The Bryan Talbot fanpage is also on Twitter
And we are also on Instagram:
Grandville Mon Amour annotations - page 1
This is similar in concept to the Directors Cut of Heart of Empire that Bryan and myself created: it is an attempt to answer the eternal "where do you get your ideas from?" question, and a way to showcase the influences and images that went into the creation of Grandville.
Below are the annotations for the Grandville Mon Amour pages 1 to 20: you can also go straight to the annotations for pages 21 to 40, pages 41 to 60, and pages 61 to the end.
We are publishing updates to this page every Sunday and we will cover the entire Grandville series. Also see the annotations to the first Grandville Graphic Novel.
The annotations below, or jump to page 1, page 6, page 9, page 10, page 11, page 15, page 16, page 17, page 18 and page 19 and page 20.
The title is taken from the famous 1959 French Nouvelle Vague film Hiroshima Mon Amour, directed by Alain Renais. The film concerns an intense love affair between a French woman and a Japanese man. The unnamed woman, emotionally scarred by the Second World War, comes to represent the tragedy of Hiroshima. In this book, Billie is unnamed, apart from her “working name”, and is herself emotionally scarred by terrorism. On page 79 she also associates herself with Paris, saying “I’m damaged goods, LeBrock. Just like Grandville” and, indeed, on the penultimate page of Grandville Force Majeure, she finally reveals that her name is Paris.
The cover is a tip of the hat to that of Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce (2001), the first in series of his Aberystwyth Noir private detective comedy-thrillers.
Page 1
Ravens are traditionally associated with the Tower of London, which even has an official “ravenmaster”. Legend (probably Victorian) has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, it would be the end of Britain.
Page 6
Panel 1
On the far right we can see a homage to Carl Bark’s Uncle Scrooge!
Page 9
LeBrock’s apartment is in Bedford Square, in London’s Bloomsbury district.
For some reason, the usual text box mise-en-scène layer was missing from the Jonathan Cape edition on this page, but not the Dark Horse and other foreign editions.
Page 10
Mrs Doyle is a blatant reference to the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
Page 11
The painting above the fireplace is Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night (1889).
Page 15
Panel 1
The painting on the wall is adapted from the famous photograph of Winston Churchill by Yusuf Karsh. Of course, the Prime Minister of Britain HAD to be a bulldog and Churchill was often caricatured as such.
Panel 3
LeBrock flinging open the door: see page 17, panel 5.
“Mastock” is an ugly guard dog in one of my many favourite films of all time, Le Château de ma Mere (1990)
Page 16
Panel 2
“Oh, yus”: the well-know catchphrase of the bulldog in the series of Churchill Insurance advertisements.
His name, Harold Drummond: Harold Macmillan and Harold Wilson were the two big prime ministers when I was growing up, hence “Harold”. His last name is obviously taken from the fictional detective and adventurer Bulldog Drummond.
Page 17
Panel 5
Parts of the staging of this scene, from LeBrock striding down the corridor, the way he enters Belier’s office to making the tea-set jump when he hits the desk with his fist are all a reference to possibly the best opening TV title sequence ever made: that of The Prisoner.
“Khyber Pass”: cockney rhyming slang
Page 18
Panel 5
“Eliminating the possible”: a reference to "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Homes, The Sign of the Four. I am, by the way, a member of the Sherlock Homes Society of London.
Page 19
Panel 5
“Erisson”: Fr. Hérisson: Hedgehog
Page 20
Panel 1
Based on steps in Montmartre.
Panel 4
“Puska”: The name of our next-door neighbour Pam’s black cat.
Now read the second batch of annotations for Grandville Mon Amour, covering pages 21 to 40.