Customer Reviews

Miss Don't Touch Me, Volume 1

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Originally published in France, Miss Don't Touch Me by Hubert & Kerascoet is a graphic novel about two sisters who work as the maids to an aristocratic woman until the murder of one of the sisters causes the remaining sibling to go on a hunt for her sister's killer. This graphic novel is a classic who-dunit but is for mature audiences ONLY for it includes a great deal of violence and sexual content.

Set in the 1903s, Agnes is a carefree girl who spends her nights dancing with various men out in the suburbs of Paris. Even when everyone in the city becomes alarmed by a serial killer known as "The Butcher of the Dances", Agnes refuses to give up her wayward ways. Agnes' sister, Blance, is a worrywart who keeps herself sheltered from the seedy side of society. One night, the sisters hear two people killing a woman in the room next to theirs. When Agnes goes to investigate, one of the killers shoots her. While Blanche runs to her employer to get the police, the murder plants a gun on Agnes' body making it look like suicide. No one believes Blanche that her sister was murdered and did not commit suicide, so Blanche takes it upon herself to find her sister's killer. In order to find out more about "The Butcher of the Dances" and get closer to discovering her sister's killer, Blanche becomes a dominatrix at the most prestigious brothel in Paris.

Though the characters in the brothel are interesting, the sexual content alienates the reader to the point of feeling uncomfortable. Of course some "R" rated sexuality is to be expected in a graphic novel in which prostitutes are the main characters, however, this graphic novel seems to be more GRAPHIC and less novel. The plot is the typical murder mystery with the killer revealed at the end but to little applause because of the cliched characters and commonplace storyline. One feature that is nice is the printing which was done on glossy paper with full color pictures. This is rare with graphic novels and thus was a treat! However, the beautiful and colorful graphics could not hold up the limp storyline and characters.