The Rugger Boys #1
Reviewed by David O' Leary
THE RUGGER BOYS #1
Story by: Beka
Art by: Poupard
Colours by: Sylvain Frecon & Murielle Rousseau
Cover by: Poupard
Publisher: 9 th Cinebook
Cover Price: $9.99
Reviewed By: David O' Leary
Book Summery: They are sturdy Frenchmen, big eaters and drinkers, more physical than intellectual, more losers than winners... They like to punch it up during matches and won't, for anything in the world, miss their third half-time at the bar... Who are they? The Rugger Boys of the Bawd-Room Club, of course! With the Rugger Boys, readers infiltrate the heart of the cloakroom, the scrum, the clubhouse and the legendary third half-time...In Why Are We Here Again?, we travel with them to England, where they discover another kind of rugby... and gastronomy!
"Why Are We Here Again"
Cinebook are a British company that takes continental comics and translates them to English from predominantly Italian, Greek and in this case French comics. I bought this the post Christmas sales and I am extremely glad I did as I honestly cannot remember the last time I read something so funny.
The book is presented somewhat similarly to the British weekly books like Beano and Dandy where the gags take place over the space of one page but there is a story somewhat linking the pages together.
The book follows over the course of its 48 pages, Paillar Athletic Club, a French rugby team that are invited to England for a friendly match with a bunch of local bruisers and it culminates with them in getting an ivite to Six Nations game. I know that the premise could be a little lost to readers in the US but to those who follow rugby, even lightly like myself, there is a whole book of lingo, traditions and practices that resonate with great accuracy and combined with the razor sharp humour of the set ups and scenarios combine to give the most enjoyable no nonsense read I have read in a long time. There are plenty of pages to make you smile and more to make you laugh aloud, like the instance where a game is taking place where the hosts have a former soccer player on their team and he is still in the mindset of a soccer player where the slightest touch and he is on the ground rolling around like he was shot. A split second later and he is at the bottom of a pile up in true rugby fashion with no clue what just happened and he leaves the pitch on a stretcher. Combine it with the cartoon sttyle visuals al a Sergio Aragones and you got a winner.
It can be very easy to write off a book with a look like this one has but it would not be half the book it is without the visuals. I compare it to the impact of Tony y Alberto the silent, Spanish strip I think, where the art is relied on to make the joke work. Here there is no other way to describe it but bordering on genius. You laugh as much at the look than the story. A great combination.
This book was a genuine surprise as I only bought it to burn a half hour of time but it made such a remarkable impact it put me in great form for the day, so it deserves a mention. If you can find it and sports humour appeals to you than search it out.
Rating the Book
| Story: Overall 9 Concept - 9 out of 10 Plot - 9 out of 10 Dialogue - 9 out of 10 |
Art: Overall 8 Style - 8 out of 10 Storytelling - 8 out of 10 Colour/Tones - 8 out of 10 |
Importance: Overall 8 To the Title - 8 out of 10 To the Company - 8 out of 10 To the Medium - 8 out of 10 |
Take A Look Inside
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Reviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
Been reading comics: for about 12 years now.
Review Bio: I am a 26-year-old Hotel Manager from the west coast of the Republic of Ireland and think this is a great way to talk to others about this cool medium. I am a husband to one wife and father to one girl (so far).
Favorites: ONI's Whiteout, Vertigo's Scalped and Garth Ennis Preacher and Punisher in Trades. In comic form I am reading a lot of Marvel and a bit of IDW, Dark Horse & WildStorm among others.
Website: Sorry, I don't have one!
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