Most people think of caped crusaders
when they hear the term 'graphic novel' but Fabio Moon and Gabriel
Ba's Daytripper is quite a departure from this realm. Owing more to
Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run in theme and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp
Fiction in structure than to any conventional graphic novel,
Daytripper is set in modern-day Sao Paulo, Brazil where aspiring
novelist Brás de Oliva Domingos dreams of leaving his hack job as a
newspaper obituary writer and striking out of the shadow of his
father, a literary demigod and national treasure.
Daytripper follows Brás through the
most important days of his life--meeting his future wife, the birth
of his son, and the impetus for his first novel--presented out of
sequence like memories drifting through his mind. Each day is
revealed not as it actually happened but as it may have unfolded with
highs and lows, stirring connections and missed opportunities. A
jarring twist early on that I will avoid spoiling creates the crux of
the story that allows this device to work and raises the scaffold on
which Brazilian wonder twins Moon and Ba build drama and suspense, so
much so that it's hard not to devour Daytripper in a single sitting.
What's even more compelling is how each chapter and each choice
alters not just what follows but what they reader has already learned
about Brás and his life's story.
All in all, Daytripper's single days
culminate, as all our days do, in a life and, along with that, a
hopeful and ebullient reflection on life, what it means to be loving
and present, and what a weighty but joyous responsibility that is
when fully realized.
....Which is why Daytripper would make
a standout Oscar-worthy film and thought-piece, a gift to moviegoers
who've grown accustomed to the surge in blockbusters like The Dark
Knight and cable series like The Walking Dead (based on the series by
Robert Kirkman) and may be open to a human drama descended from the
pages of a lush and visually-stunning graphic novel. Don't wait for
the Hollywood retelling of this Eisner Award winner and former New
York Times #1 bestseller--see it unfold with Ba's stunning artwork as
it was meant to be.
If I can't convince you, let Gerard Way
of My Chemical Romance do it: ""Beautifully written and
utterly gorgeous, DAYTRIPPER completely blew me away."
— Gerard Way
No comments:
Post a Comment