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Piero
Edmond Baudoin is one of the most revered and influential figures in European comics, renowned for his slashing, expressive brushwork and narrative experimentation. New York Review Comics is proud to present the first English translation of his most intimate and inviting book, his graphic memoir of growing up with his beloved brother, Piero.
Whether stuck in bed with whooping cough or out exploring in the woods, the two brothers draw together endlessly. They confront Martians, battle octopuses, stage epic battles between medieval castles, and fly high over the earth. Inevitably, they begin to grow apart, and their shared artistic life is replaced by schoolwork, romance, dances, motorcycles, and the struggle to decide what sort of people they want to be. Piero is a delicate, exuberant testament to the joys of childhood and a bittersweet account of what it means to become an adult—and an artist.
Whether stuck in bed with whooping cough or out exploring in the woods, the two brothers draw together endlessly. They confront Martians, battle octopuses, stage epic battles between medieval castles, and fly high over the earth. Inevitably, they begin to grow apart, and their shared artistic life is replaced by schoolwork, romance, dances, motorcycles, and the struggle to decide what sort of people they want to be. Piero is a delicate, exuberant testament to the joys of childhood and a bittersweet account of what it means to become an adult—and an artist.
122 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 1999
4 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Edmond Baudoin
140 books33 followersEdmond Baudoin is an artist, illustrator, and writer of sequential art and graphic novels. Baudoin left school at the age of 16 and went into military service. He later worked as an accountant at the Palace de Nice (L’Hôtel Plaza). At 33, he left the accountant trade to pursue drawing. Baudoin was an art professor from 1999 to 2003 at the University of Quebec
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
December 29, 2018
"Is it going too far to write that you love someone more than yourself? When my brother smiled, the whole world smiled."
My first time reading Baudoin; I have looked at some of his work that looked rather different 2-3 years ago--and this is newly translated into English for a publication by New York Review Comics. It's--I'm told--unusual in style for him, and more accessible than most of his other works. Loosely sketched, it's a loving memoir of Edmond and his younger brother Pierre, or Piero. A love letter to his brother, really; a story by Edmond of how their lives together were shaped by that early relationship.
Born in Nice in 1942, Edmond and his younger brother drew all the time, but their father could only afford to send one of the brothers to art school, so he sent Piero; Edmond went into the army and became an accountant until he was 33, and then finally turned to art. Piero had since quit the art world, disillusioned (though he later became an interior designer). But the book focuses on the mostly wonderful times they had growing up--a touch of magical realism depicts them flying over ther home town, seeing everything from a distance. The story, such as it is, is less a coherent story than a series of remembrances, but it made me think of my own neighborhood--I lived on a dead-end street, and had lots of friends to play with every day--The Dickinson Street Boys Club, we called it--and my good life with my closest and younger sister N, who also was an artist (I was always the writer), who like Piero left the art world but became an interior designer.
The sketchy art style is meant, I take it, to reflect the quick sketch style that the boys would have employed as friends asked them to draw--they were asked by a girl to draw James Dean, and Edmond became jealous of him!--but it feels expressive, as loose and free as their lives together. Being separated as they got older, the disillusionment of the adult world, and the art world, that comes later. When they were young, they had each other, and drawing.
My first time reading Baudoin; I have looked at some of his work that looked rather different 2-3 years ago--and this is newly translated into English for a publication by New York Review Comics. It's--I'm told--unusual in style for him, and more accessible than most of his other works. Loosely sketched, it's a loving memoir of Edmond and his younger brother Pierre, or Piero. A love letter to his brother, really; a story by Edmond of how their lives together were shaped by that early relationship.
Born in Nice in 1942, Edmond and his younger brother drew all the time, but their father could only afford to send one of the brothers to art school, so he sent Piero; Edmond went into the army and became an accountant until he was 33, and then finally turned to art. Piero had since quit the art world, disillusioned (though he later became an interior designer). But the book focuses on the mostly wonderful times they had growing up--a touch of magical realism depicts them flying over ther home town, seeing everything from a distance. The story, such as it is, is less a coherent story than a series of remembrances, but it made me think of my own neighborhood--I lived on a dead-end street, and had lots of friends to play with every day--The Dickinson Street Boys Club, we called it--and my good life with my closest and younger sister N, who also was an artist (I was always the writer), who like Piero left the art world but became an interior designer.
The sketchy art style is meant, I take it, to reflect the quick sketch style that the boys would have employed as friends asked them to draw--they were asked by a girl to draw James Dean, and Edmond became jealous of him!--but it feels expressive, as loose and free as their lives together. Being separated as they got older, the disillusionment of the adult world, and the art world, that comes later. When they were young, they had each other, and drawing.
February 6, 2019
A fairly mild comic book artist autobiography, but I was intrigued by the dynamic between the creator and his brother and liked the focus on childhood imagination feeding into adult creativity. Pages 72-75 stood out for me as the artist documents the moment he saw past the constraints of line drawing and started to view the world and how to illustrate it in an entirely different way.
October 30, 2018
New York Review Comics is the best publisher of comics in English today. Almost every comic they publish is a classic. No other publisher has a similar batting average.
Piero is a classic comics by a great French cartoonist named Edmond Baudoin. Much of his work has been autobiographical, which is (in my humble opinion) the most interesting genre in comics. It took quite a long time for comics to embrace such personal stories. Although there were a few examples of autobiographical comics prior to the 1970s, as a movement it can be said to have begun with Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary by Justin Green in 1972. After this searing depiction of the artist's OCD, autobiographical comics became a deluge, and not just in the USA. Baudoin started producing his autobiographical comics in the early 1980s. His career has been highly unusual--he was born in 1942 and worked as an accountant until he was 33, when he quit to become an artist. This story is explained in this volume. Piero is the nickname of his brother Pierre, who like Edmond was a prolific childhood artist. Both brothers were gifted and loved to draw together, but their parents could only afford to send one of them to art school. The book is about how the two brothers shared an imaginative life.
The two boys who lived in a small village outside of Nice started school late due to a lingering illness that afflicted Pierre. They were like a binary star, somewhat isolated from other children. But when they finally entered school, they were instantly known as the kids who drew good. They drew pictures at the request of their classmates--girls asked them to draw James Dean, which made Edmond feel jealous of the American movie star. But even as teenagers, they were still a pair who rotated around each other.
Pierre finally goes off to art school and Edmond is drafted and then becomes an accountant. Pierre eventually drops out of art school after becoming disillusioned with the careerist nature of it. (Eventually he becomes and interior designer.)
This book is an beautiful and moving depiction of the childhood of an artist who would become one of the greats of French comics.
Piero is a classic comics by a great French cartoonist named Edmond Baudoin. Much of his work has been autobiographical, which is (in my humble opinion) the most interesting genre in comics. It took quite a long time for comics to embrace such personal stories. Although there were a few examples of autobiographical comics prior to the 1970s, as a movement it can be said to have begun with Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary by Justin Green in 1972. After this searing depiction of the artist's OCD, autobiographical comics became a deluge, and not just in the USA. Baudoin started producing his autobiographical comics in the early 1980s. His career has been highly unusual--he was born in 1942 and worked as an accountant until he was 33, when he quit to become an artist. This story is explained in this volume. Piero is the nickname of his brother Pierre, who like Edmond was a prolific childhood artist. Both brothers were gifted and loved to draw together, but their parents could only afford to send one of them to art school. The book is about how the two brothers shared an imaginative life.
The two boys who lived in a small village outside of Nice started school late due to a lingering illness that afflicted Pierre. They were like a binary star, somewhat isolated from other children. But when they finally entered school, they were instantly known as the kids who drew good. They drew pictures at the request of their classmates--girls asked them to draw James Dean, which made Edmond feel jealous of the American movie star. But even as teenagers, they were still a pair who rotated around each other.
Pierre finally goes off to art school and Edmond is drafted and then becomes an accountant. Pierre eventually drops out of art school after becoming disillusioned with the careerist nature of it. (Eventually he becomes and interior designer.)
This book is an beautiful and moving depiction of the childhood of an artist who would become one of the greats of French comics.
November 7, 2020
This memoir of the author and his brother was just what I needed today. Lovely story of their childhood in southern France, their talent at drawing and their imaginative play. Darker things are lurking but overall it is a sweet story of brotherhood. I loved the black and white drawings of the little boys especially. Apparently this book is a different style from his other work. Off to explore more Edmond Baudoin!
Highly recommend.
New York Review Comics
Buddy read with Ryan
Highly recommend.
New York Review Comics
Buddy read with Ryan
April 10, 2025
this is really beautiful
much to think about
much to think about
December 6, 2023
Me and @Bella
March 30, 2019
A quick read, I wasn't crazy about the art. A touching story but a little surprised at the ending.
May 10, 2021
piero is a tender and beautiful tribute by edmond baudoin to his relationship with his brother.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. i absolutely have no words when it comes to the art omgggg these pen drawings 🤯🤯🤯 it might not be for everyone but it really does shows that one doesnt need flashy artsy graphic things to create a story. this was a very interesting read but a little bit difficult to follow through as its not really a plot driven story so it does comes a little bit choppy in some parts. took me awhile to get used to it but overall such a personal and special take on childhood and chasing dreams.
really appreciate that this was translated in english so that we could enjoy piero as it is now - the fact that the english translation text were actually handlettered by dean sudarsky in imitation of edmond baudoin's style, where he claims it was actually difficult to pull it through.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. i absolutely have no words when it comes to the art omgggg these pen drawings 🤯🤯🤯 it might not be for everyone but it really does shows that one doesnt need flashy artsy graphic things to create a story. this was a very interesting read but a little bit difficult to follow through as its not really a plot driven story so it does comes a little bit choppy in some parts. took me awhile to get used to it but overall such a personal and special take on childhood and chasing dreams.
really appreciate that this was translated in english so that we could enjoy piero as it is now - the fact that the english translation text were actually handlettered by dean sudarsky in imitation of edmond baudoin's style, where he claims it was actually difficult to pull it through.
May 21, 2022
История детства и взросления двух братьев на юге Франции в 1950-х, включённая, как описание сообщает, во французскую школьную программу для 9-12 лет. Довольно удивительная книга в том плане, что тут практически ничего не происходит (за вычетом милого сюрреализма), чистый slice of life даже без какого-либо уклона в ситком, но при этом повествование воспринимается крепким за счёт общей трогательности близких отношений между братьями и необычных, ненавязчивых размышлений о природе творчества — как детского, так и вообще.
Нарисовано при этом на мой вкус чересчур неряшливо (хоть и понятно, что это подражание детским рисункам) и читается довольно быстро (вся книга минут за 40), но в целом было душевно и увлекательно. Прикладываю небольшую фотогалерею.
Нарисовано при этом на мой вкус чересчур неряшливо (хоть и понятно, что это подражание детским рисункам) и читается довольно быстро (вся книга минут за 40), но в целом было душевно и увлекательно. Прикладываю небольшую фотогалерею.
November 23, 2019
It's books like Piero that keep me searching for the next graphic novel and/or comics. An excellent graphic novel about coming of age, brotherhood, and artistry. Baudoin did a magnificent job of narrating how his artistry has matured throughout his childhood. Love this novel so much.
January 3, 2021
нежный комикс про любовь (и немножко зависть) к брату, про близость и тайный навык познания мира.
October 26, 2022
Historia autobiográfica de el autor y su hermano, y como el testigo del arte pasó de uno a otro.
March 20, 2021
I read this one, because Olga Lavrentyeva mentioned it during a discussion on Graphic Novels. It was good, but not mind blowing.
December 18, 2018
PIERO introduces me to Edmond Baudoin, well, through the New York Review of Comics (my friend calls them the best comics publisher today, and it’s hard to argue). His loose, sketchy style is supposedly atypical of the rest of his work, and, honestly, at first, took a bit of getting used to. But, often it’s what I immediately don’t like that becomes what I love in an artwork. That’s what happened with this autobiographical coming-of-age, story of the artist as a young artist book. It’s beautifully evocative of childhood without being tethered to reality. It tells a story only comics can tell, powerfully mixing text and image to create an experience that is greater than both.
December 22, 2014
Door vele stripliefhebbers wordt dit beschouwd als een topper, De Stripspeciaalzaak vind het een beklijvende leeservaring en de gezamenlijke Vlaamse stripjournalisten riepen het in 1998 uit tot strip van het jaar. Zelf vond ik het gewoon een sympathieke strip over 2 broers met tekentalent maar het is zeker niet zo dat deze bij mij een diepe indruk naliet, verre van.
May 2, 2019
All the girls go crazy for French boys who can draw.
February 17, 2020
Une très belle histoire d'amour fraternel.
September 30, 2023
This book was truly amazing. It’s one of those books I think to fully appreciated it you just have to read it for yourself. Of course it has some flaws, particularly with the narrative and how the writing can feel choppy, but this is to be expected as the American version is translated from French into English, so your not going to get a perfect English translation, especially since this book was likely made sometime in the 80s or 90s so it’s not even modern French they had to translate into English.
The plot is a simple quaint coming of age autobiography story of two brothers living in Nice France, and drawing obsessively throughout their life, while also worrying about growing up and losing their childhood creativity, or losing their brotherly bond in the process of it all.
I would say the plot is good, but very basic so aside from it being interesting this takes place in Niece France, it’s not where the story truly shines.
Where this story shines is with the gorgeous and lively drawing that accompanies the plot. The art in this book isn’t drawn with the highest level of skill, it’s no Mona Lisa level drawing skill. In fact most people who tried to draw like this book today, and posted it online would probably be regarded as having low skill and needing to work on improving their art. However this book manages to successfully use “lower skill” art and make it look beautiful. This is because the artist Edmond Baudoin knows how to do something I find many artists who can draw photorealistically can never achieve. He can draw with expression, with life and passion. Each illustration is loaded with life and jumps off the page for how experimental and wild it is, you look at any panel in this comic and you can feel the life within, you don’t need to read the words the art itself evokes feeling, and the art style is consistent so it feels intentionally drawn this way, not a mistake of skill.
So to any artist thinking their skill level isn’t good enough to make comics, to tell a story, read this book. It’s the most successful example I’ve ever found of work appearing “lower skill”, actually shining. This proves the overall emotion and feeling you want people to take away from your art is ten thousand times more important than having the skill to draw like a camera. As an artist I think this book reminded me that we shouldn’t aspire to draw like photos we should aspire to draw something rich and loaded with emotion and experimentation to convey emotion in our art. Anyone can draw a photorealistic humans, hell even AI can do that, but only you can draw something that reflects the wild emotions and imagination within your mind. So long as your art is consistent, and expressive it’ll be successful.
The plot is a simple quaint coming of age autobiography story of two brothers living in Nice France, and drawing obsessively throughout their life, while also worrying about growing up and losing their childhood creativity, or losing their brotherly bond in the process of it all.
I would say the plot is good, but very basic so aside from it being interesting this takes place in Niece France, it’s not where the story truly shines.
Where this story shines is with the gorgeous and lively drawing that accompanies the plot. The art in this book isn’t drawn with the highest level of skill, it’s no Mona Lisa level drawing skill. In fact most people who tried to draw like this book today, and posted it online would probably be regarded as having low skill and needing to work on improving their art. However this book manages to successfully use “lower skill” art and make it look beautiful. This is because the artist Edmond Baudoin knows how to do something I find many artists who can draw photorealistically can never achieve. He can draw with expression, with life and passion. Each illustration is loaded with life and jumps off the page for how experimental and wild it is, you look at any panel in this comic and you can feel the life within, you don’t need to read the words the art itself evokes feeling, and the art style is consistent so it feels intentionally drawn this way, not a mistake of skill.
So to any artist thinking their skill level isn’t good enough to make comics, to tell a story, read this book. It’s the most successful example I’ve ever found of work appearing “lower skill”, actually shining. This proves the overall emotion and feeling you want people to take away from your art is ten thousand times more important than having the skill to draw like a camera. As an artist I think this book reminded me that we shouldn’t aspire to draw like photos we should aspire to draw something rich and loaded with emotion and experimentation to convey emotion in our art. Anyone can draw a photorealistic humans, hell even AI can do that, but only you can draw something that reflects the wild emotions and imagination within your mind. So long as your art is consistent, and expressive it’ll be successful.
January 24, 2022
Story: ***
Absolutely charming -as wistful and commemorative as I've seen- yet this autobiography struck me as very bland. It was nice to see the world as precocious children in 1950's country-life France but the content was fairly thin. I read it all->at->once-> almost always a bad sign if the book is of this length. There are few panels per page and not many words in this pocket+plus sized format.
Art: ***
From Matt Madden's (translator) highly skippable introduction one is led to believe that they will witness great art- immense talent that looks wonderful. That's not the case with me. I must miss out on so much revery because I never studied art (besides photography) and don't know what to look for. The guy is known far and wide as someone to emulate but I just don't see it when grading the work as a whole.
There are plenty of panels that are populated with very good-looking pen pushery and sometimes it is mesmerizing but the vast majority just looks bad to me. Very skribbly, untalented-looking sketchiness that is even terrible and/or boring at times as well. His lines are extraordinarily shaky and I really don't like it.
Absolutely charming -as wistful and commemorative as I've seen- yet this autobiography struck me as very bland. It was nice to see the world as precocious children in 1950's country-life France but the content was fairly thin. I read it all->at->once-> almost always a bad sign if the book is of this length. There are few panels per page and not many words in this pocket+plus sized format.
Art: ***
From Matt Madden's (translator) highly skippable introduction one is led to believe that they will witness great art- immense talent that looks wonderful. That's not the case with me. I must miss out on so much revery because I never studied art (besides photography) and don't know what to look for. The guy is known far and wide as someone to emulate but I just don't see it when grading the work as a whole.
There are plenty of panels that are populated with very good-looking pen pushery and sometimes it is mesmerizing but the vast majority just looks bad to me. Very skribbly, untalented-looking sketchiness that is even terrible and/or boring at times as well. His lines are extraordinarily shaky and I really don't like it.
December 31, 2018
Piero is well-written/well-drawn reflection of a boy/man on his relationship with his brother. The boys are close in age and both gifted in drawing, which is evident to their friends and classmates. Together, they create adventures on the page with their pencils and elaborate imaginations. The book follows the boys as they get older and pursue higher education and eventually choose careers. Piero can be read in a single sitting, though I chose to read it over a few days. The boys' relationship is endearing as is their ability to get lost in their drawings.
September 10, 2023
He leído algunas novelas gráficas y no le termino coger el punto.
Esta la saqué de la biblioteca porque la premisa me gustaba, pero la verdad no me ha gustado nada. Los diálogos no me han dicho nada y sobre todo los dibujos no me han gustado.
Empecé el libro y a medida que lo iba leyendo veía que no tenía mucho sentido o que yo no lo he entendido. Vamos, no he entendido nada. Habla de la relación de 2 hermanos y sus fantasías, sus sueños...Se hacen mayores pero tampoco me ha parece la historia muy reseñable. No lo recomiendo para nada. 09/09/2023.
Esta la saqué de la biblioteca porque la premisa me gustaba, pero la verdad no me ha gustado nada. Los diálogos no me han dicho nada y sobre todo los dibujos no me han gustado.
Empecé el libro y a medida que lo iba leyendo veía que no tenía mucho sentido o que yo no lo he entendido. Vamos, no he entendido nada. Habla de la relación de 2 hermanos y sus fantasías, sus sueños...Se hacen mayores pero tampoco me ha parece la historia muy reseñable. No lo recomiendo para nada. 09/09/2023.
February 4, 2020
A very tender story of brotherly love, an isolated and sickly childhood full of drawing and imagination and where art and talent lead you. There is such a delicate and warm affection, it's hard to not to be drawn into the sentimental nature of the relationship. It's stays above sadness, while touching on it and reflecting how events can reverberate through the rest of our lives, everything from the minutia of imagined childhood aliens to a traumatic car accident.
January 16, 2022
A certain nostalgic air runs through this story of two brothers united by a common hobby, from their earliest childhood. Interesting!
Nolabaiteko nostalgiko aire bat igarotzen da zaletasun komun batek batzen dituen bi anaien istorio honetan, haurtzarotik. Interesgarria!
Un cierto aire nostálgico recorre esta historia de dos hermanos unidos por un afición en común, desde su más tierna infancia. Interesante!
Nolabaiteko nostalgiko aire bat igarotzen da zaletasun komun batek batzen dituen bi anaien istorio honetan, haurtzarotik. Interesgarria!
Un cierto aire nostálgico recorre esta historia de dos hermanos unidos por un afición en común, desde su más tierna infancia. Interesante!
July 1, 2022
Story of two brothers growing up in the 40s-60s. I will admit I thought the sickly brother was going to die and that as the story barreled to a close, whipping through the decades in the final pages, I wondered why I assumed such a sort of Debbie Downer outcome would befall him. Maybe that's too American/Disney for someone's actual life in France.
I liked the description of fall leaves as gray.
I liked the description of fall leaves as gray.
June 1, 2025
Las hojas caen de los árboles, y dejan de ser un espectáculo de colores para ser grises como el cielo de otoño. En la infancia, todos soñamos, de adultos, sólo algunos lo consiguen. De niños, Piero y él dibujaban mil historias, compartían cama y sueños. De adultos, Piero dejó sus estudios de arte y Edmond su trabajo de contable para seguir dibujando sueños. Del amor entre hermanos, de la niñez, la adolescencia, la juventud. La vida.
November 6, 2018
An influential template for a generation of memoir comics, this tale about growing up and apart from the important people in your life is cute and filled with brief flights of imagination before returning to real life.
I see why it's important, and I highly reommend it to anyone who's considering writing a memoir comic.
I see why it's important, and I highly reommend it to anyone who's considering writing a memoir comic.
September 4, 2022
This is the most adorable and tender story with equally tender accompanying B&W artwork. Edmond/Momon brings us through conversations with his brother in their childhood, their imaginations, and what growing up feels like when you have a bond that is so strong. It's a quick read, so you can go back and read it several times because you'll probably want to. 💜
August 9, 2023
Edmond Baudoin's graphic tribute to his brother is pretty endearing overall, but the story didn't really grab me much since there isn't much here. It's the sketchy art style with bold linework that appealed to me much more, providing a pretty neat way for Baudoin to connect the dynamic with his brother and his own burgeoning love of cartooning.
April 7, 2019
A loving portrait of Baudoin's older brother from early childhood, their closeness in temperament, and the irony of their career decisions. And think of the format either as an illustrated short biographical piece or as a film treatment: easily half of the story lies in the rendering.
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June 16, 2022a book about childhood, family, growing up, and dreams. what more could i want?
a lovely story, beautifully translated. it was easy to digest and effortlessly profound. it’s honestly just a very nice read.
a lovely story, beautifully translated. it was easy to digest and effortlessly profound. it’s honestly just a very nice read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews