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Julius Antoine #1
Lea: The Confessions of Julius Antoine
In the tradition of Hitchcock and Truffaut comes a terrifying tale of innocence and persecution. Falsely accused of murder, Julius Antoine is brutally branded a childkiller. Denied justice and friendship his descent into darkness is as inevitable as it is chilling.
Serge Le Tendre and Christian Rossi are among the finest of France's new wave of comics creators, and in Lea they have crafted a modern morality play with a cruel sting in its tail. An impassioned thriller which exposes the hypocrisy that surrounds sexual crime, and creates the ideal scapegoat for troubled times.
Serge Le Tendre and Christian Rossi are among the finest of France's new wave of comics creators, and in Lea they have crafted a modern morality play with a cruel sting in its tail. An impassioned thriller which exposes the hypocrisy that surrounds sexual crime, and creates the ideal scapegoat for troubled times.
- GenresComics
48 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 23, 2019
I'm VERY glad that I hadn't read that description above, the same that's on the back of the book (which I have no idea how I avoided), because it would've spoiled everything. How can a reader enjoy suspense if they're told what's going to happen?
*?*?*? I've enjoyed Le Tendre and the art looked good: Doesn't the cover make it look like a romantic comedy about adults? That's what I THOUGHT it was when I ordered it and upon opening it when it arrived- even through the beginning of the story since it began so over-the-top! I'm always up for a funny European story about a girl driving a guy crazy but either way I would still have gotten it since I devour all I can that's made in other countries. *?*?*?
The art was gorgeous in ALL aspects- the people were beautifully expressive and the backgrounds, indoors and in nature, were lushly rendered and deliciously detailed.
ROSSI DID A ***** JOB- MASTERFULLY!
LUCKILY I had no idea any of that was going to happen and enjoyed the suspense but the WAY* that the plot was set up, through the dialogue and actions of the characters at the beginning, was absurd- see below for my reasons.
The writing gets good once you get to "Lolita stage" of the book- Le Tendre does well building the guy's mental AND physical tension within a few really heavy scenes but once things start "going bad" he makes events (in general) unnecessarily confusing which broke the intensity as I tried, frustratingly, to figure things out. Maybe THAT'S why they gave it away! Had I known what was going to happen I wouldn't have been so angry with how jaunty the narrative was it mattered most.
The end was embarrassingly over-stated- so much so that I feel like there was a very personal nature to the whole theme of: (from the back cover) "the hypocrisy that surrounds sexual crime". I feel like this was written because of someone or something that really happened in a similar way.
THEN: What the (ALL the four letter words) was up with that epilogue? The inside-front-cover reveals the existence of a sequel but what kind of set-up was that supposed to be?
FUN FACT:
This was BritTranslated by a guy named Dick Hansom. I guess you can't go by "Richard" with that last name. It pays to advertise!
*=NO girlfriend, ESPECIALLY one that is in the "romance phase" with the guy, encourages his lusts of younger women and no woman PERIOD dangles jail-bait in front of a guy who they know has a weakness for it. I understand sarcasm well but nobody uses it like Clementine did when they're talking about a non-hypothetical daughter of their best friend. She knew he was pederast prone and it was all a big joke to her! But I guess she was positive he wouldn't actually do it- right? Women just don't think/act that way unless they're evil or up to something, which she wasn't, BUT (I've gotta say) she was REALLY sexy to this guy's adults-only eyes! That enticing and effervescent entree was as fun as she was beautiful and she really knew how to wake a guy up AND put him to bed. If you could only take away the type of perverse psychological kinks mentioned above (who knows what other bizarre shit she's capable of?) I wouldn't need to stray for strange as long as I was home on that range.
*?*?*? I've enjoyed Le Tendre and the art looked good: Doesn't the cover make it look like a romantic comedy about adults? That's what I THOUGHT it was when I ordered it and upon opening it when it arrived- even through the beginning of the story since it began so over-the-top! I'm always up for a funny European story about a girl driving a guy crazy but either way I would still have gotten it since I devour all I can that's made in other countries. *?*?*?
The art was gorgeous in ALL aspects- the people were beautifully expressive and the backgrounds, indoors and in nature, were lushly rendered and deliciously detailed.
ROSSI DID A ***** JOB- MASTERFULLY!
LUCKILY I had no idea any of that was going to happen and enjoyed the suspense but the WAY* that the plot was set up, through the dialogue and actions of the characters at the beginning, was absurd- see below for my reasons.
The writing gets good once you get to "Lolita stage" of the book- Le Tendre does well building the guy's mental AND physical tension within a few really heavy scenes but once things start "going bad" he makes events (in general) unnecessarily confusing which broke the intensity as I tried, frustratingly, to figure things out. Maybe THAT'S why they gave it away! Had I known what was going to happen I wouldn't have been so angry with how jaunty the narrative was it mattered most.
The end was embarrassingly over-stated- so much so that I feel like there was a very personal nature to the whole theme of: (from the back cover) "the hypocrisy that surrounds sexual crime". I feel like this was written because of someone or something that really happened in a similar way.
THEN: What the (ALL the four letter words) was up with that epilogue? The inside-front-cover reveals the existence of a sequel but what kind of set-up was that supposed to be?
FUN FACT:
This was BritTranslated by a guy named Dick Hansom. I guess you can't go by "Richard" with that last name. It pays to advertise!
*=NO girlfriend, ESPECIALLY one that is in the "romance phase" with the guy, encourages his lusts of younger women and no woman PERIOD dangles jail-bait in front of a guy who they know has a weakness for it. I understand sarcasm well but nobody uses it like Clementine did when they're talking about a non-hypothetical daughter of their best friend. She knew he was pederast prone and it was all a big joke to her! But I guess she was positive he wouldn't actually do it- right? Women just don't think/act that way unless they're evil or up to something, which she wasn't, BUT (I've gotta say) she was REALLY sexy to this guy's adults-only eyes! That enticing and effervescent entree was as fun as she was beautiful and she really knew how to wake a guy up AND put him to bed. If you could only take away the type of perverse psychological kinks mentioned above (who knows what other bizarre shit she's capable of?) I wouldn't need to stray for strange as long as I was home on that range.
October 20, 2020
Het scenario over de onfortuinlijke Julius die zich aangetrokken voelt tot (te) jonge meisjes kon zeker nog meer sfeer, een trager tempo gebruiken. Het vlugge verloop van gebeurtenissen levert een matige strip (met mooi tekenwerk) af. Dit verscheen rond de periode dat Le Tendre nog scenario’s voor Jerome K. Jerome Bloks schreef. In zekere zin lijkt het stuntelige hoofdpersonage wel een beetje op Jerome, maar dan een Jerome die zijn Babs langs de kant zou schuiven voor een 15-jarig meisje. Ben wel benieuwd hoe ze hier een 2de en 3de deel aan hebben gebreid.
September 22, 2010
Julius Antoine has a more than passing interest in young girls. This leads to an obsession with his girlfriend's friend's rebellious 15-year-old daughter Lea. His dreams seem near fruition when Lea's mother asks him to house- and babysit for the weekend, while she and her husband are away leaving Lea at home. He finds her tempestuous nature more than his fantasies had allowed, and in trying to deal with her suddenly discovers his dream's turned rapidly to a nightmare.
This book is fairly typical of European comics from the '80s/'90s, or at least of those translated to English: if they weren't complete fantasy, they were cinematic mysteries rooted in the tradition. Lea draws heavily from Hitchcock, with a leading man who looks like Anthony Perkins, direct references to Psycho, a dark study of the nature of obsession and a cynical view of society and how we deal with crime...even suspected crime.
I enjoyed it, but not any more than anything else like it I've read. I'm curious to see what else Le Tendre & Rossi have done together, but I probably won't track it down.
This book is fairly typical of European comics from the '80s/'90s, or at least of those translated to English: if they weren't complete fantasy, they were cinematic mysteries rooted in the tradition. Lea draws heavily from Hitchcock, with a leading man who looks like Anthony Perkins, direct references to Psycho, a dark study of the nature of obsession and a cynical view of society and how we deal with crime...even suspected crime.
I enjoyed it, but not any more than anything else like it I've read. I'm curious to see what else Le Tendre & Rossi have done together, but I probably won't track it down.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews