Botanica Drama

by Thom

Après s’être levé tous les jours depuis des milliards d’années, le Soleil – qui a pris une bonne cuite la veille – en a finalement marre et décide de rester couché. La Terre se retrouve alors plongée dans la noirceur… Les embûches seront nombreuses pour la fleur Philomène, la Mort et tous les autres. Ils devront faire face à un rude hiver, mais aussi à de terrifiantes créatures venues de l’ombre. Que faudra-t-il faire pour que le Soleil brille de nouveau?

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Fantasy, France

239 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2023

Reviews

[Litwithlove]

First of all, I highly recommend that you don't bother reading the synopsis and just go into this one as blind as possible. The story unfolds very clearly as you go along. I wasn't expecting to cry *at all* during any point of this book about little guys, but I sure did. I read it alongside my youngest child and she had a lot of interesting questions about the world that we were experiencing together, and speculating on answers was so pleasant. This book is fantastic and I am so glad that it was translated to English so that I could enjoy it.

[Charles-Étienne Groleau]

JE VEUX LIRE LES DEUX AUTRES

[Christine Picard]

Life and death. And everything (and everyone) in between. LOVED it ♥️

[Matt Graupman]

A very cutesy - though sneakily profound - near-silent folk comic about a village of animals that must contend with their world being plunged into darkness when the Sun passes out after a bender and fails to rise. Neat premise, right? If you think the image of Death using a mini-elliptical is hilarious, “Botanica Drama” is the graphic novel for you. I love comics that appear simple but are actually really complex and creator Thom does just that with this fast-paced, imaginative book. This is one of those comics that I’ll probably end up buying - I read a library copy - just because I know I’ll return to it in the future, to savor its little details over and over again.

[Christine]

Excellent. C'était de toute beauté.
Je vais le relire tout de suite.

[Maurane]

Wow wow wow. Tout aimé. Mention spéciale à la tuque du CH ❤️

[Javier RC]

Maravilloso 🔝 🔝

[Cat]

I was surprised to see this is almost completely a textless BD making it an extremely fast read (around 230 pages in 30 minutes). The story was interesting and I think spoke to the consequences of us not taking care of the environment, and how by working together we can make change. The use of colour is meaningful, and I appreciated the themes in this BD. I think textlessness is a bold choice and the author does a good job at executing it, but I do wonder if I would’ve felt a deeper connection with the story had there been words/dialogue. Like it really just went by so quickly

[Ruby]

Once again, Thom completely makes me fall in love with this world and these characters, while simultaneously ripping my heart to shreds.

After the sun parties a little too hard in outer space, it passes out and doesn't rise the following day, or the one after that, or the one after that. Without the sun, the world is deeply affected, scary creatures start invading the town, food is scarce and the townspeople aren't sure what to do. Residents are dying.

I won't give any more spoilers but I absolutely bawled near the end. If you've read it, ya'll know 😭😭

How Thom can make such whimsical characters and contrast it with such dire issues, 5 STARS ALL AROUND. A wonderful tribute to life, death and friendships.

Merci Thomas ❤️🫶

[auré]

Absolument brillant comme ouvrage

[Brittany B.]

Brb gonna go cry a bit

[Héléna Richard]

Un bijou ! Une BD sans texte, drôle et touchante. C’est l’histoire d’un village qui tente de réveiller le soleil qui ne s’est pas levé car il est lendemain de veille.

[Kimberly]

3.5 stars

Quick and cute!

[Antoine R]

Very nice and silent comic book about life and death. Thom's drawings and story are very emotional without getting too cheesy and childish.

[Sol]

Plz la mort a un scooter 😭

[Ameema S.]

I was utterly charmed by this fantastical story about community, friendship, care, and duty. For a story with NO dialogue, I was utterly entranced by the cast of characters, and the delightful illustrations. It reminded me of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, or an episode of a show - absolutely cinematic. Loved it, and hope to read more from the author.

The publisher provided me with a review copy of this book, in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Jacinthe Crête]

BD sans texte pour adultes? C'est oui.

[Emma]

Vraiment fan du dessin et l’histoire était très cool !

[Philippe Gingras]

Sans mots.

[Yann]

J’adore

[Laurie Pelletier]

Léger et divertissant 👌

[Virginie Rainville]

Bin cute 🌸💀🌞

[Ari]

Botanica Drama est une petite aventure rigolote, simpliste et surtout, magique. C'est comme embarquer sur une petit nuage magique. Je pourrais compararer un peu comme un studio gibli du temps des fête, les personnes sont mignons et attachants, le style artistique est adorable ♡

[Pascal Scallon-Chouinard]

C’est vraiment un album intéressant, avec une histoire touchante et des personnages attachants. Le fait qu’il n’y ait pas de texte amène à porter une plus grande attention aux images et à tous les petits détails cachés (la tuque du CH par exemple!), et à interpréter à sa façon le récit.

[Pamela]

Actual rating : 4.5

[Elaine Will]

Fantastic book, I loved everything about it, it has such a great expressive art style and "cute but dark" aesthetic. Great use of black ink as well. It almost feels like a lost European arthouse animated film from the late 70s that was never made. Highly recommended!

[Sharlin]

PENDING REVIEW
4.75 - Exceptional

[Véronic Fortin]

Cute !

[Aly]

3.75

C'est un libraire qui m'a parlé de cette bd et bien que l'idée de départ, du soleil qui un jour ne se lève plus, sonnait intéressante, je n'étais pas certaine que ça allait me plaire, quand on m'a dit qu'il n'y avait aucun dialogue. Mais c'est peut-être pour ça finalement que j'ai voulu tenter l'expérience.

C'était sympathique et comique et ça se savoure d'une traite.

[Adriana]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this graphic novel, I just loved the title and cover. I was in for a treat! There is no dialogue, which was a surprise, but it really didn't need any. It was able to convey an emotional story with it's beautiful (and adorable) artwork. This is definitely an artist I will be following from now on!