CONUNDRUM PRESS SPRING 2013 “Based in Nova Scotia, Andy Brown’s Conundrum Press has quietly become a major force in alt-comics publishing.” — The Comics Journal THE LIBRARY Chihoi Graphic Novel ISBN 1-894994-72-8 978-1-894994-72-9 7x9.5 inches, 160 pages, black and white hardcover, $20 Conundrum International May 2013 Introduction by Christian Gasser eading the short stories included in this volume is like reading someone else’s CONUNDRUM INTERNATIONAL Rdreams. “The Library” or “Father” reminds one IMPRINT of Kafka; “I’m with my Saint” feels Gaugin- esque. All the stories feel like smudged emo- tions, they speak to regular hurt and depri- vation, strength in silence and loneliness in numbers. Questions are asked without ques- tion marks and are left unanswered even as the stories end. The Library is book of beautiful pencil lines, written to illustrate the tales we know in our heart but have never witnessed. Chihoi is a poet of the quotidian, of life’s mi- nutia, of little gestures, of silences. He is also the poet of the invisible, invoking the spirit of a dead person or a lost love, and rendering him/her real. He offers us his stories with a little melancholy at the corner of his smile and he illuminates them with a warm spark. He imbues them with a rhythm, like a conversa- To debut our new imprint for tion, by the pauses. His stories are more com- non-Canadian artists plicated than they appear, they are open and we have chosen the stories of complex and full of little contradictions and Chihoi, a young Hong Kong art- they resonate long after we turn the last page. ist, who has had books published They are like the calm after a storm, when the in Chinese, Italian and French. wind finally dies down and the landscape is The Library is the first English revealed anew. edition of his work. 2 Chihoi: from “The Library” 3 4 Chihoi: from “Father” 5 6 7 PAUL JOINS THE SCOUTS Michel Rabagliati Translation by Helge Dascher Graphic Novel ISBN 1-894994-69-8 978-1-894994-69-9 172 pages, 7.5x10 inches black and white, trade paperback, $20 May 2013 ollowing on the heels of the The Song of Ro- land, Montrealer Michel Rabagliati returns to Fthe childhood story of his famous semi-autobi- ographical character. It’s 1970 and Paul’s family watches the news with anxiety as bombs are going off around Montreal. But Paul is more interested in flying his kite, comics, and his first kiss. Soon Paul joins the scouts and heads off to camp. Away from his parents and extended family he discovers self worth in a troop of like-minded and enthusiastic boys. Things take a turn, however, when the troop gets mixed up in the terrifying events of the FLQ crisis. Paul Joins the Scouts is a coming of age story which takes an historical approach to both the Baden Powell scouting movement and the October Crisis, but humanizes these incidents for both a YA and adult audience. It is original, sincere, captivating, and a little bit retro. The French edition, Paul au Parc, sold incredibly well and was critically hailed, nominated for the youth award at the Angouleme Festival 2012, a Shuster Award, and for a Friends of the Library Award in Montreal. Michel Rabagliati: from Paul Joins the Scouts “Rabagliati captures the sadness of “Rabagliati’s one-degree-from-autobiography Paul books THE SONG OF ROLAND Roland’s death, but more than that, comprise nothing less than an ongoing social history of Michel Rabagliati he captures the weight of Roland’s modern Quebec in microcosm, all the more effective for life, making the tragedy even more being so unassuming. If you’re looking for a cross-discipline poignant. Despite the heaviness parallel, think of Michel Tremblay’s Plateau Mont-Royal he Song of Roland focuses on the life and death of of the subject, there are sublime cycle; the domestic scenes in Jean-Marc Vallee’s C.R.A.Z.Y. the father-in-law of Rabagliati’s alter-ego Paul, who moments of light and triumph and are also in the same orbit. Ultimately, though, Rabagliati’s hasT been called “the Tintin of Quebec” by Le Devoir. The even laughter.” — Booklist work stands on its own, using a European-style visual aes- French edition, Paul à Québec, was critically hailed, win- thetic and a telescopic eye for the illuminating detail to tell ning the FNAC Audience Award at France’s Angoulême a uniquely new-world story.” —Montreal Gazette festival, a Shuster Award for Outstanding Cartoonist, and was nominated for the City of Montreal’s Grand MICHEL RABAGLIATI was born in 1961 in Montreal, where he grew up in the Rosemont neighbour- Prize, and the Audience Award at Montreal’s Salon du hood. Having developed an interest in typography, he studied graphic design and in 1988 moved into Livre. As the family stands vigil over Roland in his hos- freelance illustration. Since 1998, his graphic novels have revolutionized the comic-book art form in Translation by Helge Dascher pital bed, Rabagliati weaves a story of one man’s journey Quebec. In April 2005, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la ville de Québec, care of the Festival de Graphic Novel through life and the legacy he leaves behind. The Song of BD de Québec. Rabagliati’s body of work to date earned a Special Mention from the Prix des librai- ISBN 978-1-894994-61-3 Roland is a mid-career masterpiece from one of Quebec’s res du Québec. His other award-winning books in English include Paul Goes Fishing, Paul Moves Out, and Paul Has a Summer Job. 192 pages, 7.5x10 inches, $20 finest draftsmen. 8 9 Not anymore! Listen to the Everything is Hold on, officer! As news, buddy! It’s the War so different Yes… and far as I know, you Measures Act! here… so so weird! still need a warrant to arrest somebody in Jeezus, you strange… don’t need to this country! handcuff me! Don’t make trouble, kid, we’ve got a big evening ahead!... But, Sir, what Oh! Great!! “Just Let’s go, did he do? Member watch me!” So move! of the that’s it, huh? Yeah? You’re under Right here! SHUDDUP! Can’t you arrest! What’s going see we’re in And follow us! on?? the middle of… 10 Michel Rabagliati: from Paul Joins the Scouts 11 OBITUARY MAN Philippe Girard And although he had only a frag- He, an ordinary civil servant, had ment of existence left to his name, become the champion of words, Translation by KerryAnn Cochrane he would live it to the fullest. eternity’s poet. Graphic Novel ISBN 1-894994-70-1 978-1-894994-70-5 6.5x8.5 inches, 84 pages, black and white trade paperback, $15 May 2013 ehold: Obituary Man! A nondescript Other books by Philippe Girard: man who gains indescribable energy Bfrom reciting the eulogy at the funerals of Ruts & Gullies: strangers. He has never felt so alive! Nine Days in Saint Petersburg Maurice Petit is the unremarkable type, unaware of his own loneliness until, one Translation by KerryAnn morning, on his way to work he feels the Cochrane crowds in the street press on him. He Graphic Novel chokes on the weight of his routine. At ISBN 978-1-894994-46-0 work he consults his horoscope, which 160 pages, b&w, tp, $17 says that some great threat is close at When he went to speak, hand. This warning seems the harbinger Killing Velazquez he let inspiration be his of some great end, the death he assumes guide, and the words to be imminent. Next to the horoscopes “This graphic novel is took shape within him. he finds the obituary section and the as important as it is name of a classmate from his elemen- disturbing, it’s a shock- tary school. Maurice Petit has reached ing confession of his that age when peers die of heart attacks, first-hand encounter with a priest sexually and his own heart races. As he flees the abusing teenage boys in office he tells the secretary, “I have an the 1980s in Quebec. In appointment with a dead man.” At the Translation by sparse, haunting panels of funeral something compels Maurice Pe- KerryAnn Cochrane unsettling silence, Girard tit to stand tall and speak. For a moment Graphic Novel, ISBN perfectly imparts the ter- Philippe Girard: from Obituary Man he is Obituary Man and has a voice for 978-1-894994-54-5 ror he faced.” 216 pages, b&w — Telegraph-Journal the dead. But will his newfound power PHILIPPE GIRARD is the author of a dozen books in French for which he has won a Bedelys Prize tp, $20 rejuvenate him or get him mixed up with and the prestigious Joe Shuster Award. Obituary Man is his third Conundrum title in English and will the wrong crowd? debut in Toronto at TCAF 2013. 12 13 Each speech was crowned with an ovation. He arrived in families as a stranger and left as a son. Finally he was being noticed. Now nothing, and espec- ially not death, would remove him from the limelight. 14 Philippe Girard: from Obituary Man 15 THE GREY MUSEUM Lorenz Peter Graphic Novel ISBN 1-894994-71-X 978-1-894994-71-2 7x8.5 inches, 216 pages black and white, trade paperback $20 May 2013 et in the future, The Grey Museum is a Praise for Dark Adaptation: galactic romp, following a small group Sof survivors as they fend with mystic be- “This book is a creative leap forward for a tal- ings, interstellar parasites and themselves.