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Un Visage Familier
«Chaque année, nos corps étaient un peu plus optimisés. Mais optimisés comment? Il était impossible de le dire. Nos villes aussi avaient été optimisées, au point de se muer en machines minutieusement réglées et diablement efficaces. Mais efficaces comment?»
Marchant sur les traces d’un Georges Orwell ou d’un Aldous Huxley, Michael DeForge décrit dans Un Visage familier une dystopie inquiétante, un monde futuriste où règne une forme de dictature de la technologie. Dans ce monde, les routes, les villes, mais également leurs habitants, sont régulièrement «updatés»; d’un jour à l’autre les immeubles changent de forme et place, les chemins ne mènent plus aux mêmes destinations, et les êtres humains se réveillent avec des visages différents, des côtes en moins ou des jambes en plus. Le livre suit plus particulièrement une employée du gouvernement (et narratrice du livre), qui travaille au département des plaintes; son rôle se résume à les lire, n’y apportant ni réponse, ni solution, comme si le simple fait de fixer un écran signifiait que «quelqu’un s’en occupe». Le lendemain d’une optimisation, la compagne de l’employée disparaît sans laisser de trace – est-elle partie volontairement, ou a-t-elle été victime d’une optimisation? A la recherche d’un signe, dans une étrange ambiance de paranoïa, ce que découvre la narratrice, c’est que quelque part, il y a encore un peu de colère, d’indignation dans ce monde sans âme, et que la résistance s’organise…
Michael DeForge excelle dans la description d’univers à la logique interne déroutante, et sa représentation d’une société outrageusement efficace, déshumanisée, fait froid dans le dos autant qu’elle stimule l’esprit, comme une mise en garde dénuée de moralisme. Le trait organique de DeForge, sa palette de couleurs acidulée et son étrange sens de l’humour viennent parfaire ce récit qui navigue entre pure science-fiction et pamphlet politique. La liberté avec laquelle l’auteur canadien aborde le dessin ne doit tromper personne : DeForge est un narrateur hors pair, et sans doute une des meilleures choses qui soient arrivées à la bande dessinée durant cette dernière décennie.
Marchant sur les traces d’un Georges Orwell ou d’un Aldous Huxley, Michael DeForge décrit dans Un Visage familier une dystopie inquiétante, un monde futuriste où règne une forme de dictature de la technologie. Dans ce monde, les routes, les villes, mais également leurs habitants, sont régulièrement «updatés»; d’un jour à l’autre les immeubles changent de forme et place, les chemins ne mènent plus aux mêmes destinations, et les êtres humains se réveillent avec des visages différents, des côtes en moins ou des jambes en plus. Le livre suit plus particulièrement une employée du gouvernement (et narratrice du livre), qui travaille au département des plaintes; son rôle se résume à les lire, n’y apportant ni réponse, ni solution, comme si le simple fait de fixer un écran signifiait que «quelqu’un s’en occupe». Le lendemain d’une optimisation, la compagne de l’employée disparaît sans laisser de trace – est-elle partie volontairement, ou a-t-elle été victime d’une optimisation? A la recherche d’un signe, dans une étrange ambiance de paranoïa, ce que découvre la narratrice, c’est que quelque part, il y a encore un peu de colère, d’indignation dans ce monde sans âme, et que la résistance s’organise…
Michael DeForge excelle dans la description d’univers à la logique interne déroutante, et sa représentation d’une société outrageusement efficace, déshumanisée, fait froid dans le dos autant qu’elle stimule l’esprit, comme une mise en garde dénuée de moralisme. Le trait organique de DeForge, sa palette de couleurs acidulée et son étrange sens de l’humour viennent parfaire ce récit qui navigue entre pure science-fiction et pamphlet politique. La liberté avec laquelle l’auteur canadien aborde le dessin ne doit tromper personne : DeForge est un narrateur hors pair, et sans doute une des meilleures choses qui soient arrivées à la bande dessinée durant cette dernière décennie.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2020
10 people are currently reading
1011 people want to read
About the author
Michael DeForge
69 books420 followersMichael DeForge lives in Toronto, Ontario. His comics and illustrations have been featured in Jacobin, The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Believer, The Walrus and Maisonneuve Magazine. He worked as a designer on Adventure Time for six seasons. His published books include Very Casual, A Body Beneath, Ant Colony, First Year Healthy, Dressing, Big Kids, Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero and A Western World.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
July 26, 2022
Very colorful and sometimes funny and yet unsettling digitized future and surreal world that features lots of DeForgian weird creatures. So like any sci-fi story it is a commentary on present socio-cultural tendencies. In this world things are constantly evolving, making identity and memory difficult. In other words, there are no “familiar faces.” Updates are constant and exhausting.
The main character and narrator has a government job where she reads complaints; now, she doesn’t have to respond to the complaints, she just has to read them (funny, right?), oh, and just listen to these humans (or whatever they might now be, changing all the time as they do). Some of them are weird, but some of them are sad. One comes from her ex-wife, which might have had the potential for a great, complex moment, but again, the very nature of memory is changing as much as anything else. What is “self” in such an environment?
And what is communication? One aspect of contemporary life that he parodies is online exchanges where we increasingly rely on emojis to express ourselves, and where we talk to siri on an increasingly regular basis as a way of learning to navigate the world.
DeForge is darkly funny and smart and weird in this book as much as anything he has done. I like weaving of often deeply personal stories within this weird, alienating, brightly-colored busy world. A little jarring, in a useful way.
The main character and narrator has a government job where she reads complaints; now, she doesn’t have to respond to the complaints, she just has to read them (funny, right?), oh, and just listen to these humans (or whatever they might now be, changing all the time as they do). Some of them are weird, but some of them are sad. One comes from her ex-wife, which might have had the potential for a great, complex moment, but again, the very nature of memory is changing as much as anything else. What is “self” in such an environment?
And what is communication? One aspect of contemporary life that he parodies is online exchanges where we increasingly rely on emojis to express ourselves, and where we talk to siri on an increasingly regular basis as a way of learning to navigate the world.
DeForge is darkly funny and smart and weird in this book as much as anything he has done. I like weaving of often deeply personal stories within this weird, alienating, brightly-colored busy world. A little jarring, in a useful way.
August 27, 2020
This short graphic novel is the distillation of modern anxiety. Overabundance of information, relentlessly updating technology, agreements made between powerful corporations and clueless consumers, and a world quickly become one big confluence between private and public. Hell, roommates are people you pay a company to have live with you because you have some hole in your life that needs filling.
Our protagonist works in a nameless company where she reads customer complaints. Or really, complaints of any origination, regardless of time and space. It is a redundant, unnecessary occupation, yet there are others waiting in line for it, practically foaming at the mouth for it. Our protagonist lives with her girlfriend who works a similarly meaningless job, yet both are forbidden, by corporate order, to talk about what goes on during the work day. This leads to a life of mostly silent cohabitation, as each quietly consumes technology, media, and other consumer goods, only meeting together at night for sexual relations.
From there, author Mchael DeForge takes us on a wild ride through corporatocracy, espionage, conspiracy, and revolution, all while the colorful pages morph and warp and change with dizzying frequency. Even the characters are mutable, like balls of clay, ever-changing but for no understandable purpose. This is a satire of the near-future, and it is terrifying and lonely.
Our protagonist works in a nameless company where she reads customer complaints. Or really, complaints of any origination, regardless of time and space. It is a redundant, unnecessary occupation, yet there are others waiting in line for it, practically foaming at the mouth for it. Our protagonist lives with her girlfriend who works a similarly meaningless job, yet both are forbidden, by corporate order, to talk about what goes on during the work day. This leads to a life of mostly silent cohabitation, as each quietly consumes technology, media, and other consumer goods, only meeting together at night for sexual relations.
From there, author Mchael DeForge takes us on a wild ride through corporatocracy, espionage, conspiracy, and revolution, all while the colorful pages morph and warp and change with dizzying frequency. Even the characters are mutable, like balls of clay, ever-changing but for no understandable purpose. This is a satire of the near-future, and it is terrifying and lonely.
September 6, 2021
I had reservations about DeForge's earlier work (Stunt is excellent, the rest hit-and-miss). But "Familiar Face" is one of the most impressive graphic novels I've come across recently. I've come to expect the sheer explosion of obsessive detail, and the unusual book design with occasional odd panel layouts (all the "complaints" are presented in inverted triangular panels, with solid black borders/backgrounds). Life mediated by digital technology is (of course!) delirious and simultaneously quietly accepted, with constant bewildering "updates": subway lines are reconfigured by map updates, rooms within buildings and entire buildings are moved overnight, the anatomy of characters change without warning. The main character's job is to read complaints submitted by fellow citizens; she (?) pines after a live-in partner who suddenly goes missing.
We experience all this through the main character's quiet musings and conversations. An exchange with her computer:
Computer?
Yes?!
Sorry, you surprised me. Yes?
Computer, how do I join a terrorist cell?
Umm.
I'm not sure I understand the question.
Like... is there a sort of meet and greet I could find out about...?
Is this in regards to the rent updates to our maps?
What about... some sort of reading group?
Like a book club?
Yeah, but for books about the economy or whatever
[pause]
Do you need guns?
If it's guns you need, I can hook you up.
I'd mentioned before that the writing in Stunt reminds me a bit of Brian Evenson. Familiar Face certainly has its Evenson-ian moments, with the sudden disappearance and unstable reality, paranoid speculations, and overall confusion. But DeForge's protagonist here seems to passively be resigned to the fact that this is just how things are, and float her way through the contradictions and chaos. I'm already hankering for his next book.
We experience all this through the main character's quiet musings and conversations. An exchange with her computer:
Computer?
Yes?!
Sorry, you surprised me. Yes?
Computer, how do I join a terrorist cell?
Umm.
I'm not sure I understand the question.
Like... is there a sort of meet and greet I could find out about...?
Is this in regards to the rent updates to our maps?
What about... some sort of reading group?
Like a book club?
Yeah, but for books about the economy or whatever
[pause]
Do you need guns?
If it's guns you need, I can hook you up.
I'd mentioned before that the writing in Stunt reminds me a bit of Brian Evenson. Familiar Face certainly has its Evenson-ian moments, with the sudden disappearance and unstable reality, paranoid speculations, and overall confusion. But DeForge's protagonist here seems to passively be resigned to the fact that this is just how things are, and float her way through the contradictions and chaos. I'm already hankering for his next book.
November 30, 2025
Tanıdık Sima, her şeyin çok hızlı değiştiği bilinmez bir çağda şikayetleri "yalnızca okumak"la görevli bir memurun ağzından anlatılan bir hikaye. Oldukça canlı renklere sahip çizimler, distopik dijital bir çağı anlatıyor. Yapay zeka, her şeyin bir gün öncesine nazaran asla aynı ve tanıdık kalmaması, tanıdık simanın konularından. Dijital dünyada yalnızlık çeken insanlar için ev arkadaşlığı görevi üstlenenler, şikayet hattı hepsi trajikomik ve oldukça tanıdık aslında. Oldukça ilgi çekici, daha önce okuduğum hiçbir çizgi romana benzemeyen-buna kitabın boyutu da dahil- Tanıdık Sima'yı çok sevdim.
November 28, 2024
"Leaving Richard's Valley" i "Birds of Maine" trochę ostudziły mój zapał, jeśli chodzi o poznawanie bibliografii DeForge. Te dwa grubasy dobrze działały czytane fragmentami, ale ogólnie przytłaczały monotonią i wymagały od czytelnika sporo cierpliwości. "Familiar Face" nie jest, jak tamte, całością stworzoną z jednostronicowych pasków, to płynna i - jak zwykle u tego autora - bardzo intrygująca fabuła, mówiąca tylko pozornie o świecie dalekim od naszego
"Familiar face" to rzeczywistość ciągłego updat'u i optymalizacji. Nigdy nie wiesz jak zadziała system, w którym żyjesz. Pewnego dnia w miejscu, w którym przebiegała twoja droga do pracy, może pojawić jezioro albo wielka dziura. To dotyczy nie tylko budynków, dróg i wszystkiego co tworzone jest przez ciągle aktualizowane mapy, ale też ludzi. Czy człowiek koniecznie potrzebuje szyję? Być może wraz z wgraniem kolejnych poprawek nie będzie jej posiadał, albo zmieni się w czteronogie stworzenie? Nigdy nie wiesz też czy osoba, z którą dzielisz łóżko, jutro nie zostanie podmieniona na inną. Jest też praca - generalnie niepotrzebna. Bohater czyta skargi wysyłane przez ludzi w różnych okresach. Nie wie czy problemy są rozwiązane, nie wie kto je wysłał, nie wie z jakiego okresu pochodzą - on ma je tylko czytać, bo zgłaszający lubią mieć poczucie, że ktoś to robi.
Graficznie jest jak zawsze ciekawie. Amorfizm postaci, granie wyraźną kolorystyką, próby przedstawienia efektów 3D przez cieniowanie i charakterystyczne kompozycje w kadrach. Nic nowego dla artysty, ale ciągle oryginalnie w skali makro.
Czy w społeczeństwie, które jest w 100% kontrolowane i w którym kolejne fixy rozwiązujące problemy zmieniają rzeczywistość, jest miejsce na bunt? Czy człowiek o czymkolwiek jest jeszcze w stanie decydować sam? DeForge nie da wam jednoznacznej odpowiedzi, ale z pewnością sprowokuje do myślenia
"Familiar face" to rzeczywistość ciągłego updat'u i optymalizacji. Nigdy nie wiesz jak zadziała system, w którym żyjesz. Pewnego dnia w miejscu, w którym przebiegała twoja droga do pracy, może pojawić jezioro albo wielka dziura. To dotyczy nie tylko budynków, dróg i wszystkiego co tworzone jest przez ciągle aktualizowane mapy, ale też ludzi. Czy człowiek koniecznie potrzebuje szyję? Być może wraz z wgraniem kolejnych poprawek nie będzie jej posiadał, albo zmieni się w czteronogie stworzenie? Nigdy nie wiesz też czy osoba, z którą dzielisz łóżko, jutro nie zostanie podmieniona na inną. Jest też praca - generalnie niepotrzebna. Bohater czyta skargi wysyłane przez ludzi w różnych okresach. Nie wie czy problemy są rozwiązane, nie wie kto je wysłał, nie wie z jakiego okresu pochodzą - on ma je tylko czytać, bo zgłaszający lubią mieć poczucie, że ktoś to robi.
Graficznie jest jak zawsze ciekawie. Amorfizm postaci, granie wyraźną kolorystyką, próby przedstawienia efektów 3D przez cieniowanie i charakterystyczne kompozycje w kadrach. Nic nowego dla artysty, ale ciągle oryginalnie w skali makro.
Czy w społeczeństwie, które jest w 100% kontrolowane i w którym kolejne fixy rozwiązujące problemy zmieniają rzeczywistość, jest miejsce na bunt? Czy człowiek o czymkolwiek jest jeszcze w stanie decydować sam? DeForge nie da wam jednoznacznej odpowiedzi, ale z pewnością sprowokuje do myślenia
March 21, 2020
This might be Deforge’s best since Ant Colony, an eerie look at our future crashing into the present.
December 16, 2022
As in the previous DeForge I just read, this is, while not exactly coherent nor cohesive, is more 'all of a piece' - which I prefer to the artist's more diverse selections.
September 7, 2025
Recently a colleague lent me their copy of Heaven No Hell , and of that came a hypothesis: that Michael DeForge might just be the Mark Fisher of graphic novels. Reading Familiar Face really moves this out of the realm of conjecture; DeForge's weird and eerie examination of a technocratic society lost in a relentless pursuit of progress speaks clearly – if also surreally – to the cultural logic of capitalist realism in the here and now.
The premise is simple: in a thoroughly modernised world, everything is rapidly and automatically updated to the latest patch. People wake up in apartments of a completely different shape and size; in bodies radically altered from those they went to bed in. The roads and railroads are always morphing and changing direction, as is the information superhighway. In the midst of this allegedly efficient chaos is our unnamed protagonist, searching for something that has been optimised out of her life.
Familiar Face presents this perfectly prescient view of a society cut to fit into capitalist abstraction in a distinct and fittingly absurd art style. It pushes the boundaries of the graphic medium to forge a potent visual vocabulary that captures both the overwhelming anxiety of existing today and the terror of the lonely future that awaits. I'd like to think Mark Fisher would have thought so, too.
The premise is simple: in a thoroughly modernised world, everything is rapidly and automatically updated to the latest patch. People wake up in apartments of a completely different shape and size; in bodies radically altered from those they went to bed in. The roads and railroads are always morphing and changing direction, as is the information superhighway. In the midst of this allegedly efficient chaos is our unnamed protagonist, searching for something that has been optimised out of her life.
Take off the sci-fi scaffolding, and every aspect of this society becomes immediately familiar: the pressure to rapidly adapt to constant change leading to the destabilisation of identity and memory; the overabundance of information and the closing-off of the public imagination; all-powerful corporations enacting life-altering (literally!) changes on a mass of clueless consumers who are too busy working redundant, oversubscribed jobs; the depoliticisation of mental health coupled with the commercialisation and automation of connection; the primacy of an opaque form of efficiency and, of course, the inevitability of system failures and the insidious redirection of blame used to keep the machine running onwards, onwards, onwards.
Familiar Face presents this perfectly prescient view of a society cut to fit into capitalist abstraction in a distinct and fittingly absurd art style. It pushes the boundaries of the graphic medium to forge a potent visual vocabulary that captures both the overwhelming anxiety of existing today and the terror of the lonely future that awaits. I'd like to think Mark Fisher would have thought so, too.
April 17, 2020
Bästa sen ant colony!
March 26, 2023
Thanks to Luna for the rec! I really loved the art style, definitely used the medium to its fullest potential. We live in a society.
November 17, 2021
Michael DeForge has developed a very distinctive style and voice, so once you've read a few of his comics, you basically know what to expect. True to form, Familiar Face fits in comfortably among the other of his comics I've read. Thematically, the focus is on disturbing technological and societal developments, particularly the tendency for corporations and governments to trample over personal autonomy in the name of efficiency and convenience. There's also an exploration of people's uncomfortable relationships with their own bodies, another recurring DeForge motif. Visually, we're treated to the usual vibrant block colours and utterly bizarre, cartoonish character designs. We also have a typical DeForge protagonist – disorientated, depressed, alienated, and kind of self-centred – and a familiar narrative style, with prominent use of first-person narration.
None of this is to say that Familiar Face feels tired or formulaic. On the contrary, there are some interesting artistic innovations: there's a lot more use of abstract imagery than I remember in DeForge's other work, plus there's a really nice contrast between two distinct art styles for different parts of the story, with the secondary style quite different from most DeForge art. What's more, the drawings throughout feel a bit more organic and less flat than in the other DeForge comics I've read. Perhaps most importantly, the story is consistently engaging; unlike some of DeForge's work, this never feels aimless or inconsequential.
In short, this is classic Michael DeForge, and although it may not be my favourite of his comics, I'm not at all disappointed; it's a thoroughly enjoyable read.
None of this is to say that Familiar Face feels tired or formulaic. On the contrary, there are some interesting artistic innovations: there's a lot more use of abstract imagery than I remember in DeForge's other work, plus there's a really nice contrast between two distinct art styles for different parts of the story, with the secondary style quite different from most DeForge art. What's more, the drawings throughout feel a bit more organic and less flat than in the other DeForge comics I've read. Perhaps most importantly, the story is consistently engaging; unlike some of DeForge's work, this never feels aimless or inconsequential.
In short, this is classic Michael DeForge, and although it may not be my favourite of his comics, I'm not at all disappointed; it's a thoroughly enjoyable read.
July 19, 2020
queer + estranging and extremely lovely
February 12, 2025
A speedy read of a speculative fiction graphic novel. Told from the perspective of a future complaint-reader (who can't do anything other than read complaints), the book goes through how modernisation and the constant need for updating has resulted in an almost Orwellian society where technology reigns and people become second. The art is very vibrant and the storytelling concise but poignant.
June 26, 2021
Always reliable combination of social commentary and absurdity and wiggly weird details
April 6, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A story about a constantly updating society where the landscape, the people, and yourself are always “optimizing” to the latest patch, focused on the main character and her search for something that was optimized out of her life. Super interesting from just a sci-fi tech perspective, plus the added layer of anti capitalist humor and politics was awesome. I love Michael deforge’s work, and this was a pleasure to read. Absolutely loved the infinite character designs and bright color palette. I also loved the breaks in the story for the black and white mini story complaints. Just a great little quick read.
March 8, 2020
DeForge’s style in this book is so refined, and the way he organizes the narrative is very clever—made reading the book in one sitting almost inevitable. There is a good bit of laugh-out-loud dialogue, but the overall mood of this book is quite dystopian. He perfectly balances the grim and the funny, though, and that is one of the reasons I enjoy DeForge so much.
October 1, 2024
Next level.
A short appreciation video :
https://youtu.be/A6mfiPVYbjo
September 16, 2020
3.333333333333 stars. Not enough to round it to 4, but enough to tip it decidedly past 3.
November 10, 2024
I was just about to write a review and then read this one, which does a better job of capturing how I felt:
https://store.silversprocket.net/prod...
It's moving how much humanity DeForge is able to capture in these outlandish worlds he creates. This one feels like he's sounding a bit of an alarm for society.
January 19, 2022
I really am jiving with DeForge's work, and this one has some really great stuff. The worlds he builds are so surreal but absolutely felt and resonant. In terms of story, I suppose that does matter a little less, but I've found in this and Big Kids the endings of the books sort of just happen and are a little unsatisfying. This one, I think, feels a little more that way. But the world, and a few delightful characters here, are really fun and those characters did charm me more than I think any in Big Kids(besides the MC of that one maybe). All to say is: give DeForge a try! Looking forward to reading the rest of his work.
December 21, 2024
4 1/2.
A glorious exploration of longing, grieving and navigating the digital age. Multiple times I felt myself empathising deeply with the main character and their heartbreak at the sudden disappearance of their wife, the narrative perfectly blending human emotion and funny musings. The computer character was a personal favourite and my eyes enjoyed the colourful and intricate world Deforge built up! Asked for ‘Heaven No Hell’ for Christmas :)
A glorious exploration of longing, grieving and navigating the digital age. Multiple times I felt myself empathising deeply with the main character and their heartbreak at the sudden disappearance of their wife, the narrative perfectly blending human emotion and funny musings. The computer character was a personal favourite and my eyes enjoyed the colourful and intricate world Deforge built up! Asked for ‘Heaven No Hell’ for Christmas :)
March 23, 2023
So funny and dynamic and lots of other adjectives— I loved the art style so much and looooved the complaints with their own panels. Really lovely and weird! Did a great job of communicating how isolating and unsettling it is to be in a world that changes so fast, and asks you to change even faster.
September 25, 2023
I really don't understand the praise for this graphic novel. Sure, the art is somewhat interesting -- almost a Sally Cruikshank animated film in book form, with wild colors and crowded little creatures. But there is neither an engaging story nor an interesting perspective here. This is the case of the artist who has vomited ideas onto the page at random without a plan and it is remarkably annoying.
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March 1, 2024i feel like i cant rate this because of how much is going on in my life and im finding it hard to not feel detached from any of this but im not sure how to feel about it. its interesting, again read for a class im taking. i feel like im going to need to read it a few times; at face value, it seems simple, like im missing something. i will keep you updated, the one person who reads my reviews
April 8, 2022
DeForge's illustration style, which brings new meaning to abstraction and surrealism, is on display in this odd and thought-provoking story. The artist has thankfully reigned in some of his tendencies for gross-out content and instead has presented a topsy-turvy and dystopian view of modern life and where it may be headed.
February 25, 2024
What on earth was this and why did it feel like a warped, abstract alternative universe (I read it for a class or I never would have bothered, although it did have some solid themes that paralleled reality)
December 17, 2024
DAMN.DAMNNNN This feels like it was made with direct reference to a venn diagram of my personal interests. I could not put this down. So much interesting stuff going on, so much to think over and chew on, such gorgeous dynamic unsettling artwork. Between this and Stunt DeForge is a new comic art fav
December 27, 2021
wow :O the story alone is charming but the ILLOS?! out of this world
“i’m understood far too well. how humiliating”
“i’m understood far too well. how humiliating”
April 26, 2024
3.5/5
Well what the fuck did I just read. It's an amorphous blob of a story that can have endless possible interpretations with really stylish and unique art style.
I enjoyed it
Well what the fuck did I just read. It's an amorphous blob of a story that can have endless possible interpretations with really stylish and unique art style.
I enjoyed it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews