Nicholas Debon Reviews

Four Pictures by Emily Carr
     32 pp. Groundwood
     Reviewed 1/04
The life of artist Emily Carr receives an innovative treatment in this involving portrait. Born into a large family on Canada's west coast in 1871, Emily showed early artistic promise and a gender role-defying independence and strength. Drawn toward wilderness subjects and the native people of her area, she spent much of her life feeling discouraged about her abilities as a painter and eventually gave up painting completely. At the age of fifty-six, her earlier work was "discovered," sending her back to her brushes and a happy ending as an eccentric, but appreciated, working artist. Debon structures his book around four of the artist's paintings, beginning each chapter with a Carr reproduction and some background information; comic-book-like frames in the following five pages reveal the scenes that led to the creation of the painting. Spaced roughly ten years apart, these paintings take us from early adulthood (1899) to old age (1933) and the impetus for her masterpiece "Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky." Debon, whose cartoon style is reminiscent of that of Raymond Briggs in painterly texture and emotional impact, uses dialogue balloons with handwritten text to tell the story. In a note at the beginning, he explains that most of the dialogue and events are based on fact, "although they have been invented in a few instances"; information about the paintings reproduced and referenced is included on the CIP page. This unusual and highly successful homage to Carr is for late bloomers of any age and vocation. LOLLY ROBINSON

The Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr; illus. by the author
     28 pp. Groundwood
     Reviewed 7/07
Following the success of the innovative Four Pictures by Emily Carr (rev. 1/04), Debon here presents another well-known Canadian figure, Louis Cyr, who at the end of the nineteenth century was widely regarded as the strongest man in the world. The book contains an impressive amount of biographical information, as Cyr relates his life story to his adoring daughter, from his childhood in a small village in Quebec (where as a teenager he bested all other competitors by lifting a huge draft horse off the ground) to a triumphant European tour to the fulfillment of a dream -- his own circus. But we get more than just the facts. Debon uses the book's graphic novel-style format to communicate immediacy and intimacy; to let us feel as if we really know the man. Debon's approach is simultaneously unconventional and expert: pages that might have felt overcrowded (the double-page spreads contain up to eighteen panels) are quite readable; a close-to-monochromatic palette dominated by warm earth tones is surprisingly pleasing to the eye. The book's success is due partly to Debon's skill as an artist and partly to the passion he clearly feels for his subject and imparts to his audience. With an afterword illustrated with photographs and a brief bibliography. M.V.P.

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