Pascin

"One of the Best Comics of the Year. This graphic novel feels like truth, or, as Picasso said of art, it's a lie that makes us realize truth."--Paste Magazine "Sfar wades into such heavy issues as the strangeness of desire, artistic depiction versus reality, and Jewish identity. And Sfar does not shy away from shocking, explicit details, such as Pascin's preteen visit to a brothel. The art shifts wonderfully throughout, adjusting to the moment and the tone of whoever is in Pascin's orbit (in a delightful touch, Sfar's depiction of Chagall echoes the painter's own style). Sfar is a superstar in French cartooning circles, and this is another example of why."--Publishers Weekly "Despite Pascin's frank and uninhibited sexuality, this is hardly some unquestioning celebration of a macho artist's heroic virility: The book may begin with an image of the painter in his studio, shamelessly sans culottes, but here, Sfar pointedly reverses the view from which Pascin painted so many models. The artist -- both Pascin and, by extension, Sfar -- is now the one bared to our scrutiny."--The Globe And Mail "After a cursory flip through these pages, one would expect Sfar's biography of Jewish modernist painter Julius Mortdecai Pincas to be positively pornographic. Panel after panel of general nakedness often, but far from always, leading to varied sexual acts. But this is misleading, and the book engages the reader without any recourse to baser appetites. This is a rather excellent account of the artist's life, serving also as a discourse on the nature of our creative urges."--The Quietus "Wine, women and paint defined artist Jules Pascin, whose Bohemian passion flamed out when he committed suicide in Paris in 1930, at age 45. Born in Bulgaria to a Spanish father and an Italian Serbian mother, Pascin traveled in the American South before settling in Paris, where his free-love, heavy-drinking lifestyle earned him the title "Prince of Montparnasse." Pascin's life, which seems to have included bedding many of his models, comes vividly alive in the graphic novel"--Minneapolis Star Tribune "Though there are scenes of Pascin drawing and painting, Sfar chooses to focus on Pascin's relationships, creating a more humanized portrait of the renowned artist. Pascin, and bohemian France of the '20s, is truly brought to life in Sfar's skillful hands."--Foreword Reviews