Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Books/Comics

‘Ballad for Sophie’ (review)

Written by Filipe Melo
Art by Juan Cavia
Published by Top Shelf Publishing
Available 11/2/2021

 

Ballad for Sophie, is a graphic novel by writer Filipe Melo and illustrated by Juan Cavia.

Coming out from Top Shelf, it tells the story of a young writer, Sophie, who goes to the estate of the old retired musician, Julien Dubois.

Once there her persistence in getting the reclusive artist to talk to her about his past results in a fascinating story.

The, “Present,” takes place in 1997 but we go back to the 1930s in Germany where a young Julien finds his skilled playing of the piano threatened by an almost supernaturally talented young man named François Samson, the child of a music theatre’s janitor.

After surviving the Nazi regime Julien finds his mother making a deal with a piano instructor and metaphorical devil (a man the comic often portrays as a nightmarish goat in a fun little artistic twist) so that Julien can have a career with the new name Eric Bonjour.

Throughout a very successful pop career in the 50s, 60s, and 70s Julien/Eric still finds himself haunted by his old rivalry and over the pages of the graphic novel goes in-depth about just how his one-sided rivalry with Samson basically drove him to the edge of (and sometimes into) madness. This all sounds relatively dramatic, and while, Ballad for Sophie, can be quite intense, it does not lack light touches.

Cavia’s artwork is lush and gorgeous, with strange little exaggerations such as the aforementioned goat-man or a tale of a Samson playing the piano so well he literally levitated keeping things just a touch cleverly removed from the sometimes depressing reality of Julien’s story. Melo’s story is superb and touching, but Cavia’s illustrations are what seal the deal for this comic being a delight. Ballad for Sophie, is a lovely comic about success, regret, and eventually learning to forgive oneself. I’d rate it…

5 out of 5 stars.

 

 

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

DISCLAIMER

Forces of Geek is protected from liability under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and “Safe Harbor” provisions.

All posts are submitted by volunteer contributors who have agreed to our Code of Conduct.

FOG! will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement.

Please contact us for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content.

SOCIAL INFLUENCER POLICY

In many cases free copies of media and merchandise were provided in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. The opinions shared on Forces of Geek are those of the individual author.

You May Also Like

Books

Written by Anthony Slide Published by Bear Manor Media   Author Anthony Slide is good. I’m genuinely impressed. His Bear Manor Media book, Incorrect...

Art/Collectibles

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see directly inside someone’s brain? Not the squishy, slimy physical organ itself, but their...

Books/Comics

Written by LaToya Morgan & Jai Jamison Art by Joe Jaro, Valentine de Landro Paris Alleyne & Lea Caballero Published by BOOM! Studios  ...

Books

Written by Kelley Simms Published by Bear Manor Media   Back in 1980, I had just finished an acting course, which served me well...