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Asphalt Blues
When star-crossed lovers who shared a youthful romance are catapulted into bleak and separate futures, they begin to question the meaning of their lives and whether they are more intertwined than they realize.
2032. It's been thirteen years since Nina and Mick split up. Both have since rebuilt their lives, but at what cost? Nina lives with a powerful man who is jealous of her attraction to others, while Mick's wife suffers from severe depression. The two former lovers don't know it, but their daily lives remain intertwined—each moment intersecting with another, culminating in a deeply poetic and sensual exploration of the disenchantment of love.
2032. It's been thirteen years since Nina and Mick split up. Both have since rebuilt their lives, but at what cost? Nina lives with a powerful man who is jealous of her attraction to others, while Mick's wife suffers from severe depression. The two former lovers don't know it, but their daily lives remain intertwined—each moment intersecting with another, culminating in a deeply poetic and sensual exploration of the disenchantment of love.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2022
7 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Jaouen Salaün
29 books5 followersJaouen Salaün was born in 1979 in France. He once dreamed of becoming a professional athlete before turning to drawing at the age of 16, when he discovered an incredible treasure in the attic: a box of signed books by such legends as Moebius, Tanino Liberatore, Paul Gillon, and Juan Giménez. Starting from scratch, he set himself to drawing the way he approached sports: with discipline and rigor. He progressed rapidly, and around the turn of the millennium he enrolled at the Emile Cohl Institute in Lyon. In 2003, he earned recognition for his work at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and from that year onward, he began to work with various publishers, including Nathan, Hatier, Magnard, and Rageot. The year 2006 marked the publication of his first comic book, Nova (Soleil), alongside writer Julien Blondel. He then joined with Christophe Bec to illustrate a spinoff of the series Carthago (Humanoïdes Associés). The two came together once more in 2015 to collaborate on a new series, Eternum (Casterman). Most recently, he has completed two new individual projects, including Juste une fois (Humanoïdes Associés), and the first volume of the ambitious sci-fi dystopia series Elecboy (Dargaud; Europe Comics in English).
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 2, 2023
Beautiful artwork and a very different kind of story.
This is a graphic novel and so in that sense it is more akin to others like it, illustrated stories, than it is to black and white prose. But, it is unlike most other graphic novels or comic books in the sophistication and maturity of the subject.
No superheroes but this is SF/F set in the near future with some cool advances in technology and some government / tech collusion that is relevant for today.
This also made me think, obliquely, of Rush’s 1981 song Red Barchetta because in this story as in Peart’s song, there is a prohibition against internal combustion engines. This book had a very cool scene revolving around that theme.
At its heart, this is a love story, but told peripherally, as two lovers separate and go to live their unique lives, each with another lover, but whose connection remains literally and metaphorically. We follow parallel paths for each, discover some tasty subplots and then Salaün winds things up nicely at the end.
The story is very well done but it is the magnificent art that I will recall most about this very entertaining and intriguing GN.
This is a graphic novel and so in that sense it is more akin to others like it, illustrated stories, than it is to black and white prose. But, it is unlike most other graphic novels or comic books in the sophistication and maturity of the subject.
No superheroes but this is SF/F set in the near future with some cool advances in technology and some government / tech collusion that is relevant for today.
This also made me think, obliquely, of Rush’s 1981 song Red Barchetta because in this story as in Peart’s song, there is a prohibition against internal combustion engines. This book had a very cool scene revolving around that theme.
At its heart, this is a love story, but told peripherally, as two lovers separate and go to live their unique lives, each with another lover, but whose connection remains literally and metaphorically. We follow parallel paths for each, discover some tasty subplots and then Salaün winds things up nicely at the end.
The story is very well done but it is the magnificent art that I will recall most about this very entertaining and intriguing GN.
November 10, 2022
To call Jaouen's graphic novel a comic book would be an insult to him and his art as Asphalt Blues can only be described as a piece of art. An intimate story about two lovers, separated for thirteen years, living their lives with different people, yet never forgetting each other. A story of longing, of living in a lie. A story of people. Of synchronicity we experience, so masterfully woven in the panels of this graphic novel. All those insignificant events that lead up to, some would say, abrupt ending.
It's clear that this graphic novel was personal for Jaouen, reasons of which he speaks at the end. The amount of detail, the dedication to it, the love invested into making of this. Choice of scenes. Colors. All saying how much he invested himself into this. As if watching an art movie about a love story set in a near future, which touches upon some important topics. Great graphic novel which I highly recommend for anyone who looks from something different. I can't but wonder how great movie indeed this would be. Probably wouldn't make a lot money, but it would be magnificent.
It's clear that this graphic novel was personal for Jaouen, reasons of which he speaks at the end. The amount of detail, the dedication to it, the love invested into making of this. Choice of scenes. Colors. All saying how much he invested himself into this. As if watching an art movie about a love story set in a near future, which touches upon some important topics. Great graphic novel which I highly recommend for anyone who looks from something different. I can't but wonder how great movie indeed this would be. Probably wouldn't make a lot money, but it would be magnificent.
March 25, 2022
Cool aesthetics and great vibes overall.
April 12, 2022
Truly beautiful and thoughtful. I loved the story and artwork here. A really enjoyable slice-of-life noir.
April 14, 2022
Graphiquement on en prend plein la vue. Que ce soit au niveau des dessins, du découpage ou des couleurs. C’est très réussi, très cinématographique, à la fois quasiment photoréaliste et à la fois stylisé. J’ai tout de suite fait le rapprochement avec Préférence Système. J’ai trouvé des similitudes dans les dessins – à minima ils ont une qualité graphique comparable – , mais aussi dans l’esthétique des personnages bien que les univers soient différents car ici l’histoire se déroule dans un futur bien plus proche de notre époque contemporaine, donc plus de l’anticipation que de la science fiction à proprement parler.
C’est assez étrange lorsque l’on voit cet univers d’anticipation sophistiqué, ces magnifiques dessins on s’attend à une histoire tout aussi sophistiquée. On pense encore une fois à Préférence Système, mais ici rien de tout ça. Il s’agit d’une histoire d’amour finalement assez simple. Le fait de la transposer dans un univers d’anticipation nous fait en attendre quelque chose d’original qui ne vient pas forcément. La trame secondaire sur l’écologie n’est qu’accessoire, pas assez exploitée pour représenter plus que les préoccupations actuelles. Peut-être est-ce le message à retenir, si le monde évolue, devient plus sophistiqué, il y a des choses qui ne changeront jamais ?
Également publié sur mon blog.
C’est assez étrange lorsque l’on voit cet univers d’anticipation sophistiqué, ces magnifiques dessins on s’attend à une histoire tout aussi sophistiquée. On pense encore une fois à Préférence Système, mais ici rien de tout ça. Il s’agit d’une histoire d’amour finalement assez simple. Le fait de la transposer dans un univers d’anticipation nous fait en attendre quelque chose d’original qui ne vient pas forcément. La trame secondaire sur l’écologie n’est qu’accessoire, pas assez exploitée pour représenter plus que les préoccupations actuelles. Peut-être est-ce le message à retenir, si le monde évolue, devient plus sophistiqué, il y a des choses qui ne changeront jamais ?
Également publié sur mon blog.
June 19, 2022
More like a 3.5 but what the hell, I'll be generous. The story is an interesting exploration of love and separation, with an ending that seems to resolve itself out of the blue, but it's the art you're here for. Lush, colourful - it's an outrun album come to life. The artist / author loves to play with a broad palette, giving each section, each POV a distinctive "look". A perfect way to spend a couple of hours in the weekend.
February 16, 2022
Love the images.
I recommend reading with 80s electro playing in the background
I recommend reading with 80s electro playing in the background
June 11, 2023
Easily one of the best graphic novels I have read so far in my adult life.
September 4, 2022
Beautiful artwork.
March 10, 2022
L'histoire est parfois un peu creuse, mais comment ne pas être ébloui par les illustrations et les couleurs utilisées ?! Une lecture coup de coeur sur le plan esthétique, agréable sur le plan scénaristique.
May 29, 2022
This just didn’t work for me and I had serious problems with some of it. Perhaps it’s my fault for not being French.
October 21, 2022
Beautiful art, however the characters and story were rather boring.
September 22, 2024
asphalt blues is predominantly about hardships and disappointment in relationships
i thought the art in this book was the damned cream of a cake beautiful wonderful and lovely throughout. the story on the other hand was gripping but that ending was so bad, like jesus a page or 2 just ruined the whole story, 2 people who should have moved on from each other get back together and effectively destroy their relationships with others. the plot though like otherside the connection is about the environment and governments and firms who are ruining it which leads people to extremes even when they don't like it.
characters- mick and nina are the 2 main characters, nina has a political businessman called tim, mick has his family with helena.mick and nina are 2 flawed and disappointed people in their story through circumstance and personality and their family is built and working around their faults. those 2 people even after being separated for 10 years lead more interconnected life's then they hope and by the end it SEEMS they put the past to rest and move on with their life's but FUCKING NO THEY GET BACK TOGETHER AND DESTROY EVERYTHING EVERY GOODMAN PAGE FOR NAUGHT FUCK. but i dont know im not french maybe i'm not seeing something here, but using copium i think they met to get closure and move on once and for all, like they say i love you to each other but that is simply the truth they get of their shoulders and go back to their lives and effectively and properly bury their past but i can only hope.
setting- it takes place predominantly in a grounded near future where things are a lot of technologically advanced and they've reached this light cyberpunk type stage with the techno body parts, vehicles and lighting aesthetics
themes- disappoint and hardship in relationships, not getting over the past, environmentalism, corrupt business politicians and governments', terrorism and extremism, facing your past
these are the themes predominantly dealt with from the story and it does them well, like i can see the points the author is trying to make about powerful people destroying our world and whatnot which leads individuals to take extreme actions understandable, the relationships themes are done nicely i felt invested in their story and them working things out. and in the end everything works out a perfect happy ending but that last page and dealing with the theme of dealing with your past ,i think, it fucking burned me im still not over the last pages.
technical use- despite my ending rant i will rave about the art page 1 to last utterly mind blowing art visually, aesthetically everything, the art really flew me through the story. the dialogue is characterized and done well and is the leader for eye flow across the pages, the panels itself were done well with smaller panels being more compact and exact with their meaning and the bigger panels show a grander pciture it's a good ebb and flow, rhythmically pelasing if you will.
audience - someone really into the minimalist digital cyberpunk retro ish art style with a dramatic plot with an ambiguous ending
6/10 ok .would be alot higher if not for the ending
i thought the art in this book was the damned cream of a cake beautiful wonderful and lovely throughout. the story on the other hand was gripping but that ending was so bad, like jesus a page or 2 just ruined the whole story, 2 people who should have moved on from each other get back together and effectively destroy their relationships with others. the plot though like otherside the connection is about the environment and governments and firms who are ruining it which leads people to extremes even when they don't like it.
characters- mick and nina are the 2 main characters, nina has a political businessman called tim, mick has his family with helena.mick and nina are 2 flawed and disappointed people in their story through circumstance and personality and their family is built and working around their faults. those 2 people even after being separated for 10 years lead more interconnected life's then they hope and by the end it SEEMS they put the past to rest and move on with their life's but FUCKING NO THEY GET BACK TOGETHER AND DESTROY EVERYTHING EVERY GOODMAN PAGE FOR NAUGHT FUCK. but i dont know im not french maybe i'm not seeing something here, but using copium i think they met to get closure and move on once and for all, like they say i love you to each other but that is simply the truth they get of their shoulders and go back to their lives and effectively and properly bury their past but i can only hope.
setting- it takes place predominantly in a grounded near future where things are a lot of technologically advanced and they've reached this light cyberpunk type stage with the techno body parts, vehicles and lighting aesthetics
themes- disappoint and hardship in relationships, not getting over the past, environmentalism, corrupt business politicians and governments', terrorism and extremism, facing your past
these are the themes predominantly dealt with from the story and it does them well, like i can see the points the author is trying to make about powerful people destroying our world and whatnot which leads individuals to take extreme actions understandable, the relationships themes are done nicely i felt invested in their story and them working things out. and in the end everything works out a perfect happy ending but that last page and dealing with the theme of dealing with your past ,i think, it fucking burned me im still not over the last pages.
technical use- despite my ending rant i will rave about the art page 1 to last utterly mind blowing art visually, aesthetically everything, the art really flew me through the story. the dialogue is characterized and done well and is the leader for eye flow across the pages, the panels itself were done well with smaller panels being more compact and exact with their meaning and the bigger panels show a grander pciture it's a good ebb and flow, rhythmically pelasing if you will.
audience - someone really into the minimalist digital cyberpunk retro ish art style with a dramatic plot with an ambiguous ending
6/10 ok .would be alot higher if not for the ending
September 30, 2023
Gorgeous-looking art, with a so-so story. The action is set in a very near future, with only small modifications from the life we know today, which is an interesting setup. The story starts with our two main characters going their separate paths in life, and continues to follow them and their struggles at various intervals. Their lives start to get slightly intertwined at some point without their knowledge, and we start to see them in parallel as the story unfolds.
I didn't really like the author's conclusion, and felt there was some things missing maybe to help lead there, which is why in the end, the story didn't feel satisfying enough. However, the art is absolutely beautiful, and is a good enough reason to pick up and read this, preferably the printed version due to being bigger in size than a tablet (I read this digitally).
I didn't really like the author's conclusion, and felt there was some things missing maybe to help lead there, which is why in the end, the story didn't feel satisfying enough. However, the art is absolutely beautiful, and is a good enough reason to pick up and read this, preferably the printed version due to being bigger in size than a tablet (I read this digitally).
February 20, 2023
A graphic novel usually must have a unique subject for me to like it a great deal (“Kent State”, “Joseph Smith and the Mormons”). This book did not. It was basically a short story.
The book is large sized, and the drawings are very nice (though I had trouble with some of the night scenes, as I often do).
I enjoyed the story, and it had a small twist at the end. But it wasn't particular memorable.
The book is large sized, and the drawings are very nice (though I had trouble with some of the night scenes, as I often do).
I enjoyed the story, and it had a small twist at the end. But it wasn't particular memorable.
January 7, 2023
I just did not click with this. This is not a particularly charming or likable story, nor are any of the characters particularly appealing.
The story seemed disjointed and surface-level and what was the point of the whole thing? As for the ending, it was also a disaster!
I didn't like the art either it was too digital for my taste.
The story seemed disjointed and surface-level and what was the point of the whole thing? As for the ending, it was also a disaster!
I didn't like the art either it was too digital for my taste.
May 22, 2024
This was weird. This is a totally different kind of comic. The artwork and the story(telling) are made for each other. Two lovers break up and life goes on, but more than a decade later their lives are still intertwined. This would make a great movie, not a blockbuster, but a great movie.
Got this via a Humble Bundle.
Got this via a Humble Bundle.
August 1, 2025
I enjoyed this deeply. The art is absolutely stunning and adds an aura of effortless beauty to everything. There are so many incredibly small moments that did not need to be there to advance the story but that added a layer of reality that I loved. You can tell the author and artist is someone who observed carefully. The details are what I appreciated the most. And a very tender story, as well.
September 10, 2025
(English version) Quite wonderful, moody, atmospheric artwork in this French album make the present day/near-future setting work so well. The mature storyline, however, is a little trite and well-worn, although satisfactory when accompanied with such lovely artwork. The depictions of cars, futuristic vehicles and cityscapes are quite brilliant. 3.75/5
October 27, 2024
Really good read.
This book was really cool and unique. I am glad I found it. The art was gorgeous and the writing was very good. Give it a chance. Its a good story. I am sad it only has one volume. Very good world building as well.
This book was really cool and unique. I am glad I found it. The art was gorgeous and the writing was very good. Give it a chance. Its a good story. I am sad it only has one volume. Very good world building as well.
January 13, 2023
Very male gaze-y, and I thought the connection between the two main characters could’ve been explored better. The story just felt a bit lacking in emotion. The art is gorgeous though.
March 19, 2024
Nice artwork, but the story isn't.
July 14, 2025
bd au dessin très esthétique, une histoire un peu terne au faire valoir écologique très faible
February 2, 2023
My praise for this book is solely for the artwork. The panel layouts and composition, the color choices, the clean aesthetic, etc. are all immaculate. The lighting effects from the color gradients is awesome stuff. I think it's all done digitally, but the resulting pieces are gorgeous.
The story itself is a bit of drama and slice-of-life mixed in with some classic film noir elements. I can't really say I connected with the characters and the story felt disjointed. I'll give it a re-read again at some point, since the artwork alone makes this book worth revisiting.
The story itself is a bit of drama and slice-of-life mixed in with some classic film noir elements. I can't really say I connected with the characters and the story felt disjointed. I'll give it a re-read again at some point, since the artwork alone makes this book worth revisiting.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews