{"id":23968,"date":"2021-04-25T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-04-25T08:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=23968"},"modified":"2021-04-24T17:10:53","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T17:10:53","slug":"michael-jackson-in-comics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2021\/04\/25\/michael-jackson-in-comics\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Jackson in Comics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"
\nBy C\u00c3\u00a9ka<\/strong>, illustrated by Patrick Lacan<\/strong>, Filippo Neri<\/strong> & Piero Ruggeri<\/strong>,<\/strong> JGSB<\/strong>, Laurent Houssin<\/strong>, Lu-K<\/strong>, Guillaume Griffon<\/strong>, Sarah Williamson<\/strong>, BiG ToF<\/strong>, Nikopek <\/strong>& Lou<\/strong>, Vox<\/strong>, Domas<\/strong>, Cl\u00c3\u00a9ment Baloup<\/strong>, Martin Trystram<\/strong>, Bast<\/strong>, Guillaume Tavernier<\/strong>, Aur\u00c3\u00a9lie Neyret<\/strong>, Anthony Audibert<\/strong>, Yiga\u00c3\u00abl<\/strong>, Julien Akita<\/strong>, Lapuss<\/strong>, Kyung-Eun Park<\/strong>, Jean-Christophe Pol <\/strong>& Vallale<\/strong>; translated by Montana Kane<\/strong> (NBM)
\nISBN: 978-1-68112-228-1 (Album HB) eISBN: 978-1-68112-230-4<\/p>\n

Graphic biographies – especially those produced in Europe dissecting the lives of iconic celebrities and artists – are incredibly popular these days. This one was originally released in 2018: an inevitable but accessible addition and one featuring probably the most popular and controversial musical star of all time.<\/p>\n

If you’ve never heard of Michael Jackson, there’s very little point in you carrying on any further.<\/p>\n

Still with us? Okay then\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Offering cannily repackaged popular culture factoids and snippets of celebrity history, this tome – written by journalist C\u00c3\u00a9ka, with a legion of illustrators providing vivid and vibrant mini-strips – hones in on key moments in the controversial star’s career: detailing them through brief text essays.<\/p>\n

It all began at ‘2300 Jackson Street’<\/em> where an extended family of juvenile performers were harshly schooled by their ruthless dad, after which the inner life of an abused kid is depicted in ‘I Wish I Could Have Been\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 A Child’<\/em>, as portrayed in strip-form by Patrick Lacan.<\/p>\n

The euphoria of winning talent contests and getting picked up by a major label is described in text article ‘From the Apollo Theater to Motown’<\/em> before Filippo Neri & Piero Ruggeri detail the draconian rehearsal regimen forced on the Jackson 5<\/em> by ambitious father Joe<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As their fame grew, little Michael constantly sought surrogate maternal relationships from a string of female celebrities. This is detailed in ‘One Father and Five Mothers’<\/em>, with vividly lurid cartoon extrapolation ‘Diana Ross: THE Lady in his Life’ <\/em>exploring the situation courtesy of JGSB.<\/p>\n

‘From the Jackson 5 to Michael’<\/em> details the fractious move to solo stardom and hard-won autonomy <\/em>‘Made in Motown’<\/em>(art by Laurent Houssin), whilst <\/em>‘5% Talent, 95% Hard Work’<\/em> explore the boy star’s ultimate idol in Lu-K’s ‘James Brown, the Mentor’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The start of autonomy comes with ‘The Quincy Jones Trilogy’<\/em>, depicting the global-shocks attending the making of‘Thriller: No Mere Mortal Can Resist!’<\/em> by Guillaume Griffon. Status is confirmed by ‘Birth of an Icon’<\/em> and attendant Moonwalk step-chart ‘An Extraterrestrial on Earth’<\/em> (Sarah Williamson art) before ‘<\/em>I Have a Dream’<\/em> starts tracing the cracks, and ‘The MTV Blackout’<\/em> – by Big ToF – discloses the colour bar keeping certain performers’ videos off pioneering music channels\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

‘Jackson’s Jackpot’<\/em> and Nikopek & Lou’s linked visualisation of ‘A 47-and-a-Half Million-Dollar Blunder’<\/em> explore the tensions between the young star and Paul McCartney as well as music ownership rights, whilst – courtesy of Vox – carton strip ‘The Man with the White Socks’<\/em> illustrates the consequences of Prince of Pop’s style decisions as textually defined and described in ‘Fashionista’<\/em>. ‘Dancing Machine’<\/em> examines signature moves, with Domas limning the steps in cartoon guide ‘The Man Who Slides on Clouds’<\/em>. Before, social conscience engaged, ‘We are the World’<\/em> recalls the era of charity mega-records, with Cl\u00c3\u00a9ment Baloup depicting how the song was written in ‘Check Your Egos at the Door’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The crown starts to wobble as ‘Neverland’<\/em> reveals how the fabulous ranch of dreams began, with Martin Trystram illustrating ‘Now Go Go Go Where you Want’<\/em>, after which the media rumour mill runs wild in ‘Animal Spirit’<\/em>, with Bast fancifully sketching out the story of exotic pets like ‘Bubbles, Muscles, and Co.’<\/em><\/p>\n

Once unleashed, the press is relentless and ludicrous, as exposed in ‘Tabloid of Fact?’<\/em>, with Guillaume Tavernier offering a strip further covering ‘The Rumor Mill’<\/em>, whilst Aur\u00c3\u00a9lie Neyret’s cartoon tale of ‘Ryan White: Gone Too Soon’<\/em> adds balance to the uncomfortable reports of child-centred indiscretions recounted in ‘The Lost Children’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Excesses real or otherwise dominate in ‘Tabloid Junkie’<\/em>, with Anthony Audibert vignetting ‘The Elephant Man Case’<\/em>before the years of defensive self-isolation are detailed in ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’<\/em> and Yiga\u00c3\u00abl draws the benefits – and not – of ‘Privacy’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

‘Scandal at Neverland’<\/em> leads to Julien Akita’s sensitive exploration of ‘Jordan Chandler vs Peter Pan’<\/em>, a review of ‘Family Life’<\/em> with attendant strip ‘Once Upon a Time’<\/em> from Lapuss, after which ‘The Man With 240 Awards’<\/em> reveals ‘The Whims of a Star’<\/em> thanks to cartoonist Kyung-Eun Park.<\/p>\n

The final days approach, as seen in essay ‘Fans, I Love You More!’<\/em> with Jean-Christophe Pol & Vallale visually enquiring ‘What Kind of Fan Are You?’<\/em> of the music man’s broad church of devotees.<\/p>\n

The star-studded, star-crossed story concludes with ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’<\/em> as Cl\u00c3\u00a9ment Baloup draws things to a close with ‘Michael Forever’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Although intellectually slight and far from incisive or comprehensive in addressing the many controversies surrounding the star in question, Michael Jackson in Comics <\/strong>is far from a concealing hagiography either and presents a remarkably readable and beautifully rendered confection for comics and music fans alike.
\n\u00c2\u00a9 2018 Editions Petit a Petit. \u00c2\u00a9 2021 NBM for the English translation.<\/p>\n

For more information and other great reads see http:\/\/www.nbmpub.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By C\u00c3\u00a9ka, illustrated by Patrick Lacan, Filippo Neri & Piero Ruggeri, JGSB, Laurent Houssin, Lu-K, Guillaume Griffon, Sarah Williamson, BiG ToF, Nikopek & Lou, Vox, Domas, Cl\u00c3\u00a9ment Baloup, Martin Trystram, Bast, Guillaume Tavernier, Aur\u00c3\u00a9lie Neyret, Anthony Audibert, Yiga\u00c3\u00abl, Julien Akita, Lapuss, Kyung-Eun Park, Jean-Christophe Pol & Vallale; translated by Montana Kane (NBM) ISBN: 978-1-68112-228-1 (Album … <\/p>\n

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