The second new translation of renowned French comics artist Tardi’s work could hardly be more different than its predecessor, noirish crime-thriller West Coast Blues (2009). It’s an absurdist farce whose protagonist, loony Arthur There, prowls atop the walls surrounding the estate his family once owned, surviving off the tolls he collects from the sneering residents. Political machinations ensue when the government seeks to exploit the land’s unique legal status, and Arthur’s shaky emotional equilibrium is further disturbed by the seductive, equally unbalanced daughter of one of his adversaries. The work’s crackpot sensibility comes from Forest, best-known for creating the similarly droll sf heroine Barbarella, but it’s Tardi’s art, with its keen compositions, carefully placed areas of black and white, and sensuous line work, that ties the untidy story together. When this cynical, surreal satire appeared in France in the late 1970s, it was seen as a landmark in the development of the bande dessinée; three decades later, it stands to play a similarly valuable role by introducing American readers to one of Europe’s greatest cartoonists. --Gordon Flagg
Tardi has nice skinny lines and large fields of black. His architecture and cars and landscapes are amazing. ...Arthur There running up and down the walls and living in this skinny little house are neat ideas. This book talks a lot about what it’s like when you spend your life alone and how nuts a slutty crazy girl can make you. (Nick Gazin -
Vice )
The work’s crackpot sensibility comes from Forest, best-known for creating the similarly droll sf heroine Barbarella, but it’s Tardi’s art, with its keen compositions, carefully placed areas of black and white, and sensuous line work, that ties the untidy story together. When this cynical, surreal satire appeared in France in the late 1970s, it was seen as a landmark in the development of the bande dessinée; three decades later, it stands to play a similarly valuable role by introducing American readers to one of Europe’s greatest cartoonists. (Gordon Flagg -
Booklist )
[
You Are There] is an absurdist satire,... and a pretty terrific one. ... [I]t's seriously a master class on creating a sense not just of place but of a claustrophobic, chaotic, unsustainable state of mind. ... Killer stuff, and more fun than you remember it from French class. (Sean T. Collins )
Fantagraphics' panties-to-the-floor handsome English-language version...may blow its own share of minds some three decades after the work's initial publication. … It's a lost episode of
Ripping Yarns in comics form by two in-their-prime masters, the French turned up to dix. (Tom Spurgeon -
The Comics Reporter )
Translated into English for the first time since it was written, more than 25 years ago, Jacques Tardi & Jean-Claude Forest’s
You Are There proves well worth the wait. Forest’s satirical, minimalist writing lampoons French society and human greed with equal skill, and Tardi has never done better art: It’s all deep, dark pools of blackness that perfectly match the pitch-dark humor of the writing. Equal parts Beckett and Kafka, the story explores the conflict between greedy speculators and the last heir of an aristocratic family whose land has been reduced to a series of precarious walls and towers. Tardi’s intricate, gorgeous art gets better and better until the book’s spectacular ending. It’s an absolute must-read for anyone interested in how European comics got to where they are today. Had this been translated earlier, it likely would be counted as one of the masterpieces of the rich period of the mid-’80s… [Grade:] A. (
The Onion A.V. Club )
The absurdity of Forest's script is brought to amazing life... It's a tremendous work of art, heightening the weirdness of the narrative very well. ... I would recommend
You Are There because it's a thoughtful look at the pressure of conformity and what drives a man mad. (Greg Burgas -
Comic Book Resources )
Of all the comics published in 2009, none has deserved more acclaim... than
You Are There. ... Tardi's art, which combines the liveliness and simplicity of the best cartooning with a well-observed realism, is perfect for this kind of surreal tale. ... His work deserves to be read and will endlessly reward readers who seek it out. (Robert Boyd -
The Great God Pan Is Dead )
Tardi's intricate, cartoony, and beautiful art perfectly expresses Forest's ideas and words. The humorous
You Are There masterfully satirizes French society and politics unlike any comic before or since. (Rick Klaw -
The SF Site: Nexus Graphica )
You Are There is a masterpiece—a work unique in the history of comics, one of those books one reads and re-reads. (David B., author of
Epileptic )
