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Conseil juridique un peu dans la gêne et détective à ses heures, Gérard Griffu a le tort d'aider une apprentie journaliste à mettre la main sur de mystérieux dossiers, qui disparaissent dans la nature. Il s'avèrera, à l'usage, que les fameux dossiers ont beaucoup à voir avec diverses combines immobilières dans lesquelles trempent, en vrac, des gens de la politique, de la police et du milieu... Bref, mauvaise pioche pour Griffu ; dans la France affairiste, bétonneuse et vérolée des années 70, les coups se mettent à voler bas, et les morts à tomber dru. Noir c'est noir : au ras du réel, la violence sans fard des relations qui mènent le monde, par un tandem Tardi / Manchette éblouissant.
55 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1978
90 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Patrick Manchette
67 books325 followersJean-Patrick Manchette was a French crime novelist credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the genre. He wrote ten short novels in the seventies and early eighties, and is widely recognized as the foremost French crime fiction author of the 1970s - 1980s . His stories are violent, existentialist explorations of the human condition and French society.
Manchette was politically to the left and his writing reflects this through his analysis of social positions and culture. His books are reminiscent of the nouvelle vague crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville, employing a similarly cool, existential style on a typically American genre (film noir for Melville and pulp novels for Manchette).
Three of his novels have been translated into English. Two were published by San Francisco publisher City Lights Books (3 To Kill [from the French "Le petit bleu de la côte ouest"] and The Prone Gunman [from the French "La Position du tireur couché"]). A third, Fatale, was released by New York Review Books Classics in 2011.
Manchette believed he had gone full circle with his last novel, which he conceived as a "closure" of his Noir fiction. In a 1988 letter to a journalist, Manchette said:
" After that, as I did not have to belong to any kind of literary school, I entered a very different work area. In seven years, I have not done anything good. I'm still working at it."
In 1989, finally having found new territory he wanted to explore, Manchette started writing a new novel, La Princesse du Sang" ("Blood Princess"), an international thriller, which was supposed to be the first book in a new cycle, a series of novels covering five decades from the post-war period to present times. He died from cancer before completing it.
Starting in 1996, a year after Manchette's death, several unpublished works were released, showing how very active he was during in the years preceding his death.
In 2009, Fantagraphics Books released an English-language version of French cartoonist Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Le petit bleu, under the new English title 'West Coast Blues.' Fantagraphics released a second Tardi adaptation, of "La Position du tireur couché" (under the title "Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot" ) in the summer of 2011, and has scheduled a third one, of "Ô Dingos! Ô Châteaux!" (under the title "Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell") in summer 2014. Manchette himself was a fan of comics, and his praised translation of Alan Moore's Watchmen into French remains in print.
Manchette was politically to the left and his writing reflects this through his analysis of social positions and culture. His books are reminiscent of the nouvelle vague crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville, employing a similarly cool, existential style on a typically American genre (film noir for Melville and pulp novels for Manchette).
Three of his novels have been translated into English. Two were published by San Francisco publisher City Lights Books (3 To Kill [from the French "Le petit bleu de la côte ouest"] and The Prone Gunman [from the French "La Position du tireur couché"]). A third, Fatale, was released by New York Review Books Classics in 2011.
Manchette believed he had gone full circle with his last novel, which he conceived as a "closure" of his Noir fiction. In a 1988 letter to a journalist, Manchette said:
" After that, as I did not have to belong to any kind of literary school, I entered a very different work area. In seven years, I have not done anything good. I'm still working at it."
In 1989, finally having found new territory he wanted to explore, Manchette started writing a new novel, La Princesse du Sang" ("Blood Princess"), an international thriller, which was supposed to be the first book in a new cycle, a series of novels covering five decades from the post-war period to present times. He died from cancer before completing it.
Starting in 1996, a year after Manchette's death, several unpublished works were released, showing how very active he was during in the years preceding his death.
In 2009, Fantagraphics Books released an English-language version of French cartoonist Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Le petit bleu, under the new English title 'West Coast Blues.' Fantagraphics released a second Tardi adaptation, of "La Position du tireur couché" (under the title "Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot" ) in the summer of 2011, and has scheduled a third one, of "Ô Dingos! Ô Châteaux!" (under the title "Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell") in summer 2014. Manchette himself was a fan of comics, and his praised translation of Alan Moore's Watchmen into French remains in print.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 2, 2019
Μια εξαιρετική ιστορία δια χειρός Ζαν Πατρίκ Μανσέτ και Ζακ Ταρντί. Το δίδυμο φωτιά κάνει παπάδες με μια πρωτότυπη νουάρ ιστορία με ντετέκτιβ, διαφθορά και πολιτικό σχολιασμό. Παρότι το κόμικ δεν κυκλοφορεί ούτε καν στα αγγλικά είχα την τύχη να μάθω πως κυκλοφόρησε σε πέντε συνέχειες από το περιοδικό Βαβέλ και μπόρεσα να το αναζητήσω. Σίγουρα άξιζε τον κόπο.
August 14, 2017
A well drawn but not that well constructed noir story, where tardi tries new techniques and styles. Most noticeably the double window where he keeps the same exact drawing while changing a slight key detail from one frame to the next.
Quite liked the poetic ending, I suggest the comic to any detective fiction enthusiast without rising your expectations that high. It has its flaws but it makes up with the excellent cinematography by Tardi. Still manchente fails to deliver as far as I'm concerned.
Quite liked the poetic ending, I suggest the comic to any detective fiction enthusiast without rising your expectations that high. It has its flaws but it makes up with the excellent cinematography by Tardi. Still manchente fails to deliver as far as I'm concerned.
August 20, 2024
Wow, this one was a great surprise!!!
If you enjoy thrillers, PI/detective "noir" stories, peppered with sarcasm/dark humor, a bit of violence and the ocasional nudity (NSFW) then you are in for a treat :)
As a fan of Philip Marlowe's character, Blacksad graphic novels, Gotham-like dark settings, and a very credible french "tour" into a battered violent Paris in the late '70s, I really enjoyed this story and the particular "sense of humor" of Griffu, the main character.
I bought this for mere 3€ in a Portuguese comics shop, and consider it a great find!
If you can´t find at your bookstore (it's a rather old edition) search for it at your local library.
If you enjoy thrillers, PI/detective "noir" stories, peppered with sarcasm/dark humor, a bit of violence and the ocasional nudity (NSFW) then you are in for a treat :)
As a fan of Philip Marlowe's character, Blacksad graphic novels, Gotham-like dark settings, and a very credible french "tour" into a battered violent Paris in the late '70s, I really enjoyed this story and the particular "sense of humor" of Griffu, the main character.
I bought this for mere 3€ in a Portuguese comics shop, and consider it a great find!
If you can´t find at your bookstore (it's a rather old edition) search for it at your local library.
November 12, 2018
Una Mauser... serve a fare dei buchi, a porre fine alle discussioni, a semplificare l'esistenza umana.
(dalla copertina e dall'interno)
(dalla copertina e dall'interno)
August 10, 2021
Worth it for fans of these collabs but not something I’d recommend to just anyone because the storytelling isn’t as honed as it would become much later.
February 23, 2013
This was a nice student edition of the French comic Griffu that Bill bought me for Christmas. I really enjoyed it though I must admit I did get a little lost in places and I think I need to read it again with Bill to help me understand what happened when I got confused. The book was a lovely film noir type pulp detective story. I must admit that I liked Tardi's art much better in this than I did in the Adele book. It seemed to really suit the detective style. The women were pretty and the men were rugged. There were bodies and betrayal and I liked the story and particularly the ending. There really were no punches pulled. In addition to the story this study edition also has loads of helpful study material at the back, not just a few questions to test your comprehension but huge descriptions of both the noir genre as well as the comics tradition of writing and art. Definitely one I'd recommend and one I will be reading again.
January 8, 2016
Une bédé noire, avec une histoire pas nouvelle de personnages tous plus déplaisants les uns que les autres qui se disputent pour de l'argent. On est dans la France des années 80 mais les personnages sont habillés et agissent comme dans la culture du roman noir (et du film noir) des années 40 et 50, incluant la femme fatale, le politicien lâche, les policiers à moustache, le détective à gabardine et la jeune femme idéaliste. Tout ça n'est pas mal fait, mais j'avoue ne pas beaucoup aimer la langue de Jean-Patrick Manchette. Pour quelqu'un qui se spécialise dans l'argot et le langage coloré, je trouve que ses mots manquent singulièrement de musique. Et puis, difficile de s'attacher à une histoire quand les personnages attachants sont éliminés et qu'il ne reste que les salopards qui s’entre-tuent sans joie. Reste que le coup de crayon de Tardi est inimitable et donne de la personnalité à tout ce qu'il dessine.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews