Paris in the thirties. The Butcher of the Dances is on the prowl for young loose women. Blanche works as a maid along with the only family she knows, her sister, fun-loving Agatha. Suddenly, Blanche loses her to what she saw was murder but others only write off as suicide. She decides to take matters into her own hands. In her pursuit, she ends up hired into a luxury house of call-girls. She even becomes quite good at certain lascivious practices while still remaining a virgin! But she also doesn t lose sight of her goal: find the Butcher. A suspenseful spicy tale as only the French could so lightly get away with, yet deceptive in its depth and realism. By the artist of Dungeon Early Years.
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*Starred Review* It’s hard to imagine a sequential art story better than this in terms of character development, plotting, realization of settings, and interconnection between visual and narrative elements. Set in post–Great War Paris, the story’s background detail includes the circumstances of girls working as maids and legal prostitutes, their domestic and public surroundings, and those who have social and economic power over them. In essence, this is a murder mystery with that genre’s requisite, and here compelling, twists, turns, and suspense. After her beloved sister Agatha becomes a victim of the “Butcher of the Dances,” Florence sets herself to detecting the identities of the evidently more-than-one murderer. A virgin, she takes up residence in an upscale brothel and lives the life expected of her there; fortunately for her virtue, her professional specialty doesn’t involve much contact—hence the book’s title. The coloring alternately provides glowing light and scary shadows in fine re-creations of crowded streetscapes, the boudoir of a black transgender escort, the depths of the murder dungeon, and a nearby chapel. Police corruption, aristocratic privilege, and petty jealousies among the working girls all figure in Florence’s efforts to identify Agatha’s killers. Fans of historical mysteries as well as graphic novel readers will want to know about this one. --Francisca Goldsmith
Review
Call me twisted, but this book is, in fact, charming. Kerascoet moves the story forward breathlessly, and his disarming simplicity keeps MIss Don t Touch Me feeling like a light-hearted bedroom farce when it could easily veer into horror or soft-core porn. --Andrew Capt. Comics Smith, Scripps Howard News Service
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A sort of "painted noir",
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This review is from: Miss Don't Touch Me, Volume 1 (Paperback)
What a strange, strange book, and lovely. Decidedly French, but not at all esoteric, as we Americans typically consider all exports of French culture, typically unfairly. Certainly it's unfair here: Miss Don't Touch Me (originally Miss Pas Touche) is entertainment. I chose my title very purposefully- both to invoke the book's French origin, and to try to grasp at the peculiar mix of frivolity and literally deadly seriousness that the book invokes. The gorgeous artwork portrays the decadent, happy splendor of the brothel that serves as the books primary setting, but (unsurprisingly) it's just a veneer over an undercurrent of seediness and, eventually, downright evil.Still, sometimes it's as much Mean Girls as it is Psycho.The heroine is as much intimidated by her bordello compatriots as she is the Butcher of the Night, the serial killer all the papers are talking about from the beginning of the story on. That's no complaint; that's one of the strengths of the story. If avenging your sister involves infiltrating a whorehouse, well, you can't just be doing the Nancy Drew thing all day, you've got engage in the nuts and bolts of being a whore, even if your schtick is being a virgin who forbids her clients from touching her and, in hilarious AND character-building moments, whipping the ever-loving hell out of them for trying. The main character, Blanche, is definitely one of the books strengths; her prudishness, her awkward friend-making at the brothel, her alternation between shrinking violet and knife-wielding badass are convincing and believable. Also, the book makes incredible use of the unreliable narrator literary effect, really one of the best examples I've seen, for heightened sense of psychodrama. The book isn't quite perfect. Something about the timing and pacing doesn't seem quite right, especially near the end; and the incredibly brief amount of time we see with the two sisters together isn't really enough to paint the picture of closeness required to explain Blanche's motivations as far as pursuing her sister's death. Most people would be traumatized to see their sister killed, but unless they were incredibly close, would probably not go to hell and back to find justice where the police will not, as Blanche does. Also, the way the story shifts gears near the end to focus on another character (even if a cool character) is a little longer than it should be. Still, overall very enjoyable. Some good characters, great character design, flawless sense of place and time. I could recommend this book on the art alone.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful!,
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This review is from: Miss Don't Touch Me, Volume 1 (Paperback)
I was killing time at the Barnes and Nobel, looking through the graphic novel section, and came across this little gem. It's very thin, and was overshadowed by a lot of the bigger novels, so it's easily passed over. I'm glad I saw it though, it's a wonderful story with very expressive art and vibrant colors. I showed this to both my brother and his best friend and they also loved it. Can't compare it with anything else I own. It's truly a wonderful addition to your collection, especially if you're picky like I am with your novels. I can reread it and notice new things every time! The font, for those who care, is a custom one that adds to it's vibrant nature. As an addition I'd check out Gipi if you like this book as his work is also just as expressive, although some might disagree with me.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cool la la!,
This review is from: Miss Don't Touch Me, Volume 1 (Paperback)
Paris, early 20th century. A young maid called Florence witnesses the murder of a high class prostitute in an abandoned building by two men. Hysterical, she rushes out to find her sister, a more outgoing and fun loving soul who goes back to the room to prove her sister imagined it all - and is then shot. Cast out of her house and grieving her dead sister, Florence begins hunting the murderers, a chase that leads her to one of the classiest brothels in Paris, the Pompadour. There she becomes one of the star attractions, a virgin dominatrix who whips her clients into submission. But more prostitutes' bodies start showing up - and what does the British Royal Family have to do with this?Hubert writes a fascinating erotic thriller from an interesting period of history. Florence is a wonderful character who the reader is rooting for from page one. Enormous praise should also be given to Kerascoet who draws the book, bringing Paris and it's denizens to life beautifully and memorably. It's another great read and an excellent comic book from the good folks at NBM Comics Lit, and I'm looking forward to the sequel. Good stuff!
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