Hwy 115

by Matthias Lehmann

This road-movie crime story is a masterful debut graphic novel from France.

A road movie featuring two detectives, Rene and Agatha, on the tracks of Robert Illot, a serial killer whose modus operandi is to suffocate his victim with various objects (including chickens and lightbulbs) along the highways and byways of France. As they get closer and closer to catching up with him, seeking out and interrogating men and women from his past life at the insane asylum, he always stays one step ahead and the row of corpses grows longer and longer In this lengthy original graphic novel by Matthias Lehmann (his first, released to great acclaim in his native France earlier this year), dreams and flashbacks converge with the ongoing narrative, done in Lehmann's hypnotically intense and insanely labor-intensive woodcut style to form a dark and disquieting vision of humanity.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Dibujante, ilustrador y pintor ocasional de raíces franco-brasileñas, Matthias Lehmann nació en la región de París en 1978 y ya en la adolescencia empezó a foguearse en la historieta breve y el mundo de la autoedición. Hoy destaca como especialista en la técnica del linograbado, colabora de manera regular en revistas y periódicos como Fluide Glacial, Siné Mensuel, Le Monde o Libération y tiene en su haber obras como Isolacity (2001), L’éttoufeur de la RN 115 (2006), Les larmes d’Ezéchiel (2009) o Personne ne sait que je vais mourir (2015).

Reviews

[Grégoire Maillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

j’ai trouvé cette bd dans le fond d’un bac dans une librairie d’occasion à Montréal et à peine après avoir découvert son style graphique je savais que je ne ne pouvais pas la laisser là; à mes yeux, le principal atout de cette bd est son dessin, noir, original, intriguant (les images parlent d’elle même); j’étais un poil déçu par l’histoire qui était très linéaire et pas forcément innovante mais au moins le twist final rend l’histoire dans son ensemble plus interessante

[Masso Otembra · Rating 5 out of 5]

É um quadrinho a respeito de duas pessoas que se encontram e, coincidentemente, estão à procura do mesmo assassino em série, cujo método de fazer suas vítimas consiste em asfixiá-las ao fazê-las engolir objetos estranhos. No fim das contas, é uma "história de estrada" e um thriller psicológico, certamente surreal porque muito alucinado, com personagens bem desenvolvidos (segundo a provável intenção do autor de nos deixar apreensivos e perdidos).
A arte do livro é sensacional. Diferentemente da maioria dos quadrinhos que já vi, este tem um nível muito rico de detalhes, que envolvem mesmo as coisas que se poderiam ter como desnecessárias, mas que a gente apreende mesmo assim e imergem a gente com muita habilidade na história. E o fato de ter sido feito em xilogravura (caso isso e "scratchboard" sejam a mesma coisa) só engrandece minha admiração.
Embora seja uma narrativa de padrão repetitivo, por descrever os sucessivos assassinatos, eu fiquei preso pela expectativa do fim (de leve previsível). É um livro aparentemente feito pra confundir o leitor, e eu realmente aprecio quando eu preciso (re)investigar uma história com mais cuidado pra compreender seu desfecho ou sua mensagem. E ainda não compreendi totalmente, hehe.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strange, cartoony front cover stared out at me from the shelf of the library. I picked it up and had a flick through. Black and white shadowy figures looked out. Grotesque faces and exaggerated bodies. It was a scratchboard book in the style of Thomas Ott and Frans Masereel but seemed cruder, more contemporary. Kinda like Ren and Stimpy done labouriously using scratchboard. Compelling.

The book follows two detectives on the trail of a serial killer. The story is one long mental road trip across hellish cities and jungle like countryside, meeting crazier and crazier souls. Though the repetitiveness of the story began to grate a bit (the same pattern kept occurring) I didn't mind. The pictures are so gorgeous to look at and, when you think about the scratchboard technique, it must've taken Lehmann years to achieve this level of detail.

It's a great read though. Looks very indie, very different, though produced to a high standard by Fantragraphics with an excellent hardback cover and high quality paper. Very noir, very cool, very good read. Highly recommended.

[Captain Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of reused detective story tropes and a pretty predictable conclusion, but a really snazzy style. Since you can predict what goes down the most interesting part is all the people you meet. Real characters with snaggly twisted ideas and minds and drawn in the appropriate squiggles and crosshatches and inkstains. The parts that draw you in are people's spiraling anecdotes told through almost ugly art that you have to stare at long enough to pull the details out of.

[sweet pea · Rating 3 out of 5]

amazing illustrations. a gruesome and slowly revealed plot. a road trip. basically everything i could want in a graphic novel. but the improbable partnership of the two protagonists and the improbable ending left me unsatisfied. even if the revelation were true, more explanation is required. so, although the book holds great promise, i am ultimately left wanting.

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel is translated from French. The story is really weird and really gruesome, all about bizarre murders. The artwork is amazing however, which got this book two stars instead of just one. I would really like looking at the art if it didn't go along with such a disturbing story...

[Dang Ole' Dan Can Dangle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pros:
+Amazing Artwork
+Great pacing and structure
+Good use of plot devices
+A bizarre, gruesome theme

Cons:
-Typical plot
-Extremely unsatisfying and foreseeable ending
-Average characters
-Nothing memorable

~2.5

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art, interesting uncomfortable narrative. Two amateur sleuths following the trail of an escaped serial killer. A newer book, but reads and looks much like something out of the Underground Comics scene of the 60's. Pretty dark, pretty bleak, certainly not for everyone.

[Bill Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent graphic novel in the thriller genre. The artwork is truly exceptional. Mystery fans should love this one.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

great art but ultimately unsatisfying

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uggghhh, this ending. Gud drawlins tho.