Paul in the Country

    (Drawn and Quarterly, 2000, 2002)
™ and © Michael Rabagliati

In conjunction with the recent release of Michel Rabagliati’s graphic novel Paul Has a Summer Job, Drawn & Quarterly has again offered Rabagliati’s Paul comic book from two years ago.

Even as Rabagliati’s character and his family drive north for a vacation at the family cottage, Paul’s cynicism starts to consume him. Weekend traffic, urban sprawl, and modern technology all make him yearn for a different kind of getaway altogether—one preferably in time back to a simpler age, rather than one that takes him through a congested and overdeveloped stretch of highway.

But just when the reader fears that this story is going to be little more than a self-indulgent 32-page whine fest, Rabagliati takes an unusual turn. Submerged in the warmth of his own rose-colored nostalgia, Paul suddenly gets doused with a cold bucket of truth. An insignificant landmark brings one particularly painful memory to the surface, and, from that point on, Paul can think of nothing else. In his youth, one thoughtless and seemingly inconsequential act led to an overpowering guilt trip that has remained buried in his mind ever since.

It’s these conflicting feelings from his youth that give Paul insight into his present life, and this conflict is what finally brings the story into its own. It’s painful to read but it leads to a satisfactory—even inspirational—conclusion.

— Jim Johnson
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