RUTS AND GULLIES

With both adventure and introspection Philippe Girard has turned a trip to a comic festival in Russia with his friend and publisher Jimmy Beaulieu into an inner journey. Throughout the book, Girard is haunted by the spectre of his deceased friend, Guillaume, who tries to remind him that he should really get those varicose veins fixed ― and that it’s about time to let go and move on. The genial Girard plays the tourist and the professional equally well as the reader is taken on a nine-day journey through the sites, sounds, and culture of St. Petersburg, with glimpses into the architecture, bars, and real people of the city (not to mention a first-hand account of what it’s like to lose your passport in Russia). As Girard and Beaulieu are led around by their generous Russian hosts, they are innocently asked, “Why do you speak French? Aren’t you guys supposed to be Canadians?” Comparable to Guy Delisle’s travel journey graphic novels (such as Pyongyang and Burma Chronicles).