David Bowie in Comics!

Pop Rock en BD

by Nicolas Finet, Thierry Lamy

From David Jones to David Bowie and from Space Oddity to Black Star, discover the fate of an artist with a thousand faces. He is one of the most influential and creative artists of the 20th century. He explored a thousand styles and crossed the ages with splendor. His loss leaves an immense void… to fill it, discover his incredible destiny in this comics biography.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Nonfiction, Biography, Music, History, Graphic Novels Comics

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2020

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third David Bowie graphic biography I've read in the last couple of years, and despite its flaws, it's the one I like the best.

Like the other books in the Pop Rock in Comics series, it's translated from the French (where it is Pop Rock en BD, or Pop Rock en Bandes Dessinées). Each comic strip is by the same writer, but the illustrations rotate through a dozen different artists with very different styles, which can be a bit jarring.

The copy editing isn't terrific, so you'll need to excuse some typos (like mention of the Velvet Underground's "Lou Rood"). And the format is a bit grating with its 20 chapters that each have 1) a text introduction telling you what the comic strip is about, 2) a comic strip about a small section of Bowie's life, and 3) a following text piece that repeats and elaborates on what was told in the strip in a manner that fawns over how awesome Bowie was. So much repetition! But the text pages do include photographs of the era that can be interesting to compare to the drawn art.

Anyhow, it does what it sets out to do, telling about Bowie's life chronologically, from birth to death, while picking out and highlighting some recurring themes. It dramatizes and lionizes, but I felt I got a decent sense of the artist behind the continuous reinvention his public persona underwent.


FOR REFERENCE:

Table of Contents:
Note: Comic strips are written by Thierry Lamy, and biographical text between the comic strips is written by Nicolas Finet.
• The 1950s. Plastic Saxophone / Martin Trystram, art
• 1962. A Unique Gaze / Thomas Gilbert, art
• 1962-1966. First Bands / Marcello Quintanilha, art
• 1966. When David Jones Becomes David Bowie / Christelle Pécout, art
• 1969. Ground Control to Major Tom: The Space Oddity Period / Jérémie Royer, art
• 1969-1971. Angie / Nicolas Pitz, art
• 1972. Top of the Pops: The Birth of a Legend / Monsieur IOU, art
• 1972-1973. An Alien Named Ziggy Stardust / Christopher, art
• 1972-1973. Bowie the Producer: Lou Reed & Iggy Pop / Claire Fauvel, art
• 1974. A Hint of Science Fiction / Léonie Bischoff, art
• 1975. Turning to Soul: Young Americans / Marcello Quintanilha, art
• 1976. The Thin White Duke / Christelle Pécout, art
• 1976-1979. A Date With Berlin / Christopher, art
• 1980-1984. The Global Icon: Let's Dance / Monsieur IOU, art
• 1983. Bowie in Film: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence / Joël Alessandra, art
• 1989-1992. Forever Inovating: Bowie and Tin Machine / Martin Trystram, art
• 1992. Iman / Samuel Figuière, art
• 1992-1999. Experiments in Genre / Joël Alessandra, art
• 2004-2014. Quiet / Samuel Figuière, art
• 2014-2016. The Last Dance / Nicolas Pitz, art
• End Matter: Discography, Filmography, Sitography, Recommended Reading
• David Bowie / portrait by Alex Bochard

[Margaret Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this more that 5 I would!

Well that was a roller coaster emotional ride from beginning to end! Even though I knew most of the content as I’ve read a few (a lot actually) on David Bowie throughout the years. I followed him from way back from the David Robert Jones days to his last release. This is a mix of text on him and graphic novel additions throughout and I feel the graphic parts certainly added to the story as it took you to where he was at each stage of his life. He was so close to his stepbrother Terry and idolised him but Terry had mental health issues which truly upset David so much so even after his brothers suicide he still felt he’d let him down. This was despite all the help he tried to give him. Yes this is not just about Bowie’s music it’s his life struggle in all his alto egos and as if he was still trying to find out who he was.

From the very early days to the struggle to fame. His rather strange bizarre marriage to Angie which at the time I thought was a wrong move reading between the lines. Then his son was born Zowie (Duncan) Jones whom he had custody of after the breakup then the divorce from Angie in the 80s. The Berlin years with Iggy and Lou Reed brought out some of his best music.

A heart attack in June 2004 resulting in Angioplasty to clear a blockage gave him a fright which I guess then lead him to really look at his life. Now with Iman whom he certainly found true love and happiness resulting in his daughter Alexandria know as Lexi. Finally he’d found a home with those he loved. Then came that awful diagnosis none of us knew about until the end. But he did everything to the full and I believe despite his doubts he did it his way and made a lot of people happy and a lot of us broken when he died. Jeez who releases an album on their 69th birthday then has his death announced 2 days later. We all thought ‘he’s back’ but not for long. For me his music gives me a lot of joy and I thank my local Adelaide cover band Ashes to Ashes the David Bowie Experience for helping keep his music alive for his many fans here and around Australia. Jeff Duff is another singer and all those others who had tributes I’ve attended each year.

I’ve only listen to Blackstar twice, his last album and it took me a year to do so. It’s brilliant but so very sad and I can’t stop the tears after losing someone even though I’d ever met nor knew him he was a huge part of my life. The last few pages of this had me in tears as he’s with Major Tom one of his first characters in his songs. He’s telling David it’s ok to bow out now and they reflect on the graphic novel section of his many life achievements. Then it jumps to him seeing his stepbrother and you know he’s gone home forever! They say when you see a Blackstar that’s when you’re near the end so he knew it was his last curtain call. RIP Starman … you did good!

[Sonya Ben Behi · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai adoré cette BD qui rend hommage au personnage emblématique qu'est Bowie. De ses début à sa mort, on suis la genèse du mythe, par la plumes de différent.e.s dessinateurs et dessinatrices. On témoigne de son immense talent, mais surtout de sa résilience. Ses succès, ses échecs, ses déboires, ses amis, ses amours, ses emmerdes, et tout ce qui fait de lui une légende. Un Sphinx doublé d'un Loki ou d'une Vénus, une déité de plusieurs couleurs et de plusieurs générations, Bowie dans toute sa gloire. Pour tous les fans et les moins fans, lisez cette BD!

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 3 out of 5]

To jest ciekawy komiks, bo sama historia Bowiego jest szalenie ciekawa, szczególnie dla kogoś kto interesuje się postacią czy w ogóle kulturą pop. Kilkustronicowe rozdziały przedzielono tekstami porządkującymi wiedzę o artyście w odpowiedniej kolejności. I w zasadzie tyle dobrego - dwunastu rysowników spełniło swoje zadanie oferując spójną opowieść o nieprzeciętnej postaci. Inaczej jednak wypadnie "David Bowie w komiksie", gdy spojrzymy na możliwości medium i uświadomimy sobie wyjątkowość samego twórcy. Kurde, przecież to był kameleon, postać barwna i nietuzinkowa, zmieniająca stylistyki swych dokonań zanim słuchacze zdążyli oswoić się z poprzednimi. Można było choćby w warstwie graficznej nieźle poszaleć. Kilkunastu rysowników na tych 160 stronach robi mniej niż jeden Typex w komiksie o Warholu. W tym sensie jest to jednak w jakimś stopniu zmarnowana szansa. Solidna pozycja - tylko tyle

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Bowie is legendary and his life story is so fascinating and captivating. Some of this art is amazing, from artists I’ve never heard of. The written recaps of each period of his life are fairly well done, and if left alone would have made a nice brief biography. The comic sections placed together would have been good.

The problem was the information was basically tripled. Each section introduced it, the comic stated it, and then a two page biography repeated it with more detail. It’s as if the author was not sure which way they wanted to go.

Read one of the many full biographies out there instead. I loved the one by Marc Spitz.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. I loved it. This is a really comprehensive telling of Bowie’s life and creations. It threaded together a lot of bits and pieces I was aware of to create a more complete look at Bowie’s motivations and innovations. It was a bit repetitive at times, in that each graphic chapter is bookended with a page of text previewing that period, in addition to a text blurb that starts each graphic portion. This leads to a sort of back and forth timeline that was a bit confusing at times. Maybe this book was written under the assumption that some people would skim through it, treating it more like a coffee table book than something meant to read cover to cover. Despite that I loved it. Would recommend.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking advantage of a blackout to finish up multiple in progress books today. The multiple artists contributing five page vignettes to tell the story of Bowie’s life create a mosaic appropriate to the ever-reinventing personae and musical output of the man who was once Davy Jones. The final section on Blackstar managed to wring a tear out of me as the journey came to an end. It is a sublime complement with the film Moonage Daydream, which in images and sounds renders my subjective inner visual soundtrack frighteningly well.

[· Fany · · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai quand même bien aimé mais, je trouvais que les textes explicatifs à la fin des bandes dessinées merveilleusement illustrées n'apportaient rien de plus que ce qui avait été présenté dans la bande dessinée, je ne vois donc pas le besoin.

[Florence Reisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Passionnant et captivant, ce livre en BD sur David Bowie offre une immersion fascinante dans la vie et la carrière de cet artiste iconique. Bien que les dessins ne m’aient pas totalement convaincue, l’histoire reste prenante et vaut le détour pour découvrir la vie tourmentée de cet artiste hors norme !

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite thing was the art. Beyond that, I need to read a good biography of Bowie. Until then, I’ll be listening to “Changes Now” again.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fantastic. And gorgeous. Each chapter is a different era of his life and career, and each is illustrated by a different artist. At the end of each chapter there’s a two-page spread with real photos and a brief description of the era, what happened during it, and its albums. All the artwork is fantastic, and it’s just a great read, especially if you’re a fan. I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway, but if I hadn’t I definitely would’ve bought it. It’s beautiful.

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me get the thing that bugged me off my chest. Bowie's performance as the Goblin King in Labyrinth is NOT forgettable. The author is obviously a cis-het dude because anyone else who saw that film has not forgotten it. Take a look online and you'll see more discussion of that character than any of the roles touted in the book. It's even left off the filmography! I only saw that movie a few years ago and holy crap, did it make an impression. Even more so on the women of my generation who saw it when it first came out. The writer pretty much dismisses all the more commercially successful work he did (although to be fair, there are two panels where we have two guys and a girl discussing this and the girl sticks up for the stuff).

Ok, now for the good. I love that it is divided into sections, with a different artist illustrating. A fitting tribute to the king of reinvention. Also like that each graphic section is bookended by a quick description at the beginning and a more extensive summary of the period at the end. I feel I got a full picture of the artist, not an experience I usually have with graphic novel biographies of musicians. The artwork, with various styles, are all clear to understand both in the images and the lettering, again, not as common as it should be. I'm now going to search out others in this series, as I'm mighty impressed with this one.

[Eric Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Born David Robert Jones in the suburbs of London, the young boy cultured on jazz and influenced by early rock-n-roll would rise to be a star. David Bowie was known for genre-spanning music represented by many personas, often reflecting his progressive views of gender identity and sexuality. Starting his rise to fame as Davy Jones before becoming David Bowie, he became Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, and the Thin White Duke. Beyond the music, movies, and fashionable stage personalities, Bowie left his mark as the man of a thousand faces, sent from outer space to bring a message of hope to Earth.

David Bowie in Comics is a graphic novel of the life and career of a most beloved cultural icon. Each of the twenty chapters is illustrated by a different artist. The script by Thierry Lamy complements the artwork. The biographical text by Nicholas Finet makes this a book for any fan of David Bowie. The artwork ranges from colorful, like many of his onstage avatars, to dark motifs, as in space. With a life as complex as Bowie’s, this is a great ode to the Starman. From Space Oddity to Blackstar, this book will have you dancing in the street.

This review was originally published at https://sanfranciscobookreview.com/pr...

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life and times of David Bowie told in the comic book format works surprisingly well.

This book does a good job of giving us a thorough look at each phase of Bowie's life, and hitting the "major plot points" that would shape and mold him into the performer he later became. It was interesting seeing especially the parts about when he was a kid, as I didn't know much about that at all, especially the stuff about his brother. But through this origin, you can see the seeds being planted for his theatrics later on, and how even the schizophrenia of his brother was an influence.

After that we get Ziggy, the Diamond Dog, the Thin White Duke, and all of the other personalities that we know and love Bowie for. Each facet of his life is a chapter and we get to see not only what he was doing through each period, but the emotional state that Bowie was in when he was going through it. Nicolas Finet did a great job of cohesively telling the story of what appears to be a fractured life of sorts.

This was a lot of fun, with some good artwork. If you're a fan of Bowie, I would recommend this book.

[Julia Gierczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Komiksowy przekrój przez wybrane, wyraziste etapy życia i twórczości Davida Bowiego oczami jednego scenarzysty i kilkunastu rysowników i rysowniczek. Dla osób niezaznajomionych szczegółowo z dorobkiem i biografią Bowiego może to być dobre i lekkie w formie i treści kompendium. Jako że ja obeznana bardzo dobrze, wiele to opowieść w moje życie nie wnosi, poza jednak skądinąd naprawdę cenną przyjemnością powrotu do wrażeń i odkryć sprzed lat. Podoba mi się to, że estetyka poszczególnych krótkich komiksów tworzy spójną całość, choć jednocześnie formy wyrazu są różne, acz w granicach raczej dość konwencjonalnej kreski i minimalistycznych kadrów. W zasadzie miła i wdzięczna lektura, ale naprawdę miła, stąd wysoka ocena.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed the different art styles for the different eras of Bowie's life/career (very appropriate). I honestly didn't know much of Bowie's life so this had some very good information, as any biography should. However, this book is so repetitive. I almost stopped reading because of how annoying this was. At the beginning of each section there is an introduction which tells you about that time period. Then that time period is explored in the comic portion, often relaying the same information from the intro. Then to finish the section is a two page round up of the same information just in more detail. If this had been about another artist I would D.N.F.'ed and moved on, but I love Bowie so I stuck it out.

[☠︎︎ A.K. ☠︎︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 ✩

As a life long Bowie fan, this ws such a fun way to learn about his history and career. The array of artists all brought a unique style to each chapter that Bowie likely would have loved, as it is a visual reflection of his own ever-changing career. This was informative and fun at the same time, leaving me even more curious about aspects of Bowie's career that didn't get nearly as much attention in this book.

For English language readers, there are, admittedly, a notable amount of typos, however, they're easy enough to ignore considering this is a translated work. And the focus is ultimately more on the visual storytelling.

R.E.A.D.S. SCORE
R: 8/10
E: 8/10
A: 9/10
D: 9/10
S: 8/10
Total: 8.40/10.00

[Harold · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A fun treat for Bowie fans that offers a fast, but impressively comprehensive look at the man's life and monumental body of work. I had a lot of fun reading this and would've rated it higher, except for two reasons. The artwork, handled by a different illustrator for each chapter, is mostly uninspired and occasionally downright garish (like that cover image). Also, the individual comic chapters (each based around a specific album and/or period in Bowie's life) are interspersed with written passages that summarize what you just read - making for a very repetitive book.

[Floflyy · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai toujours été un grand fan de Bowie et cette BD ne fait que confirmer mon amour de l'artiste. On découvre era après era comment le chanteur a toujours su se réinventer. Sous la plume des nombreus dessinateurs alternant dans la BD, le ton est juste. Ils n'idéalisent pas l'homme, une certaine objectivité et toujours de mise et le travail biographique est très bien réalisé, ainsi que les parties documentaires (parfois un peu redondantes une fois les planches lues).

Je vais regarder pour me procurer d'autre BD de la collection que j'ai adoré

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was packed with information, but it was also very repetitive. Each comic section was followed by a page summary that recapped the comics while adding some additional information as well. The changes in artist style made it slightly hard to recognize characters in each chapter. Aside from that, it was nice to see the wide variety of art styles.

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fairly big Bowie fan and I learned some new things from this book. However, almost all the art is very bad, to put it mildly. I found that quite distracting. Also, the format of the book is clunky. Each Each chapter the story with comics, then tells the same story with text. Why?

A case of a book with a gorgeous cover that disappoints once opened.

[Gerrod Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

The life of Bowie is truly one of a kind and, given the highly visual nature of his artistry, you would assume that the translation from life to graphic novel would be compelling. Unfortunately, David Bowie In Comics! simply glosses over the most notable highlights of his life in an overly simplistic manner that feels almost reductive.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some interesting stuff about David Bowie. The book has a lot of text as well as comics. Mostly, each comic has text both before and after, with a fair amount of repetition. The art was interesting, colorful, and it had the right spirit, but very few panels actually looked like Bowie or the other people portrayed.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 3 out of 5]

La parte comic es demasiado irregular en arte e historia, con topicos que se repiten en los textos de cierre, haciendo que ciertas partes se estorben entre ellas. Pudo haber sido mucho mejor. Sube la nota el emotivo ultimo capitulo.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan so this review is quite biased.


David Bowie was/is my person. I found out he passed on my birthday. He was the one artist that I followed.

Quite the story and journey with an artist that really did it his way.


Highly recommended

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mostly good just because of how fascinating the subject is. I am not a huge fan of the format with comics interspersed with translated text that goes over what was just covered in the comics.

[Mengzhen Markland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
wasn't particularly engaging or innovative with it's repetitive format, but it served its purpose very well. I enjoyed all the art styles for a different parts of the book and it really came here and did what it intended to do. period.

[Iván Pérez Peralta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Todo lo que se lea sobre Bowie es poco. Creo que se podría haber hecho más, pero no está malote

[Lucia Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad told me to read this book and I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about David Bowie

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned some great history and details about the life of Bowie.