Grandville (graphic novel)
Encyclopedia
Grandville is the first of a planned five-part British
graphic novel
series written and drawn by Bryan Talbot
. Published on 15 October 2009, it is a mixture of the steampunk
, alternative history and thriller genres. It is set in a world in which France
won the Napoleonic Wars
and invaded Britain, and in which the world is populated mostly by anthropomorphic
animals. The book follows a British anthropomorphic badger
, Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock of Scotland Yard
, investigating a murder
which leads him to visit Paris
in order to solve the crime, which itself leads him to uncover a political conspiracy
.
, who worked under the name J.J. Grandville, and Albert Robida
. He states he is also inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rupert Bear
and Quentin Tarantino
. References are made to them in the book. For example, there is a building called "Robida Tower" and an early scene set in England takes place in a village called "Nutwood", the setting of the Rupert Bear stories.
Grandville makes several references to modern day political events. There are references to the War on Terror
, weapons of mass destruction and the September 11 attacks. There are also references to other works, such as Tintin
.
world, featuring steam powered motor vehicles, air transport, robots (known as "Automatons") and televisions. In this world, Britain lost the Napoleonic War and was invaded by France, and the British Royal Family
were guillotine
d. Britain was later given independence from the French Empire
following "a prolonged campaign of civil disobedience and anarchist bombings." Following independence, Britain became "The Socialist Republic of Britain". 23 years later, by which time the English language
is only spoken in rural communities, Britain is linked to the French Empire by the Channel railway bridge, and Paris is the biggest city in the world.
The vast population in Grandville are anthropomorphic animals. Humans do exist, however. Having evolved
in Angoulême
, they are referred to by the French as "doughfaces", have never gained citizens' rights, and are considered menial workers. They are not allowed passports and so have never made it to Britain.
) escapes from a group of assassins. The action then cuts to Leigh-Otter's house, in which he is found shot dead and the local police are inspecting the body. Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock of Scotland Yard, a large, heavily built badger, arrives with his assistant, Detective Roderick Ratzi (a rat
), and deduces that Leigh-Otter was in fact murdered, after LeBrock notices that Leigh-Otter is holding the gun in his right paw when in fact he is left-handed. Thus, they go to Paris in order to investigate.
After LeBrock and Ratzi check into their hotel, they learn that Leigh-Otter often met up with a female guest, Coco (a very attractive cat
), the dresser for music hall
star Sarah Blairow (a badger
). After further investigation they learn that others have also committed suicide, including Coco. As LeBrock goes to meet Sarah, he finds that some assassins have come to kill her. LeBrock gets rid of them and learns that they are working for an organisation called "The Knights of Lyon". LeBrock tells Sarah to go into hiding while he and Ratzi try to solve the case.
While LeBrock attempts to find more information by interviewing the British ambassador, Honourable Citizen Turtell (a tortoise
), Ratzi learns the Knights of Lyon are a medieval religious cult possibly connected to the Knights Templar
. They visit the Robida Tower ground zero
site, which had been bombed by British anarchists, causing tension between Britain and France. Two assassins approach LeBrock, who makes his way to a Turkish bath. LeBrock stops them and learns that the assassins do not know who they are working for, knowing them only as "The Knights". LeBrock kills them.
Ratzi investigates another of the suicides, that of Professor Tope (a mole
), pioneer of automaton engineering. After talking to his son, they learn he had an assistant called Snowy Milou
(white Wire Fox Terrier). After searching Tope's old lab, LeBrock receives a telephone call from Sarah asking him to visit, because she is worried about her safety. She seduces LeBrock after he arrives and the two make love.
The next day, LeBrock learns that Milou has become an opium addict and drug dealer. Ratzi uncovers a photograph which features Tope and several other public figures: Jean-Marie Lapin
(a rabbit
), a far-right nationalist
politician
and now Prime Minister
who came to power following the bombing of Robida Tower, promising a "War on Terror"; Madame Krupp (a wombat
), an arms manufacturer and newspaper owner; the Archbishop of Paris
(a chimpanzee
); Reinhardt (a rhinoceros
) the Minister for War; and Hyen (a hyena
), Chief of Police and Secret Service. LeBrock believes they are the Knights of Lyon and goes to investigate the Archbishop.
LeBrock meets up with Milou and learns from him the whereabouts of the Archbishop. LeBrock and Ratzi capture the Archbishop, tie him to a chair and threaten to kill him by setting fire to him. LeBrock deduces that the attack on Robida Tower was organised by the Archbishop and the other Knights (with the help of Tope), who used the British anarchists as scapegoat
s. Under pressure, the Archbishop tells them that they did it because they believed they could protect French society from decadency and atheism by uniting them against a common enemy. An attempt to unite the people by having a war in French Indo-China had failed, so the Knights began to spread stories of a British super-bomb aimed at Paris. Their final plan is to launch a skyship from Krupp's estate and fly it into the Paris Opera House, where thousands will be watching the Trans-Empire Song Contest
. Afterwards, LeBrock sets the Archbishop on fire, killing him. Outside, LeBrock tells Ratzi that he believes that Leigh-Otter was not a diplomat, but a member of the British Secret Service trying to stop the Knights' plan.
As LeBrock and Ratzi arrive back at the hotel, they receive a message from Sarah saying that she is in danger. The two arrive at her hideout to find she is being held captive by the assassins. During a shoot-out, Sarah is killed and Ratzi badly injured. The following morning, LeBrock asks a human bellboy at the hotel to collect some things for him - things he will use to make bombs. LeBrock makes his way to the Krupp estate, where the Knights are preparing for the attack on the Opera House. LeBrock sets off his bombs and shoots Krupp, Hyen, Lapin and Reinhardt. Krupp's dying words, to LeBrock, are that the Knights were loyal to the Emperor. He realises that they are not "The Knights of Lyons", but "The Knights of The Lion", the lion
being Emperor Napoleon XII
, the head of state. LeBrock is hit over the head with a chair by Reinhardt, who was not dead but only injured. Reinhardt makes his way to the skyship and prepares to leave. LeBrock follows him and grabs hold of the skyship as it takes off. Not seeing LeBrock, Reinhardt sets the skyship's course and prepares to jump out. As he opens the door, LeBrock jumps in. Reinhardt charges at him, but falls out of the door. As he falls, LeBrock shoots him dead. LeBrock then changes the skyship's course, crashing it into Napoleon's palace.
The next day the public learns the truth about the Knights and the attack on Robida Tower, with some wondering if a revolution
might happen following the news. LeBrock meets up again with Ratzi in hospital.
The Chained Wolf from the furry news website Furtean Times said: "The book is beautifully drawn (colour throughout) and the plot is enticing, full of twists and turns. It draws you into its world wonderfully and does not want to let you go."
Ryan Agee from The Skinny gave Grandville four out of five stars, writing: "Corny puns abound, but this is a stunningly well drawn book with a compelling mystery, and a great detective team at heart. Great stuff."
Neel Mukherjee in The Times
was also positive saying: "It's a playful, allusive book in which there's a witty touch or deliciously knowing in-joke on almost every page: the French press whipping up Anglophobia
; LeBrock's Holmes-like unpacking of apparently innocent signs, which yield vital information, when he makes his first appearance; the drug-addled Milou/Snowy, dreaming of plotlines of Tintin books in his opium-induced stupors. The numerous fight sequences are simply cracking, especially the beautifully rendered sprays of blood and, throughout, the glossy gorgeousness fills your eyes."
Rich Johnston
from Bleeding Cool wrote that: "I love this comic. It's big, bold, brash, insanely detailed and has badgers torturing frogs. There are steam powered carriages and robots, gratuitous violence, big explosions, lots of kicking, a decent ending and Inspector LeBrock finding himself a long, long way from Wind In the Willows
. It can be appreciated on so many levels and with so many potential fanbases basically performing bukkake upon the pages, it should appeal to a lot of people. even those who have a problem with a talking snobby French fish butler with legs. Also, don't try to work out the evolutionary timelines. It will just mess with your head. But do enjoy."
Joe McCulloch from The Savage Critics was less positive however, writing: "This doesn't automatically lend itself to a tremendous amount of depth, frankly, and the somewhat stale, vengeful nature of Talbot's plot leaves it teetering on the edge of embarrassing-silly instead of fun-silly."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
series written and drawn by Bryan Talbot
Bryan Talbot
Bryan Talbot is a British comic book artist and writer, born in Wigan, Lancashire, in 1952. He is best known as the creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequel Heart of Empire.-Career:...
. Published on 15 October 2009, it is a mixture of the steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
, alternative history and thriller genres. It is set in a world in which France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
won the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and invaded Britain, and in which the world is populated mostly by anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
animals. The book follows a British anthropomorphic badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
, Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock of Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, investigating a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
which leads him to visit Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in order to solve the crime, which itself leads him to uncover a political conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
.
Development
Talbot writes in his book that Grandville is inspired by the work of Jean Ignace Isidore GérardJean Ignace Isidore Gérard
Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard , generally known by the pseudonym of J. J. Grandville, was a French caricaturist.-Life and work:...
, who worked under the name J.J. Grandville, and Albert Robida
Albert Robida
Albert Robida was an illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist. He edited and published La Caricature magazine for 12 years. Through the 1880s he wrote an acclaimed trilogy of futuristic novels...
. He states he is also inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rupert Bear
Rupert Bear
Rupert Bear is a children's comic strip character, who features in a series of books based around his adventures. The character was created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appeared in the Daily Express on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival...
and Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
. References are made to them in the book. For example, there is a building called "Robida Tower" and an early scene set in England takes place in a village called "Nutwood", the setting of the Rupert Bear stories.
Grandville makes several references to modern day political events. There are references to the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, weapons of mass destruction and the September 11 attacks. There are also references to other works, such as Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
.
Setting
Grandville is set in a steampunkSteampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
world, featuring steam powered motor vehicles, air transport, robots (known as "Automatons") and televisions. In this world, Britain lost the Napoleonic War and was invaded by France, and the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
were guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
d. Britain was later given independence from the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
following "a prolonged campaign of civil disobedience and anarchist bombings." Following independence, Britain became "The Socialist Republic of Britain". 23 years later, by which time the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is only spoken in rural communities, Britain is linked to the French Empire by the Channel railway bridge, and Paris is the biggest city in the world.
The vast population in Grandville are anthropomorphic animals. Humans do exist, however. Having evolved
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
in Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
, they are referred to by the French as "doughfaces", have never gained citizens' rights, and are considered menial workers. They are not allowed passports and so have never made it to Britain.
Story
The book begins with a chase in the streets of Paris, also known as Grandville, in which British diplomat Raymond Leigh-Otter (an otterOtter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
) escapes from a group of assassins. The action then cuts to Leigh-Otter's house, in which he is found shot dead and the local police are inspecting the body. Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock of Scotland Yard, a large, heavily built badger, arrives with his assistant, Detective Roderick Ratzi (a rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
), and deduces that Leigh-Otter was in fact murdered, after LeBrock notices that Leigh-Otter is holding the gun in his right paw when in fact he is left-handed. Thus, they go to Paris in order to investigate.
After LeBrock and Ratzi check into their hotel, they learn that Leigh-Otter often met up with a female guest, Coco (a very attractive cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
), the dresser for music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
star Sarah Blairow (a badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
). After further investigation they learn that others have also committed suicide, including Coco. As LeBrock goes to meet Sarah, he finds that some assassins have come to kill her. LeBrock gets rid of them and learns that they are working for an organisation called "The Knights of Lyon". LeBrock tells Sarah to go into hiding while he and Ratzi try to solve the case.
While LeBrock attempts to find more information by interviewing the British ambassador, Honourable Citizen Turtell (a tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
), Ratzi learns the Knights of Lyon are a medieval religious cult possibly connected to the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. They visit the Robida Tower ground zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
site, which had been bombed by British anarchists, causing tension between Britain and France. Two assassins approach LeBrock, who makes his way to a Turkish bath. LeBrock stops them and learns that the assassins do not know who they are working for, knowing them only as "The Knights". LeBrock kills them.
Ratzi investigates another of the suicides, that of Professor Tope (a mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
), pioneer of automaton engineering. After talking to his son, they learn he had an assistant called Snowy Milou
Snowy (character)
Snowy is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is a white Wire Fox Terrier and Tintin's four-legged companion who travels everywhere with him...
(white Wire Fox Terrier). After searching Tope's old lab, LeBrock receives a telephone call from Sarah asking him to visit, because she is worried about her safety. She seduces LeBrock after he arrives and the two make love.
The next day, LeBrock learns that Milou has become an opium addict and drug dealer. Ratzi uncovers a photograph which features Tope and several other public figures: Jean-Marie Lapin
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
(a rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
), a far-right nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and now Prime Minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
who came to power following the bombing of Robida Tower, promising a "War on Terror"; Madame Krupp (a wombat
Wombat
Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as...
), an arms manufacturer and newspaper owner; the Archbishop of Paris
Archbishop of Paris
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
(a chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
); Reinhardt (a rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
) the Minister for War; and Hyen (a hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
), Chief of Police and Secret Service. LeBrock believes they are the Knights of Lyon and goes to investigate the Archbishop.
LeBrock meets up with Milou and learns from him the whereabouts of the Archbishop. LeBrock and Ratzi capture the Archbishop, tie him to a chair and threaten to kill him by setting fire to him. LeBrock deduces that the attack on Robida Tower was organised by the Archbishop and the other Knights (with the help of Tope), who used the British anarchists as scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
s. Under pressure, the Archbishop tells them that they did it because they believed they could protect French society from decadency and atheism by uniting them against a common enemy. An attempt to unite the people by having a war in French Indo-China had failed, so the Knights began to spread stories of a British super-bomb aimed at Paris. Their final plan is to launch a skyship from Krupp's estate and fly it into the Paris Opera House, where thousands will be watching the Trans-Empire Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. Afterwards, LeBrock sets the Archbishop on fire, killing him. Outside, LeBrock tells Ratzi that he believes that Leigh-Otter was not a diplomat, but a member of the British Secret Service trying to stop the Knights' plan.
As LeBrock and Ratzi arrive back at the hotel, they receive a message from Sarah saying that she is in danger. The two arrive at her hideout to find she is being held captive by the assassins. During a shoot-out, Sarah is killed and Ratzi badly injured. The following morning, LeBrock asks a human bellboy at the hotel to collect some things for him - things he will use to make bombs. LeBrock makes his way to the Krupp estate, where the Knights are preparing for the attack on the Opera House. LeBrock sets off his bombs and shoots Krupp, Hyen, Lapin and Reinhardt. Krupp's dying words, to LeBrock, are that the Knights were loyal to the Emperor. He realises that they are not "The Knights of Lyons", but "The Knights of The Lion", the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
being Emperor Napoleon XII
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, the head of state. LeBrock is hit over the head with a chair by Reinhardt, who was not dead but only injured. Reinhardt makes his way to the skyship and prepares to leave. LeBrock follows him and grabs hold of the skyship as it takes off. Not seeing LeBrock, Reinhardt sets the skyship's course and prepares to jump out. As he opens the door, LeBrock jumps in. Reinhardt charges at him, but falls out of the door. As he falls, LeBrock shoots him dead. LeBrock then changes the skyship's course, crashing it into Napoleon's palace.
The next day the public learns the truth about the Knights and the attack on Robida Tower, with some wondering if a revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
might happen following the news. LeBrock meets up again with Ratzi in hospital.
Reception
Grandville has received positive reviews.The Chained Wolf from the furry news website Furtean Times said: "The book is beautifully drawn (colour throughout) and the plot is enticing, full of twists and turns. It draws you into its world wonderfully and does not want to let you go."
Ryan Agee from The Skinny gave Grandville four out of five stars, writing: "Corny puns abound, but this is a stunningly well drawn book with a compelling mystery, and a great detective team at heart. Great stuff."
Neel Mukherjee in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
was also positive saying: "It's a playful, allusive book in which there's a witty touch or deliciously knowing in-joke on almost every page: the French press whipping up Anglophobia
Anglophobia
Anglophobia means hatred or fear of England or the English people. The term is sometimes used more loosely for general Anti-British sentiment...
; LeBrock's Holmes-like unpacking of apparently innocent signs, which yield vital information, when he makes his first appearance; the drug-addled Milou/Snowy, dreaming of plotlines of Tintin books in his opium-induced stupors. The numerous fight sequences are simply cracking, especially the beautifully rendered sprays of blood and, throughout, the glossy gorgeousness fills your eyes."
Rich Johnston
Rich Johnston
Rich Johnston is a writer who writes about the comic book industry.-Early life:Johnston grew up in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, studied politics at University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and was an advertising copywriter until 2009; he currently lives in Kingston Vale, London, with his wife, Janice...
from Bleeding Cool wrote that: "I love this comic. It's big, bold, brash, insanely detailed and has badgers torturing frogs. There are steam powered carriages and robots, gratuitous violence, big explosions, lots of kicking, a decent ending and Inspector LeBrock finding himself a long, long way from Wind In the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
. It can be appreciated on so many levels and with so many potential fanbases basically performing bukkake upon the pages, it should appeal to a lot of people. even those who have a problem with a talking snobby French fish butler with legs. Also, don't try to work out the evolutionary timelines. It will just mess with your head. But do enjoy."
Joe McCulloch from The Savage Critics was less positive however, writing: "This doesn't automatically lend itself to a tremendous amount of depth, frankly, and the somewhat stale, vengeful nature of Talbot's plot leaves it teetering on the edge of embarrassing-silly instead of fun-silly."
External links
- The Grandville homepage at Bryan Talbot's official website
- Bryan Talbot explains his artwork on Grandville, in Italian and English