Graphic Novel Monday: Maybe Later, by Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian

Maybe Later, by Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian. Published 2006 by Drawn & Quarterly.

Click here to buy Maybe Later via IndieBound.org. I'm an IndieBound affiliate and receive a small commission on sales.

Maybe Later is a charming volume by French artists Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian, whose normal modus operandi is to collaborate on both the art and writing of their famous Mr. Jean series. In this series, they separate and create individual journals in which they talk about their lives and their art.

I'm not familiar with Mr. Jean but I enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't spectacular or anything, but the I found the art funny and light and thought their self-deprecating humor was infectious. My eye isn't really good enough to distinguish the two styles and both journals are characterized by a similar style of loose line drawing. I found the yellow paper the comics are printed on a little hard on my eyes. As far as content, a running joke is their relationship- they're strictly business partners but they often discuss how people assume that because they work so closely that they must be close in other ways. They talk about how they collect stories from all over, how people tell them their stories and make assumptions about them.

As you might be able to tell, the stories contain some humor and sexual references that make the book appropriate for older teens and adults. Overall it's a fun book, not one of my favorites but worth a look if you're familiar with Dupuy and Berberian (or even if you're not) or want to get to know more about the French comics scene.

Rating: BORROW

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

Note: After this week Graphic Novel Monday will be on hiatus until I catch up on my backlog of books. See you back here in 2010!