Comics Alternative

On this week's review episode, Andy and Derek delve into two new and exciting titles. They start with Ludovic Debeurme's Renée (Top Shelf Productions), the followup to his 2011 release, Lucille. In fact, the guys begin their discussion by describing the earlier book and setting the stage for what they see in the recent narrative. Renée picks up on the story of Debeurme's young protagonists, Lucille and Arthur, and weaves within a third character, Renée Bruissiez, another troubled figure struggling with both family and relationship issues. Indeed, her dilemma thematically resembles those of both Arthur and Lucille, and Debeurme juxtaposes these storylines so that Renée reads somewhat like a psychological conversation. But the Two Guys also note the differences between the two graphic novels. Whereas the art in Lucille is more simple and iconic, Debeurme's illustrative style in the new book is more detailed and highly textured. In addition, there's a more surreal or dreamlike feel to Renée, and at times the sto