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Moving Pictures
Top Shelf is proud to welcome Kathryn & Stuart Immonen (Ultimate Spider-Man, Nextwave, Patsy Hellcat, Never as Bad as You Think) to the Top Shelf family with this thrilling, intimate tale of love, war, and art.
Moving Pictures is the story of the awkward and dangerous relationship between curator Ila Gardner and officer Rolf Hauptmann, as they are forced by circumstances to play out their private lives in a public power struggle. The narrative unfolds along two timelines which collide with the revelation of a terrible secret, an enigmatic decision that not many would make, and the realization that sometimes the only choice left is the refusal to choose.
In a recent interview at comicbookresources.com, Kathryn explained that "The history is just a backdrop to tell a messed-up love story that's about how we assign value to things and people, how we behave when not everyone is playing by the same rules" and "in the end, maybe it's all about the fundamentally perverse nature of desire, about not being to help wanting what you want even if you don't know why. And how, from the outside, we really don't know anything about someone else's intimacies."
Moving Pictures is the story of the awkward and dangerous relationship between curator Ila Gardner and officer Rolf Hauptmann, as they are forced by circumstances to play out their private lives in a public power struggle. The narrative unfolds along two timelines which collide with the revelation of a terrible secret, an enigmatic decision that not many would make, and the realization that sometimes the only choice left is the refusal to choose.
In a recent interview at comicbookresources.com, Kathryn explained that "The history is just a backdrop to tell a messed-up love story that's about how we assign value to things and people, how we behave when not everyone is playing by the same rules" and "in the end, maybe it's all about the fundamentally perverse nature of desire, about not being to help wanting what you want even if you don't know why. And how, from the outside, we really don't know anything about someone else's intimacies."
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2010
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393 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
January 27, 2018
The Nazis looted a buncha art from France during the Occupation. Museum Curator Ila, along with others, hides as many pieces as she can – “Moving Pitchers” around, oooohhh, I gets the title now!! – before she’s caught and interrogated by her German Nazi boyfriend - or someone anyway. And then the book’s over… ?
I didn’t rate Kathryn Immonen as even a halfway-decent writer before and she hasn’t changed my mind with her badly-written comic drawn by her hubby Stuart, Moving Pictures. This book is poo.
I love history and know quite a bit about WW2 but if you’re someone who doesn’t you might be lost with this one as Immonen provides zero context to her dull story. Simple things like captions indicating time and place are missing which would’ve helped, particularly as the narrative confusingly jumps around in time unnecessarily and ineffectually. WW2 and the Nazis aren’t mentioned, we have to assume Ila is French and her boyfriend is a Gestapo officer or one of the French collaborators – but what’s gained from such pretentious obfuscation? Absolutely nothing.
In fact, combine the incompetent storytelling with the black and white panels full of moody French people smoking and wittering on melodramatically about relationships against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower and the effect is like watching a clichéd avant-garde film!
I couldn’t tell you what the story was, let alone its point. There’s some lady who looks like Ila that Ila is seeing off at the train station and they’ve swapped identities – don’t know why! I get that Ila is being interrogated to find out the location of valuable artwork but then she’s just allowed to walk free – don’t know why either! The relationship with her interrogator was at best forced and completely unconvincing and none of the characters were at all compelling.
Stuart Immonen’s art is deliberately less sophisticated than his more mainstream output for seemingly no other reason than because this is an indie comic. But he’s made his style too simplistic in adopting this contrived approach – it’s far too difficult to tell the characters apart! One male character looks like the boyfriend but I think they’re actually two separate characters? The jumps between past, present and future don’t help as characters age and look slightly different but still quite similar. It’s so pointlessly frustrating.
Still, the level of cartooning on a technical level is fairly competent and Stuart Immonen occasionally dazzles with some artistic flourishes. Overall though I was wholly unimpressed with Moving Pictures. I like historical stories but Kathryn Immonen is too much of a garbage writer to make even WW2 remotely exciting! A boring, uninformative and forgettable comic, Moving Pictures is like a less interesting Monuments Men – and the Monuments Men wasn’t the least bit interesting!
January 15, 2017
Stark black and white story with a noir feel by the Immonens, who typically work in superhero comics. They typically do all this bombastic splashy stuff, and then this. This, Moving Pictures, is elliptical, restrained, all angles and negative space and so much left unsaid. It’s the story of the dangerous relationship between Canadian curator Ila Gardner and officer Rolf Hauptmann, member of Germany's Military Art Commission. It’s the time of the French Resistance, and the art world is scrambling to catalogue and hide all the artworks. And then they fall into a relationship together. And there are other relationships they are or have been in that are referred to.
The war isn't much referred to, as much of the story happens between these two people in museum basements or apartment. Closed settings. You sometimes see an overturned car, some effect of the war. But mostly two people talking, and some images of the art that matters to them both.
The question in the book is about values, what we value in a world gone mad. A world we live in now, where art museums and public sculptures preserved for centuries are being destroyed. A tenuous hold on what matters. But the story of art is a kind of background, too, for the story of relationships, and complicated decisions that need to be made. These decisions are made in the end that are surprising, but prepared for throughout, if you read closely. Has a Casablanca vibe in dialogue and tone. I had to read it through a couple times to make sure I knew what was going on, but even then, it leaves uncertain space for you to dwell in. I didn’t like it, I liked it, I liked it a lot, I wasn’t sure I loved it, because it takes some work to figure out what is going on.
The war isn't much referred to, as much of the story happens between these two people in museum basements or apartment. Closed settings. You sometimes see an overturned car, some effect of the war. But mostly two people talking, and some images of the art that matters to them both.
The question in the book is about values, what we value in a world gone mad. A world we live in now, where art museums and public sculptures preserved for centuries are being destroyed. A tenuous hold on what matters. But the story of art is a kind of background, too, for the story of relationships, and complicated decisions that need to be made. These decisions are made in the end that are surprising, but prepared for throughout, if you read closely. Has a Casablanca vibe in dialogue and tone. I had to read it through a couple times to make sure I knew what was going on, but even then, it leaves uncertain space for you to dwell in. I didn’t like it, I liked it, I liked it a lot, I wasn’t sure I loved it, because it takes some work to figure out what is going on.
November 12, 2011
Until I read Daytripper a day later, Moving Pictures was almost certainly the best comic I'd read in the last year. The Immonens share a kind of creative chemistry that generates some of the most worthwhile comics to be produced (see: Never As Bad As You Think. Granted, for the most part, comics have only been producing worthwhile works in the last twenty years, so the competition is a bit limp compared to other media.
That said, Moving Pictures is a fantastic little book. A novella of sorts, exploring the interrogation of Ila Gardner, a young Canadian curator of third-rate art in German-occupied Paris, by Rolf Hauptmann, a member of Germany's Military Art Commission. The Commission is tasked to retrieve famous works from the French who have squirreled the works away to prevent the theft (and possible destruction) of their art. While the single interrogation comprises the backbone of the story, the Immonen's add depth and explanation via multiple brief flashbacks.
The story is well-told and exhibits its creators' mastery over the medium. Stuart Immonen's art is sparse and minimalist throughout. His characterization is wonderful and his pitch-perfect use of the spare line lends his characters credibility. The interrogation is draped in shadow, making its two players shine brightly against the darkness.
Kathryn's script crackles with irreverent wit such that the book in many ways feels like a well-conceived adaptation of a theatrical play. The plotting is graceful, offering revelations at good intervals, neither leaning too heavily on flashback nor hashing out too much exposition in the interrogation dialogue. And beautifully, the flashbacks do not unfold chronologically.
Even as it draws to a close, Moving Pictures leaves plenty to think about and much to discuss.
[review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]
That said, Moving Pictures is a fantastic little book. A novella of sorts, exploring the interrogation of Ila Gardner, a young Canadian curator of third-rate art in German-occupied Paris, by Rolf Hauptmann, a member of Germany's Military Art Commission. The Commission is tasked to retrieve famous works from the French who have squirreled the works away to prevent the theft (and possible destruction) of their art. While the single interrogation comprises the backbone of the story, the Immonen's add depth and explanation via multiple brief flashbacks.
The story is well-told and exhibits its creators' mastery over the medium. Stuart Immonen's art is sparse and minimalist throughout. His characterization is wonderful and his pitch-perfect use of the spare line lends his characters credibility. The interrogation is draped in shadow, making its two players shine brightly against the darkness.
Kathryn's script crackles with irreverent wit such that the book in many ways feels like a well-conceived adaptation of a theatrical play. The plotting is graceful, offering revelations at good intervals, neither leaning too heavily on flashback nor hashing out too much exposition in the interrogation dialogue. And beautifully, the flashbacks do not unfold chronologically.
Even as it draws to a close, Moving Pictures leaves plenty to think about and much to discuss.
[review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]
September 14, 2011
I enjoyed this story of the clash of two people, each trying to 'save' art for his/her own side, during the madness of the German occupation of France during WWII. The questions of what is important, and why, are just a few of the dilemmas raised. The story is a reminder of how many 'small' individual stories existed within the greater scope of that time period. I found the ending to be both powerful and poignant.
September 14, 2010
Beautifully produced. Historical fiction about caretakers of art in Paris during World War II. Black and white art, with distinctly different art styles for the characters and the art pieces.
But I wanted more. I wanted more gooshy detail, more background, more explicit explaining about who these people were, what they were actually doing with the art. This is a fascinating topic, and a really interesting period of history and I want this story told, but I feel like the manner of this piece is just a bit too obscured to really connect with many people.
Beautiful piece of art, though.
But I wanted more. I wanted more gooshy detail, more background, more explicit explaining about who these people were, what they were actually doing with the art. This is a fascinating topic, and a really interesting period of history and I want this story told, but I feel like the manner of this piece is just a bit too obscured to really connect with many people.
Beautiful piece of art, though.
December 23, 2011
Summary: "Moving Pictures is the story of the awkward and dangerous relationship between curator Ila Gardner and officer Rolf Hauptmann...set in World War II while the Nazis were pillaging much of Europe's great art collections."
Thematically, this is a work about art that has gone missing. It is also a work about people who have gone missing. And it is a work about a lot of things that are left unsaid between the story's two main players. I cannot think of a better use of all the heavy, negative space in Immonen's artwork. It's amazing. The artwork is sharp and angular - and at the same time sparse and controlled - just like the dialogue!
This work was really well done! What an amazing team Kathryn & Stuart Immonen are. This was a mature, literary, striking book.
It lost a star for a rather abrupt ending. And the fact that it is difficult to tell the characters apart (which left many readers confused...)
December 18, 2014
Beautiful, moving, and somewhat quiet for a World War II book. There's much that's implied, without being stated outright. The voice of the main character, Ila, is sharp, even acerbic, sometimes bitter and sometimes resigned. The art is wonderful, with simple lines and strong shadows. A very brief but powerful book.
February 28, 2012
The artwork, on the whole, was atmospheric but I felt that this book was trying too hard to be "literary" and it failed. The story was too bland to be literary and just too opaque to be interesting. All in all it was pictorial but hardly moving.
August 14, 2012
It's weird, I really enjoyed reading this book--it was a delight from panel to panel--but after I'd finished I really couldn't decide how I felt about it. I've never read a graphic novel that I'll have to read again because, in the last few pages, my perspective on the story had changed so much. I knew the concept of cataloging and hiding a country's historical art treasures during WWII was only the setting, but I found that concept so engaging that I didn't look for the real story. And you really do have to look for it. It's right in front of your eyes, but you're so busy considering present events and the interwoven back-story that you barely notice it. Or at least, I barely did. I loved that.
The art is lovely. When I first glanced inside I found the very simple, almost bald iconic faces and figures unappealing to my tastes, but when actually beginning to read I soon found them terribly evocative, even romantic. Having nuanced and realistic characters and dialogue probably helped that a lot. The environments are as clean and basic as the figures and the flat black shadows are gorgeous. You just get the feeling that, because there are so few lines, each and every one is especially deliberate and has distinct purpose. Whether the panel contains a full scene with figures and background, a basic object, or simply darkness, they are all equally meaningful.
Maybe that sounds a little abstruse, but in the end, reading it was like watching a well-directed movie and I was so much more absorbed in the visuals than I thought I would be. I'm sure people around me got tired of trying to speak to me while I was reading this. I couldn't put it down once I'd started.
The art is lovely. When I first glanced inside I found the very simple, almost bald iconic faces and figures unappealing to my tastes, but when actually beginning to read I soon found them terribly evocative, even romantic. Having nuanced and realistic characters and dialogue probably helped that a lot. The environments are as clean and basic as the figures and the flat black shadows are gorgeous. You just get the feeling that, because there are so few lines, each and every one is especially deliberate and has distinct purpose. Whether the panel contains a full scene with figures and background, a basic object, or simply darkness, they are all equally meaningful.
Maybe that sounds a little abstruse, but in the end, reading it was like watching a well-directed movie and I was so much more absorbed in the visuals than I thought I would be. I'm sure people around me got tired of trying to speak to me while I was reading this. I couldn't put it down once I'd started.
March 12, 2011
Some of the art was good (mostly the representations of real art)... but basically, if you're gonna have a noir story about the fate of famous art in World War II, make it a exploration of the ethical questions or a cheesy mystery, not both. Or if you are going to do that, be Jason. This book took itself too seriously, and it wasn't fun. Oh well.
February 15, 2015
Nicely done, restrained story and stark visuals. I wish it had been a bit longer, and also that there had been some color panels in the style of the cover.
June 22, 2017
Stylish but boring.
May 15, 2018
Read for the situation of the protagonists during the time the book is set in and for the wonderful, nothing less than stunning illustrations that use shadows in a way I have never experienced before in a graphic novel.
Read
June 11, 2015For the most part, the Immonen work* I've read has been at the more openly outlandish end of Marvel; from Nextwave to Patsy Walker's solo series, they tend to revel in colourful craziness. This creator-owned graphic novel could hardly be more different. It's a spare, slow story of occupied France, in which whole monochrome pages pass with one woman sitting and one man standing in a single dark room. The people are expressively cartooned, a few lines all they need to come alive; the backgrounds are solid white, stood out against oh so much black. And then, every so often, the pages soar into photorealist grandeur. Because the engine of this story is Paris' art, with the locals and their allies keen to keep it safe and the invaders just as keen to take their pick. And for the importance of that to be clear, you need to show the degree to which the paintings transcend the reality in which they sit. It's an ingenious stylistic choice, and part of what raises this above the mere cat-and-mouse tale it could otherwise have become. Though it also helps that the Immonens know far better than to assume dichotomies of resistance and collaboration are as simple as people would like them to be.
*Her writing, him drawing; whether that division of labour holds here too is left unclear, presumably a deliberate choice on their part.
*Her writing, him drawing; whether that division of labour holds here too is left unclear, presumably a deliberate choice on their part.
February 26, 2011
Set during WWII, the story focuses on a woman named Ila Gardner who works as a curator for the Louvre Museum in Paris. She's working to catalog, save and hide as much of the Louvre's collection as possible before the city is taken over by the Nazis. There are two basic timelines to this story. The earlier tale shows Ila's early work to save the collection as she meets and enters into a relationship with the a German officer named Rolf. In the later tale Rolf's duties have forced him to arrest Ila and question her activities against the Nazi regime. The book bounces back and forth between the two, highlighting and exploring their relationship as it goes.
There are a lot of strong character moments here, but I found the flipping back and forth between the two stories a bit confusing. Some simple tags or other, easier to spot clues for when the timelines shifted would have made this a lot clearer and a signigantly stronger work. By the time I got my footing, the book was pretty much over. That said, Stuart's art is powerful and really evocative of the time. Very ambitious overall but not wholly successful.
There are a lot of strong character moments here, but I found the flipping back and forth between the two stories a bit confusing. Some simple tags or other, easier to spot clues for when the timelines shifted would have made this a lot clearer and a signigantly stronger work. By the time I got my footing, the book was pretty much over. That said, Stuart's art is powerful and really evocative of the time. Very ambitious overall but not wholly successful.
July 5, 2010
So I read this and I enjoyed it but I was quite sure at the end that I'd missed something very significant. So I read it again (it's short) and that didn't help. So I had my husband read it and he was equally perplexed. So then I read a handful of reviews, relying in particular on Douglas Wolk. And my conclusion is that I didn't miss anything. The book simply disregards formula and has a misleading official description hinting at cliches that don't exist. So then I felt much better about both it and myself.
I bought this because I buy most things from the Immonens. And everything that isn't Marvel. It was a given that I'd love the art. The writing is less certain but it was gorgeous as well. Immonen's writing seems to always jump around a lot, so it works better (for me) in stories where the scenes keep jumping as well. The alternative is irritatingly unfocused, hyperactive characters. But everyone was very deliberate here. With some very thought-provoking perspectives. This is a good discussion book. Once you accept where the action is.
I bought this because I buy most things from the Immonens. And everything that isn't Marvel. It was a given that I'd love the art. The writing is less certain but it was gorgeous as well. Immonen's writing seems to always jump around a lot, so it works better (for me) in stories where the scenes keep jumping as well. The alternative is irritatingly unfocused, hyperactive characters. But everyone was very deliberate here. With some very thought-provoking perspectives. This is a good discussion book. Once you accept where the action is.
August 10, 2012
I liked the starkness of the text, and the concept of the two protagonists, who were also antagonists, yet also in a relationship. I thought the drawing was great. One slight criticism: The pages for some reason seemed to stick together - maybe due to humidity? Or a poor quality of paper? The cover itself was well-done - heavy, textured paper. I thought the story was somewhat cryptic - was the crux of the story really about Ila and Marc or Ila and Hauptmann or Ila and her room-mate? And Ila's choice to stay - was the choice "dedication" to her curatorial life work, or inertia and surrender to the foolishness or hopelessness of trying to save the pictures or even keep track of their whereabouts? This book is thought-provoking but not in the sense that a standard, linear text can be thought-provoking. It's more akin to a puzzle or haiku that you toy with, and perhaps eventually "solve".
August 30, 2011
This is a graphic novel by a Husband and Wife team. Kathryn Immonen writing and Stuart as the artist. Very simplistic art, very straight forward when it comes to the words said by a character and why that matters is make clear as the book progresses.
Without giving anything important away, the book is set in about early to late 1940, maybe for late 1940 as he book takes places after Germany's invasion of France. The main characters are a Canadian curator working in France who is cataloging and then trying to hide some art from the Nazis, and a Nazi Officer who is trying to track down "missing" art. Most of the story takes places in an interrogation room in the present and jumps back and forth between past and present.
Without giving anything important away, the book is set in about early to late 1940, maybe for late 1940 as he book takes places after Germany's invasion of France. The main characters are a Canadian curator working in France who is cataloging and then trying to hide some art from the Nazis, and a Nazi Officer who is trying to track down "missing" art. Most of the story takes places in an interrogation room in the present and jumps back and forth between past and present.
August 26, 2010
A melancholy, elegant and mysterious/cryptic story. I'd have to read it a few times to really "get" the whole story but even one read is enough to drink in some very interesting, layered characters and storyline. Well worth my time, and will likely haunt my thoughts for longer than most of graphic novels. Thanks Immomens!
March 21, 2020
It was ok. Mostly because of the artwork which I liked, cuz I'm a sucker for B&W artwork but not that much to go over 2 stars.
Story-wise, it was a bit confusing, a bit empty, and a bit meh.. nothing that got me interested in reading it with much joy.
And whatever likeness there was it was all lost halfway through..
I love reading about a story that's historical and whatnot, that has to do with some woman that's trying to move art and/or get back stuff that the Nazis stole from France that France stole from Greece (even though there was no mention of that, and there were much attention to its art pieces), although to be fair, there weren't much info or details or names or when and wheres etc. But to always be like France this and France that, and no mention of the already stolen pieces of art?!
But when you mention stuff that gets drawn to a whole page (like Venus de Milo) and your main concern is how they stole that and how to get it back for example, and move it over to the other country, well, you might wanna mention what that is and where's from and hey, they're stealing the stolen goods that were already stolen.
Other than that, that that's a personal quirk I guess, cuz I don't want to force my ideas on anyone, my main problem was mostly that it was a read about the lives of random people for no reason, interactions that have little to no meaning to the confusing main story that I half the time didn't get.
Maybe I'm stupid, maybe it wasn't depicting things the way it was supposed to. The scene the dialogue the whatever. No places, not even what year it was at the beginning of the story. Nothing. The main thing here is I lost interest halfway through the thing and I gave up, and just skimmed the rest.
Story-wise, it was a bit confusing, a bit empty, and a bit meh.. nothing that got me interested in reading it with much joy.
And whatever likeness there was it was all lost halfway through..
I love reading about a story that's historical and whatnot, that has to do with some woman that's trying to move art and/or get back stuff that the Nazis stole from France that France stole from Greece (even though there was no mention of that, and there were much attention to its art pieces), although to be fair, there weren't much info or details or names or when and wheres etc. But to always be like France this and France that, and no mention of the already stolen pieces of art?!
But when you mention stuff that gets drawn to a whole page (like Venus de Milo) and your main concern is how they stole that and how to get it back for example, and move it over to the other country, well, you might wanna mention what that is and where's from and hey, they're stealing the stolen goods that were already stolen.
Other than that, that that's a personal quirk I guess, cuz I don't want to force my ideas on anyone, my main problem was mostly that it was a read about the lives of random people for no reason, interactions that have little to no meaning to the confusing main story that I half the time didn't get.
Maybe I'm stupid, maybe it wasn't depicting things the way it was supposed to. The scene the dialogue the whatever. No places, not even what year it was at the beginning of the story. Nothing. The main thing here is I lost interest halfway through the thing and I gave up, and just skimmed the rest.
July 22, 2020
For a title that's a play on two different active concepts, there's a lot of stillness here.
This is a quiet, introspective story about a Canadian woman who stayed in France to help smuggle paintings out of the country, even while under the eye of her German lover. At least I think that's what the plot was; very little is ever directly stated. Instead, everything is left to read between the lines, through genuine-seeming conversations that ebb and flow with real rhythms to their movement. The art is black and white, lots of solid panels and pools, with the occasional lithograph of a classic work interspersed, helping to highlight the interrogation between Ila and Hauptmann, or her cataloging efforts with Mark and others. There are no action sequences; the biggest action moment is a breaking glass, but that doesn't diminish the underlying tension around Ila's role and position, or the ennui that pervades every person's decisions and actions.
I stumbled on this in my back catalog of books; I don't know that I could recommend someone go out looking for it, unless they were fascinated with the keepers of art in war, which this does provide an intriguing look into.
This is a quiet, introspective story about a Canadian woman who stayed in France to help smuggle paintings out of the country, even while under the eye of her German lover. At least I think that's what the plot was; very little is ever directly stated. Instead, everything is left to read between the lines, through genuine-seeming conversations that ebb and flow with real rhythms to their movement. The art is black and white, lots of solid panels and pools, with the occasional lithograph of a classic work interspersed, helping to highlight the interrogation between Ila and Hauptmann, or her cataloging efforts with Mark and others. There are no action sequences; the biggest action moment is a breaking glass, but that doesn't diminish the underlying tension around Ila's role and position, or the ennui that pervades every person's decisions and actions.
I stumbled on this in my back catalog of books; I don't know that I could recommend someone go out looking for it, unless they were fascinated with the keepers of art in war, which this does provide an intriguing look into.
June 2, 2011
The best part of this graphic novel is the artists representation of major paintings. They are really well done.
The story, however, was too cryptic for me and I had to read it twice to figure out that Marc and Rolph weren't the same person. (They look very similar), and I'm still not sure I understood everything. What was that piece of paper that was always floating about? What was the piece of art that Rolph was demanding that Ina find?
Booklist labeled this as one of the 10 best graphic novels of the year so in my efforts to brush up on the genre, I picked it. Glad I read it despite it's confusing plot.
The story, however, was too cryptic for me and I had to read it twice to figure out that Marc and Rolph weren't the same person. (They look very similar), and I'm still not sure I understood everything. What was that piece of paper that was always floating about? What was the piece of art that Rolph was demanding that Ina find?
Booklist labeled this as one of the 10 best graphic novels of the year so in my efforts to brush up on the genre, I picked it. Glad I read it despite it's confusing plot.
February 12, 2014
I had to read it a couple times though to get the story lines, the characters, clear in my head. (Black and white line drawings of the characters were not very distinctive.) The story is about the movement of art-and people- in WWII Paris. So there are secrets and misdirections all around, sometimes to the point where I felt that there was something that I was missing, some point that had been made that I was to obtuse to have caught on to. I like books where I feel I've learned something, but this makes me feel like I there was something I should have learned, but couldn't quite get it. The graphics are lovely, but especially when it comes to people, perhaps a little too spare.
August 21, 2010
Nice resonating little story that is delivered in a light way all while hinting at something darker and deeper, the mystery of which propels the story forward. A very strong, and masterful mix of word and image!
April 3, 2015
sparse & simple, in art & plot, with a flashbacky narrative structure that lends a little twistiness to an otherwise straightforward story. very moody & evocative. the city feels vast & empty, devoid of life & joy. WWII has been pretty extensively mined, but this was a very striking backdrop use.
December 20, 2010
A little lost during this book. I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters.
December 31, 2025
I saw a post a few years ago that said, “When a man turns 40, he has to decide if he’s going to get very serious about World War 2 history, or really into smoking meats.” I’ve since seen variations on this, but it’s basically the same. Me, I chose WWII. It’s fascinating to me because so much happened and the entire conflict only lasted 6 years and 1 day. I mean, we bought our “new car” 7-1/2 years ago and it feels like we got it last summer.
This is one of those stories, based on real stuff that happened. A Canadian woman cataloging art in Paris when the Nazis invade, and all that entails. The Nazis stole everything from everyone, including art. It’s been 80 years since the war ended and they’re still repatriating works seized from Jewish families. People tried to save art from being looted, including the US Army, which is detailed in the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, made into a movie.
This book is similar to that, told from the perspective of someone on the inside. It’s really good.
I couldn’t find a new copy so I bought a former library book. If you can find a copy, snag it. It’s a small book. Here’s Zoey the Chihuahua for scale:
https://ibb.co/zWtqnphC
Kathryn Immonen really captures the feeling of being trapped and simultaneously experiencing ennui about the whole situation, and how people react and resist in ways large and small to such extreme situations.
And can I just mention that Stuart Immonen has to be the most versatile artist working in comics today? His ability to tell stories through panels is amazing, but also his ability to do it in so many styles, as befits the demands of the tale. It’s beyond impressive. I mean, just look at this range:
Moving Pictures:
https://ibb.co/whJh7zqL
Spider-Man:
https://ibb.co/Myvj5RhK
Star Wars:
https://ibb.co/d0dkfLfv
Grass of Parnassus:
https://i.ibb.co/20fMcqmz/IMG-9714.jpg
This is one of those stories, based on real stuff that happened. A Canadian woman cataloging art in Paris when the Nazis invade, and all that entails. The Nazis stole everything from everyone, including art. It’s been 80 years since the war ended and they’re still repatriating works seized from Jewish families. People tried to save art from being looted, including the US Army, which is detailed in the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, made into a movie.
This book is similar to that, told from the perspective of someone on the inside. It’s really good.
I couldn’t find a new copy so I bought a former library book. If you can find a copy, snag it. It’s a small book. Here’s Zoey the Chihuahua for scale:
https://ibb.co/zWtqnphC
Kathryn Immonen really captures the feeling of being trapped and simultaneously experiencing ennui about the whole situation, and how people react and resist in ways large and small to such extreme situations.
And can I just mention that Stuart Immonen has to be the most versatile artist working in comics today? His ability to tell stories through panels is amazing, but also his ability to do it in so many styles, as befits the demands of the tale. It’s beyond impressive. I mean, just look at this range:
Moving Pictures:
https://ibb.co/whJh7zqL
Spider-Man:
https://ibb.co/Myvj5RhK
Star Wars:
https://ibb.co/d0dkfLfv
Grass of Parnassus:
https://i.ibb.co/20fMcqmz/IMG-9714.jpg
December 7, 2017
Premetto che ho letto veramente pochissimi fumetti/graphic novels in vita mia quindi la mia opinione potrebbe essere stata influenzata dalla mia ignoranza in materia.
Protagonista indiscussa di Moving Pictures è Ila Gardner, una curatrice in un museo che durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale cerca di proteggere e nascondere le opere d'arte dai nazisti. La storia si snoda tra due linee temporali: nel presente ci si concentra quasi completamente sull'interrogatorio tra Ila e l'ufficiale Hauptmann, mentre nel passato vengono introdotti altri personaggi (colleghi/amici di Ila) e scopriamo come Ila ha cercato di portare avanti il suo scopo, nonché come si sono conosciuti lei e l'ufficiale.
Per quanto riguarda la grafica (i disegni sono in bianco e nero e sono semplici e stilizzati), questo stile non è proprio nelle mie corde ma non mi è dispiaciuto, anche se spesso non riuscivo a distinguere i personaggi viste le caratteristiche fin troppo simili.
Per quanto riguarda la trama invece, la premessa - questo focus sull'arte e in particolare sulle opere d'arte durante i periodi di guerra e questa storia d'amore quasi "proibita" tra due personaggi - mi aveva affascinato tantissimo ma lo svolgimento è stato molto deludente: ho trovato la storia troppo confusionaria (l'alternarsi tra passato e presente non ha aiutato) e poco approfondita e alla fine non mi ha lasciato proprio nulla.
Nonostante ciò non me la sento di dare un voto eccessivamente basso perché, ribadisco, magari è colpa mia e della mia "inesperienza" se non sono riuscita a comprendere a pieno questo graphic novel e perché comunque ho apprezzato molto qualche disegno e qualche riflessione.
Protagonista indiscussa di Moving Pictures è Ila Gardner, una curatrice in un museo che durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale cerca di proteggere e nascondere le opere d'arte dai nazisti. La storia si snoda tra due linee temporali: nel presente ci si concentra quasi completamente sull'interrogatorio tra Ila e l'ufficiale Hauptmann, mentre nel passato vengono introdotti altri personaggi (colleghi/amici di Ila) e scopriamo come Ila ha cercato di portare avanti il suo scopo, nonché come si sono conosciuti lei e l'ufficiale.
Per quanto riguarda la grafica (i disegni sono in bianco e nero e sono semplici e stilizzati), questo stile non è proprio nelle mie corde ma non mi è dispiaciuto, anche se spesso non riuscivo a distinguere i personaggi viste le caratteristiche fin troppo simili.
Per quanto riguarda la trama invece, la premessa - questo focus sull'arte e in particolare sulle opere d'arte durante i periodi di guerra e questa storia d'amore quasi "proibita" tra due personaggi - mi aveva affascinato tantissimo ma lo svolgimento è stato molto deludente: ho trovato la storia troppo confusionaria (l'alternarsi tra passato e presente non ha aiutato) e poco approfondita e alla fine non mi ha lasciato proprio nulla.
Nonostante ciò non me la sento di dare un voto eccessivamente basso perché, ribadisco, magari è colpa mia e della mia "inesperienza" se non sono riuscita a comprendere a pieno questo graphic novel e perché comunque ho apprezzato molto qualche disegno e qualche riflessione.
March 19, 2020
I believe I have only come across Stuart Immonen's art on various Marvel titles (mostly in the Ultimate line), so this sensitive and subtle collaboration between him and his wife Kathryn Immonen (whom I do not believe I have read anything by previously) was something of a surprise.
To quote the inside cover flap:
The Immonens create a story centred on French curator Ila Gardner (originally from Canada, if I am not mistaken) and her relationship with the German officer Rolf Hauptmann. The central setting is an interrogation room, in which Gardner and Hauptmann have a conversation. In flashbacks, we then learn about Gardner's work as a curator and her involvement in trying to smuggle art out of the Nazi's hands. But perhaps more importantly, we learn about her attachments to other people, and to the art itself.
Stuart Immonen's black and white art works strongly with contrast, and the effect on the visual storytelling helps the presentation of the narrative immensely. This is a story about small things (that are really big) set against a huge backdrop (which nonetheless, in some way dwindles). It is a taut chamber piece of a story, and I enjoyed it immensly.
I wish I could read more comics like this one by the Immonens.
To quote the inside cover flap:
During the Second World War, French efforts to inventory, categorize and hide the collections of the major galleries collided with the German's Military Art Commission's attempt to do the same.
This is (not) that story.
The Immonens create a story centred on French curator Ila Gardner (originally from Canada, if I am not mistaken) and her relationship with the German officer Rolf Hauptmann. The central setting is an interrogation room, in which Gardner and Hauptmann have a conversation. In flashbacks, we then learn about Gardner's work as a curator and her involvement in trying to smuggle art out of the Nazi's hands. But perhaps more importantly, we learn about her attachments to other people, and to the art itself.
Stuart Immonen's black and white art works strongly with contrast, and the effect on the visual storytelling helps the presentation of the narrative immensely. This is a story about small things (that are really big) set against a huge backdrop (which nonetheless, in some way dwindles). It is a taut chamber piece of a story, and I enjoyed it immensly.
I wish I could read more comics like this one by the Immonens.
June 18, 2017
La graphic novel è ambientata a Parigi, durante il periodo nazista, gli argomenti affrontati sono le opere d’arte rubate dai musei dai tutti quelli seguiti da Hitler,dall'altra parte ci sono i curatori francesi che cercano di nascondere alcuni capolavori. La protagonista della storia è Ila Gardner, curatrice di un museo , deve vedersela con l'ufficiale tedesco Rolf Hauptman. I due si scontrano , spiegando alcune concezioni di vita. I temi affrontati in Moving Pictures sono la guerra , l'arte ,il destino e il senso della memoria; rappresentati da dialoghi intensi e profondi. La narrazione si basa su continui flashback e flashforward dove vengono compresi in modo particolare l'animo dei personaggi. Adoro particolarmente lo stile di disegno, lascia un equilibrio testi/disegni, potrebbe apparire semplice alla vista ,ma lascia desiderare.
La mia recensione termina qui , consiglio la lettura della graphic novel e anche alcune opere degli Immonen.
Voto del blog:
La mia recensione termina qui , consiglio la lettura della graphic novel e anche alcune opere degli Immonen.
Voto del blog:
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