Où le regard ne porte pas…, vol. 2, by Georges Abolin and Olivier Pont 8.25

As I expected, the second and final part of the story couldn’t live up to the first one. At least, it didn’t affect the way the other one did.

It’s still an amazing read, though. Whereas I called the first one a cross between ‘Stand By Me’ and ‘Jean de Florette’, I’d say this one is somewhere along the lines of ‘It’ meets ‘The Mosquito Coast’.

(Snicker, snicker… I’m sure I could come up to more analogous references, but this is what came up… )

In this book we go forward in time 20 years and find the characters reconnecting at Lisa’s behest. The dynamics between the characters are obviously pretty different now, but it feels very real, completely true to life.

The vignettes from the first book are finally explained, and I rather liked where they went with this, how it all tied together. In fact, it surprised and marvelled me enough that I want to go back and review vol. 1 to revisit them.

The art seems more luscious than in the first one, even though it is equally skilled. It’s probably due to the settings, which are much more exotic, of a different scope altogether. Anyway, it completely cemented my appreciation of this artist’s work; this guy’s got talent.

The book could almost stand on its own, without the first one. It’s that good. But, to fully appreciate it, to truly tap into its emotional content, I think the back-story is essential – it’s difficult to appreciate a reunion unless you understand the relationships first.

I’m quite impressed with how three-dimensional the authors made these fictional people. Combined with Pont’s superb artwork, it makes for a terrific book.

These guys have joined forces on other works, and I’m now extremely keen on exploring them; I want to see what if there’s more exceptional stuff like this.

Absolutely!