't win me over. It lacks any real sense of urgency or purpose. In the end, it feels like little more than a sequence of events without much soul, unfortunately.

[Roman Stadtler]

This a dystopia I haven't quite seen before, a near future where increasingly draconian laws against self publishing are strictly enforced, making simply 'zine creators hunted criminals, and smiling authors of cookie-cutter "safe" books the voices widely heard. Scary, and not far-fetched at, which makes for a good suspenseful read. In community college, I was on the regular school paper until it was cut or something upset us (geez, I don't even remember now! So much for youthful indignation) and we started our own underground paper (The Ochlocrat! "Mob rule." There's that youthful indignation), and later, after university, I contributed to a couple 'zines. I've also always been into comics, the efforts of the little guy/struggling artists, and freedom of the press/freedom to read, so this was sure to appeal to me.

It's a good story, turning serious before most of the characters even realize just how precarious their situation can get. Their social activism comes across as a very real response to the new law, and not a new trend or hip hobby; they start acting as they do because they must, to keep creating and having an authentic voice.

I don't usually comment on the physical aspects of a book, but this is a really nice-feeling book! Good size, slightly taller and wider than a DVD, perfect bound, with a cover that feels and looks like a high quality 'zine. That's a great touch, as this story first appeared over three years as a 'zine.

[Liz]

Graphic novel set in the future where self publishing is a crime. Almost too close for comfort.

[Rachel]

Self-publishing, censorship, protest. These three words pretty much sum up Maurel's brief graphic novel. In Blackbird's version of our world, self-publishing has just been outlawed by the government for the same ridiculous reasons you might expect...to control content, and because it harms the profit margins of the rich. Many people disagree with the law, but do so silently, and so it is enforced. One group of zine makers doesn't though, and in a series of radical acts where they protest it, they are dubbed a menace to society, and are hunted by government agents. All of this is captured in Maurel's casual black and white illustrations, and dialogue. In essence, Maurel is criticizing societies that paint their own citizens, specifically citizens who are trying to protect their rights, as criminals. The Blackbird gang did do some unwise and even unlawful things, but they didn't do anything to warrant the type of reaction they got, and certainly not enough to require that stricter enforcement procedures be put in place (by the end they aren't even allowed legal representation for two months). This is what happens when governments are not kept in check, whether by other systems or the people themselves; they will enact laws that are not beneficial to society, and will reinforces those laws at the smallest provocation. Even though Blackbird is open-ended, it does leave us with some measure of hope, and while some of the acts of its characters are not ones to emulate, its call to action should be picked up...resist.

[miha ha]

Sem prebral v upanju da bo več o skejtanju, je pa spet, kot v večini stripih kjer se skejtanje pojavi, skejtanje bolj stranska stvar. Pripeljejo se kam pa bežijo pred policijo na skejtu. Je sicer par uvodnih kadrov sem pa tja kjer dejansko delajo kak trik, ma je vse tako stisnjeno, kokr da se jim mudi it naprej na druge stvari...

... še vedno iščem.

[Maë]

Nul nul nul
Une dystopie sur l'interdiction de l'auto-édition c'était un bête de sujet ça aurait pu être très stylé mais les hommes ont décidé d'amener leurs misogynie partout même ici ?¿? et d'écrire affreusement mal
C'est superficiel
Histoire même pas achevée qui plus est
Dialogue nazes et clichés
Dessin moyens
Bref heureusement que y'a que deux lignes par pages

[Elsa]

Et si le prix unique du livre n'existait plus ?

[Ann]

A good dystopia story.

[Rafaela Oliveira]

Impressionnant ! Je connaissais pas cette loi qui interdit l'auto publication... Cette BD nous fait réfléchir.

[Juliette]

3.5 stars

[Davide]

Bello leggere in coda durante gli svuotatutto delle fumetterie

[Sara Ghotb]

Blackbird follows a group of skateboarding artists living in a world where self-publishing is outlawed. As they secretly create and distribute their zine, they grapple with the risks, consequences, and what it truly means to have a voice in a society that wants to silence them. While the premise is intriguing, the execution fell flat for me. The story lacked depth in its world-building, and the characters didn’t feel fully developed, making it hard to stay invested. It had potential, but it didn’t quite stick the landing.

[StrictlySequential ArtNarrative]

Conundrum International #7

[J.T.]

A skateboarding zine-making collaborative finds itself hunted by the government after a law criminalizing self-publishing is passed. A wonderfully drawn political thriller that doesn't seem that far fetched given the current climate.

I really love the drawing style. It's like a grittier Gabriel Bell, if that makes sense.

[Alec Longstreth]

I was so glad to see an English translation of this book!