Written by Vero Cazot
Illustrated by Julie Rocheleau
Published by Archaia Press /
BOOM! Studios
I went into this comic with no preconceived notions. I heard nothing about it and decided to go into it cold turkey. The first few pages let me know immediately that this wasn’t a standard graphic novel. It has some strange imagery that lead to a young woman waking up in a hospital room in confusion. She just had a nightmare and wakes up to a new reality.
From there it just got stranger and more surreal. And that’s more than okay.
The story here is mostly a silent one. Betty wakes up from a mastectomy and has to deal with not recognizing her own body. She has to deal with refocusing herself in a world with different standards for beauty.
The art by Rocheleau is magnificent. It feels like a silent movie or a silent animation piece. It’s easy to follow yet you pore over all the details.
Rocheleau has such a fluid line and the movement of the art with no speed lines is nothing short of brilliant. The way Betty discovers her breast is missing in the opening scene is inventive and done without words. Rocheleau just puts the beats in the panels and makes them sing. Its simple, yet hauntingly perfect.
Cazot has to be praised for writing this hard storyline and not turning it into a soap opera. A lot of it is very funny. Betty does have to deal with the emotions of being in her new body and her self esteem for sure. But it’s never handled in an obvious way.
The story keeps it’s theme light and is interested in entertaining as well as making you feel something genuine. There is nothing forced with this book.
This is one of the better releases of the year. You can read through this very quickly, especially for a book that is close to 200 pages. Yet, the themes and the story may change the reader forever.
RATING: A
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