Le Démon du Hockey: Short Stories on Hockey by a talented group

Last year, I discovered Zviane's work and I've been meaning to read more of her books since. Bestiaire des Fruits was hilariously phenomenal, Les deuxièmes (soon to be published in English as For as long as it rains by Pow Pow Press) and Apnée were also incredible. What better way to discover new work than by using the public library. I entered Zviane's name in the Ottawa Public Library system and I came across this book, Le Démon du Hockey. It's a collection of short stories with the ice skating, rubber-slapping sport as it's central theme. These stories are the winners of a contest launched by Hachette publishing in 2008 and was later published by Glénat in 2011. Zviane and Luc Bossé contributed a story. 

I came to this book with a set of expectations. Some were met and some were shattered. The stories were surprisingly varied, ranging from the standard "Hockey is a magical happy thing for all" (which was the opening story of the book) and some less expected like "postapocalyptic world Hockey fight". In each case, the artists have infused their stories with what Hockey seems to represent for them, whether it be violence, comedy, family or drama. 

Hockey Demon

The six stories here were interesting for the most part. The art is superb in all cases and surprisingly varied. We go from a minimalist free flowing page with simple colours in Claude Auchu's story "Le démon blond" to an eclectic trash, ultra kinetic work with Richard Suicide and Denis Lord's story "Gump Worsley était un plat régional patagonien". The colouring throughout is phenomenal. In particular, Richard Suicide and Denis Lord use of bright yellows, purple and greens contrast nicely with the typical colour of the ice skating rink (white with red and blue lines). I'd love to see the original uncolored pages for Mathieu Lampron's story "La classique hivernale". The details of the linework is phenomenal.

In spite of all this, I didn't really care for this book. The subject matter didn't interest me much so it was hard to invest myself too much in the book. I'm not a big fan of Hockey. I have no skills or balance on skates and playing with people who are faster and more skilled than I am at manipulating a stick is not something I enjoy. I like to skate, but leisurely, on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa at my own pace, sometimes with a drink in hand. But a team sport while skating is not for me. I recognize the appeal, but I'm indifferent to Hockey. I recognize Canada's long history with the sport and the place it has in our lore (or culture*?%&*W?&$%&). The Canadian winter cannot be avoided, so might as well put all of this ice to good use. 

Damn Puck

However, the two major things I take away from this book are the following. Hiscam Absa's work looks fabulous. I will seek out more of his work. His story, the postapocalyptic world story "Maudite rondelle", had a distinct dynamism that I rarely see. The movement and flow of the world he created is quite astounding. This is again enhanced by the colours, which are expected for the type of setting (postapocalypse is somehow brown and grey) yet is truly cleverly handled. The second major thing is that the work of Zviane and Luc Bossé borders on genius. Their collaboration on "Devenir grand", loosely translated as "growing up", is simply astonishing. I expected yet another story on the power of sport, team spirit and boring explorations about feelings and being a better person through Hockey. What we have instead is a touching story on child abuse and the broken family structure which fails to recognize real issues. We see the story of a boy who doesn't want to go to Hockey practices anymore. His coach is too rough on him. His brother acts like a jerk to him and insists he just doesn't like the coach. His mother encourages him to persevere because the coach is only rough to teach him valuable lessons. Besides, you may not like it, but it's all part of growing up. At practice, Coach gives a pep talk to everyone, but keeps our protagonist in the change room. He closes the door, then turns off the light. 

Growing up

One can read this as many things, but sexual abuse seems to be the first that comes to mind. It could also be on the difficulty of receiving criticism from someone you don't like much. I'll leave the reader to interpret it as they please. However, the red palette found throughout the story seems to emphasize this dark theme. It adds to the eerieness and outcast feelings of dread the child has. His life forever changed by whatever happens behind closed doors. I also read it as a commentary on Quebec's difficult history and tense relations with the clergy. Hockey being the new altar at which people pray, the priests of this sports religion, the coaches, take advantage of their power to abuse the innocent youth while we are too blind (or cowardly) to confront the truth. Quebec's history with the Catholic church and sexual abuse is long and painful and this story tackles this in a new inventive way. I saw "Devenir grand" as a fantastic multifaceted work that was much better than it had any right to be in a book celebrating Hockey. 

Overall, an interesting book that I'd recommend mostly for 1 phenomenal story, 2 good stories and 6 competent tales by French-Canadian cartoonists. 

Samuel Cantin's Vile & Miserable: Sadness & Comedy

Vile, Miserable, Shallow and Funny

With the ongoing Pow Pow Press Kickstarter campaign to translate a portion of their catalog in English, I thought I should weigh in and write about one of the books they are aiming to translate. Samuel Cantin's Vile & Miserable is a bizarre comedy which follows the adventures of Lucien Vil, a sad and miserable bookstore employee. His store shares space with Linguine Used Automobile. The book chronicles Lucien's life in 4 days (October 31st, November 1st, January 6th & February 2nd). The premise is more than a little ridiculous; Lucien is a demon who sells used literature in a used car dealership. I'll leave it at that. The interesting aspect of the book is that when you sift through this ludicrous premise, you discover a very thoughtful portrait of sadness and how it can affect one`s life. 

Halloween is the most wonderful day of the year. Not Christmas. Christmas Sucks.

The comedic aspect of Vile & Miserable comes from the tone and situation in which the characters evolve. The characters' voices are distinct and very modern. Cantin has a good understanding of the way people talk and adapts it for the page very nicely. You can understand the character's education and social class based on the way they talk and what they talk about. For example, Lucien is more educated (or at least well-read) and is more sarcastic, frequently making numerous books and extra-textual references to their authors. His psychologist is also educated, but comes from a lower class area. He is crude, surprisingly so, swears often and talks in slang. I found this to be quite refreshing. The comedic elements aren't limited to language, but they are facilitated by it.

Let's just add this mustard on your sandwich

Vile & Miserable are two signifiers that seem to apply for all the characters in the book. The protagonist, Lucien Vil, is sad man. Abstinent for over 40 years, he carries with him his repressed sexual desires and hopelessness at fulfilling them. He lashes out against his colleagues and co-workers frequently. Sylvain Linguine, the owner, is a nicer man, but completely delusional towards his business prospect (The used car industry is dying and he thinks he should start making a living out of the book industry instead?) His new assistant is a nice enough kid, but he's ignorant and a little clueless. These characters all combine organically within the awkward situations they are projected into. This creates absurd situations where they all appear disfunctional, delusional, and miserable. No one goes unscathed in this book. 

You're a real groupie ass kisser spending all your time online checking out author`s shoe sizes. No one gives a crap. Who had syphilis or not. They all had syphillis, every single one of them. 

My only negative comment is the book`s portrayal of women. Unfortunately, none of the female characters (of which there are very few) are portrayed positively. The secretary of the dealership is referred to as an old hag. A woman on the bus is objectified with a ridiculous amount of vile mentions of her pussy. The psychologist secretary is a dumb underage bimbo. Granted, the male characters don't fare much better in terms of being portrayed positively, but their "problems" appear to be more complex than the women. The psychologist's secretary that appears in the third act of the book proved to be very problematic. She is a 16 year old girl who's in love with a man who seems to be 4 to 5 times her age, she's stupid and doesn't have a problem with being objectified in front of perfect stranger. This characterization just seemed too easy to me. The psychologist though is just as miserable a character. He was attracted to "her juvenile charm" when she was only 14 years old. Some might find it funny, but I felt it was lacking the smart spark of the first act and seemed to be just weirdly out of place.

Overall, this book was quite funny. Cantin manages to mix sadness and comedy very well. It didn't land completely with me, but I've read it twice and will gladly read other books by this artist. I encourage everyone to consider Pow Pow Press Kickstarter campaign. The other books on offer Mile End by Michel Hellman and For as long as it rains by Zviane are absolutely fantastic. It would be a very nice addition to anyone's collection and a breath of fresh air for the English comic book market.