{"id":4920,"date":"2010-04-30T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2010-04-30T06:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=4920"},"modified":"2010-05-04T18:44:06","modified_gmt":"2010-05-04T18:44:06","slug":"little-nothings-volume-3-uneasy-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2010\/04\/30\/little-nothings-volume-3-uneasy-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Nothings volume 3: Uneasy Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Lewis Trondheim<\/strong>, translated by Joe Johnson (NBM\/ComicsLit)
\nISBN: 978-1-56163-576-4<\/p>\n

With over 35 books in just about ten years, Lewis Trondheim is one of Europe’s most prolific comics creators, a writer for many of the continent’s most popular artists – such as Fabrice Parme (‘Le Roi Catastrophe’<\/em>, ‘<\/em>V\u00c3\u00a9n\u00c3\u00a9zia’<\/em>), Manu Larcenet (‘Les Cosmonautes du futur’<\/em>), Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Parrondo (‘Allez Raconte’<\/em> and ‘Papa Raconte’<\/em>) and Thierry Robin (‘Petit P\u00c3\u00a8re No\u00c3\u00abl’<\/em>), the originator of such global hits as the ‘<\/em>Les Formidables Aventures de Lapinot<\/em>‘<\/em> sequence and, with Joann Sfar, the ‘Donjon’<\/em> (Dungeon) series of nested fantasy epics (see the translated Dungeon: Parade<\/a><\/strong>, Dungeon: Monstres<\/a><\/strong> and Dungeon: The Early Years<\/a><\/strong>) and also a cartoonist of uncanny wit, piercing, gentle perspicacity, comforting affability and self-deprecating empathy.<\/p>\n

This third collected volume of his anthropomorphic cartoon blog sees him amicably nit-picking and musing his way through the life of an old comic creator: travelling to conventions, making stories and dealing with the distressingly peculiar modern world.<\/p>\n

Evocatively recoloured for book publication these one and two page ruminations and anti-dramas range from his inability to de-clutter (every comic maven’s weakness!), public toilet etiquette, gadgets, marriage, parenthood, mice in the bookshelves, how mad cats are, brilliant ideas that come when you’re asleep, computers and getting old, interspersed with reactions to the many wonderful places he has visited on the comics convention circuit (Venice, Portugal, Fiji, Australia and others in this volume).<\/p>\n

I first became aware of Trondheim’s subtly enchanting vignettes in Fantagraphics’ Mome<\/strong> comics anthologies, and it’s a sheer delight to see his cartoon philosophy gathered into such handy tomes for constant re-reading. This is probably the most pleasing graphic novel I’ve reviewed this year, and I’m off now to get the previous two volumes.<\/p>\n

I strongly suggest that if you need a little non-theological, un-theosophical spiritual refreshment you do the same\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n