One can always count on Andi Watson's small-press work to offer a convincing and compelling view of everyday life, with characters that breathe as if real. What's different about this project is that Watson steps aside and allows another artist to bring those characters and their homes to life. Simon Gane captures the backdrop perfectly, whisking the audience away to the exotic and mundane corners of the most romanticized city on the planet. He also presents some appealing visions for a couple of the main players, as well as unappealing ones for the "villains" of the issue. This is a strong collaboration, if an unconventional one, but it's well worth the effort to seek it out.
Juliet Morrow is an American art student who's living the dream: studying and honing her craft in Paris. Of course, most days, the dream seems like a nightmare. Her instructor is an overbearing jerk. She's broke most of the time. And the only way she can afford to stay in school is to take on annoying assignments such as painting portraits for snooty Europeans. But one of those portraits sessions proves to be a turning point, as Juliet meets Deborah, a British girl visiting Paris with her ever-present and snobbish aunt.
Gane's style is an angular one that seems a bit too harsh at first for the subject matter, but as the issue progresses, his eye for scenery and the way in which he portrays the two lead female characters brings a softness to the work. His style reminds me a little of Jim (Stupid Comics) Mahfood's work. Gane's depiction of the streets of Paris is remarkably convincing, given the more exaggerated, stylistic tone of his art. He offers thoroughly appealing visions of both Juliet and Deborah, so much so that the revelation on the final page is easy to accept.
I honestly didn't know what this story was about until the final page, and then it became clear: this is a love story. Well, of course it is. It's set in Paris. But this is an atypical love story. The script not only rings true and makes these characters real, but it challenges the reader. Watson doesn't dumb things down at all, but he's also careful to provide exposition (and even a glossary) so his audience can follow along with ease.
Comics writer James Robinson was hailed for his work on DC's Starman years back because he turned the fictional setting of Opal City into one of the characters of the series, in a way. Well, Watson does the same, but with a real city. Paris comes alive here, but it's not the architecture and streetscapes. While the plot is about romance, the real focus of this first issue is culture. It's about art, and it's about culture clashes in a European melting pot. It's about a culture of privilege coming into contact with a culture of poverty. There are a number of interesting contraditions and conflicts to be found here, such as passion versus pretension, and it all comes together to provide a rich, rewarding reading experience. 9/10
