No Pasaran! Vol. 1 (Max Friedman) [Paperback]

Vittorio Giardino (Author)

Book Description

Series: Max Friedman | Publication Date: August 1, 2000

A suspenseful tale set in the Spanish Civil War. Max is begged to come back to the waning theater of confrontation between the leftists and Franco’s fascists to find a volunteer freedom fighter who has disappeared. Many famous people were involved in or eyewitnesses to the doomed struggle against Franco, including Ernest Hemingway and John Dos Passos. In this cosmopolitan mix looking for the ‘cause du jour’, Friedman tries vainly to stay neutral in his search but is quickly thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Giardino's (A Jew in Communist Prague) newest Max Friedman spy adventure takes this reluctant spy, former soldier and successful businessman away from his comfortable home on the outskirts of Geneva into the thick of the Spanish Civil War in 1938. Friedman's old friend Maj. Guido Treves has disappeared while fighting with the anti-Franco Loyalists, and his wife implores Friedman to go to Spain and find him. Narrowly escaping an aerial bombing of his Barcelona-bound train, Friedman next faces a gunman's attempt on his life. As the International Brigades depart Spain, allowing Franco and his Nazi-Fascist allies to advance, Friedman is intent upon making the perilous journey to the front, where Treves was last seen. His inquiries about his missing friend arouse the suspicions of the local police, the Communist Party and Franco's spies. Giardino's characters tend toward rugged, brave men and beautiful, dark-haired women. Drawn in a stiff but realistic style originally made popular in Europe by the Belgian cartoonist Herge, his renderings of dark, war-ruined streets, art nouveau interiors and austere military offices, faithfully recreate wartime Barcelona. The next volume of No Pasar n! takes Friedman to the front, where the danger, intrigue and action can only increase.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Giardino puts off concluding the suspenseful A Jew in Communist Prague to delve into the past of Swiss businessman and spy Max Friedman, the hero of a couple of Giardino's earlier works. The prequel-equivalent is set during the waning days of the Spanish Civil War, when the wife of Guido Treves, a Republican loyalist officer and a friend of Max's, asks Max to find Guido, whom she hasn't heard from in two months. Readers already know that Treves is in danger for flouting the Communist apparatchiks trying to run the loyalist forces for Stalin's sake. Max sets off for Barcelona, where covert infighting between the Communists and other loyalists makes his life quite interesting. At this volume's end, Max is bound for the front and some definite information. Giardino's cinematic drawing style and realistic narrative and character development are sophistications that account for why graphic novels such as Giardino's enjoy huge cross-generational popularity in Europe. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: NBM Publishing (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561632619
• ISBN-13: 978-1561632619
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #515,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Start, February 28, 2002

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Pasaran! Vol. 1 (Max Friedman) (Paperback)

I first discovered Italian cartoonist Giardino through his series A Jew in Communist Prague and was thrilled to see him tackle the Spanish Civil War in this new volume. Apparently it continues the story of spy Max Friedman from earlier volumes, which I have not seen. Set in the waning days of the Civil War in 1938, disillusioned former International Brigade officer Friedman returns to Barcelona to track down an old friend who's gone missing. Whether this is at the hands of Franco's secret police, Communist apparatchiks trying to control the anti-fascist forces, or some other unknown force is not disovered by the end of the volume. More interesting than the plot is Giardino's strong artwork, which beautifully captures the battle-scarred art noveau buildings of 1930s Barcelona. I look forward to the plot thickening in the next volume.

4.0 out of 5 stars Giardino's lament, July 22, 2010

By 

Carlos R. Garcia "Maltina" (Tucker, GA, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Pasaran! Vol. 1 (Max Friedman) (Paperback)

Vittorio Giardino, who is one of the most interesting artists and writers in the graphic novels medium, started on a great project. Like the overwhelming ma-
jority of the people in his profession, Giardino is a decided lefty when it comes to
politics. He has always wanted to hate Franco.It is the politically correct thing to
do, where he comes from.
He runs into big problems. He, like his peers, refers to the fighters ag-
ainst the Spanish Republic as "the Fascists". While it is true that they received help from the other fascists in Europe, the Generalissimo actually ran a free-market
economy. That is why it was so successful. Spain was the only country in western Europe to rebuild its economy without the Marshall Plan welfare handouts. It rose to
being the 8th largest economy in the world (only behind those of countries far more
populous) before its recent relapse into socialism (under Zapatero).
And the biggest argument for Franco (and against the Republic)is: what was
the alternative at the time (1939)? The Republic, under leaders like Negrin, had al-
ready passed from Euro-Social-Democracy into hard-line Marxism. I was born, raised,
educated in Cuba, and can swear that life in Spain from 1960-2003 was a hell of a lot better that it was (and still is) in Cuba during those years.
The outcome of the Spanish Civil War was the best it could have been, given the time and place and circumstances. The people Giardino admires were fight-
ing for the wrong side. Giardino, even now, pulls for the wrong team.
In the first book he mentions that many of the world's most famous think-
ers were involved, and he cites Hemingway, Orwell and Dos Passos. He does not men-
tion that ALL THREE ran away from communism as soon as they experienced it face to face. Hemingway was one of the first to warn the Cuban people about the dangers of
Castro, and he was forced to go into "exile" back to his native USA, where he soon
after killed himself. If you have ever read anything by Dos Passos or Orwell, you
know how much they despised socialism.
So, Giardino's conclusion, in Book 3 is quite unsatisfactory, because it is obvious that he himself is unsatisfied with the outcome. So, the protagonist,
Max Friedman just walks away from the situation.
I don't know if Giardino is Jewish (like his protagonist Friedman), but
even if he is not, he should be aware that Spain, thru Franco's policy, rescued more Jews from the Nazis that any other European country (especially so France, the
country of Friedman's birth, which was SATURATED with Nazi collaborators).
I do hope that Giardino keeps writing and drawing espionage stories, es-
pecially Max Friedman stories. I do suggest that he avoid the gray areas that he is
uncomfortable in. Make it good guys vs. bad guys. Us against them. I know, the world is not like that sometimes. But sometimes it is, and we can write about that too. To him I say: thank you and happy writing!
Carlos Garcia

5.0 out of 5 stars Will appeal to adults who like history and intrigue, February 13, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Pasaran! Vol. 1 (Max Friedman) (Paperback)

No Pasaran! returns the comic illustrator's Max Friedman series of spy graphic novels to new audiences with a tale set during the Spanish Civil War. The complexity of plot and presentation will appeal to adults who like a dose of history and intrigue with their graphic novel.