Casterman: Mariko Parade

Mariko Parade
Frederic Boilet & Kan Takahama
Casterman
Black & white, grey tones some colour (16) pages
Hard cover
193 pages
Dimensions: 17.6×24.8×2 cm
ISBN: 2203056819
EAN: 9782203056817
Price: € 13.75

Mariko Parade
Frederic Boilet & Kan Takahama
Casterman
Black & white, grey tones some colour (16) pages
Hard cover
193 pages
Dimensions: 17.6×24.8×2 cm
ISBN: 2203056819
EAN: 9782203056817
Price: € 13.75

In late May 2002, a 42 year old French mangaka (Manga artist) and Mariko, a 24 years old Japanese model, leave for three days on the island of Enoshima in order to get some photographic background/reference photographs. Since they met four years earlier, Mariko has become indispensable to the artist in  his work as in his life. The rainy season has began, the hydrangeas are in bloom and the artist and Mariko enjoy mostly cloudy weather as the look around the island for the best place for photographic sessions.

But as the rain continues they spend the hours  in their hostel room, leafing through the pages of illustrations and stories they have put together and rediscover each other.

But after two days, Mariko reveals that she has decided to continue her studies abroad and intends to leave Japan for a few years …

This book has a rather nice silver cover and it well packaged and the story continues on from a previous series, Yukiko’s Spinach. As Mariko Parade was first published in…2002…I’m guessing the silver cover is for the 10th anniversary.

Now, I tend to love European BD but I’m in an odd spot here. I have no problem with what someone has called a “cartoony style” –it really is not cartoony at all. My big problem is that so many pages have panels that are photographs touched up by computer to look drawn.  It is far more obvious in the colour nude pages but it is so jarring in the panels that I thought it detracted from the book. It looked ugly.  I am quite sure someone will call me a “reactionary comic Nazi” and scream “It’s what makes it what it is!”  To me, though, no.

You either draw a book or you use photo references and produce a photo comic. There were some very nice touches here but not a book I can rave about.  Both artists have contrasting styles but I have to give this my first Euro thumbs down.