La Bete Noire is an odd, however incredibly engrossing graphic novel

I'm a big fan of Darko Macan (Matzan). Wheater he writes for children, teens or adults he always puts in impecable amounts of effort and I come back to his creations many times, no matter if they're books or comics. And, quite recently I've gone on a little bit of a book spree on a library sale and found a comic which the author namedropped in a conversation I've had with him five years ago. That being the absurdist science fantasy dramedy La Bete Noire: The 5ive stages of a lifetime. Even then the coverart intrigued me. Who was this mysterious man that seemed to be made out of pitch black darkness? And why does he own a gigantic dog which looks like a cousin of Marvel's Lockjaw?

Well, it seems that everyone does find answers to any question they pose somehow, and this was no exception for me.

The comic has a strange style to it.

At the same time you're feeling like you're reading this deep philosophical treatise on fiction which makes total sense, but also like you're reading a bizzare piece of absurdist fantasy invented by somebody who used some incredibly potent drugs. And that's the main draw in.

I geniuenly couldn't expect or predict where the story will be going in the next moment and what the authors will throw at me. This made the read feel that much more compelling and I was really satisfied with the results at the end.

Not to mention that, given that it was quite short, I finished it in under an hour, which isn't a surprise given that it never takes me a long time to read comics (I usually finish them in a single afternoon right after buying them and they have a relaxing effect on me as a reader). After doing so I left pretty happy and fullfilled with a story that, whilst not a literary masterpiece, was so out there and original that it still holds a special place in my heart as an avid enjoy of all things strange.

Now, let's look at as to what makes this read so great...

(1) The Setting

This shouldn't come off as a surprise, but the world of La Bete Noire makes no sense.

It's inhabited seemlessly by everything from humongous dogs to eldritch cosmic entities (particularly focusing on a group of deities known as The Pillars (Stupovi) who keep the universe in balance), all of which seemlessly exist next to ordinary people who don't seem to be schocked, but rather treat these things with the same level of normalcy you and I would treat a car or a washing machine. I wouldn't compare this to the universes of things like, say, HBO's True Blood or the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell Hamilton, which take place in a version of our world where the supernatural and the ordinary coexist and the former is generally accepted as fact and a part of everyday life, given that, whilst the supernatural and the ordinary here do indeed mix, the world is not our world, it's a strange and absurd universe which seems to be an amalgamation of various mythologycal and fictional ideas and concepts, reminding me a lot of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics in that aspect.

The universe Bete (which is how he's reffered to in the majority of the comic) inhabits reminded me, surprisingly enough, a lot of another one of my favorite fictional universes: the world of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (commonly reffered to by fans as Planetos). Martin described his world as being a fantasy parallel to Earth, with the books taking place in a time period akin to their version of the Middle Ages. The universe of La Bete Noire feels like the modern day of a very ancient and strange universe where gods slowly intergrated into human society or the other way around.

If I had to single out a flaw it would probably be that the world doesn't feel like a character in it's own right. Sure, it's memorable and distinct from many other fictional universes, but it just feels like a background for the story with not much attention given to the appeal of it's strangeness. In the case of all iconic fictional universes (be it Middle Earth, Narnia, Oz, Westeros, Dinotopia,The Edge, The Wall, Stephen King's extensive list of fictional Maine towns etc.) these places are memorable, with distinct histories, traditions and places that make just listening about them and their internal developments and conflicts equally as entertaining and enjoyable as reading the books/comics themselves. That is, sadly, not the case with La Bete Noire. Sure, it has neat eye popping visuals, but it there isn't much to these visuals if they're just a mask behind which is an empty void.

(2) The Characters

What the comic lacks in depth of worldbuilding more than makes up for itself in the presentation of it's characters. Not all are super well developed, but I don't expect that and it wasn't the point. This isn't a grand epic like Watchmen or V for Vendetta, this is a simple (well as simple as avant garde stories can be) philosophical tale of a bizzare and whimsical world inhabited by quirky and odball heroes, villains and inbetweeners.

Whilst one of the characters are well developed I feel like the creators gave them just enough personality through their appearences and diaologe that they don't appear shallow or one note, but not too much in order for them to just be what they are: small snippets of a much grander world.

Bete himself, apart from just his design, is an interesting character to follow. He's a washed out superhero desperately searching for the true meaning of life, being chased by millions of fans and in a consistent state of grief after the loss of his best friend and familiar, a raven named Alan, memories of whom plague him throught the comic. I enjoy that how in the end f the narrative (and the beggining of the book) he finds perfect solace in something as simple as a plum tree, showing that life should never be just about grand ambitions, but about purely simple goals.

It's a clice message, sure, but it's a really powerful one.

If I were to single out a side character whose presence I enjoyed a lot, that would be The Roach King. His appearence is very brief, showing up for only a couple of pages, but his eerie character design and the diaologe written for him creates a very Lovecraftian aura around him which, I assume, was the intended intention behind the character. He brings in some very well inc,uded horror into this mashup of genres.

(3) The Writing

As you can see from the previous pannel, the writing in the comic is, just like the word and the artstyle, intentionally very surreal and dreamlike.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't call it confusing or unreadable, but it's not exactly traditional, which makes sense given that Macan is not a traditional writer, with even his most standard stories being strikingly strange.

It's partially a semi serious fantasy story (with added scifi elements to it) about the world around an individual changing and them failing to catch up to it, eventually ending up finding solace in the simplest aspects of life and trying to hold on to the parts of it they haven't lost yet, and partially an absurdist comedy set in a world where things both do and don't make sense at the same time.

The writing, apart from referencing pieces of fiction the creators were fond off, also includes a lot of real world philosophycal and mythologycal influences, which, granted, is nothing new, but I always appreciate seeing them in a fictional story.

It also strongly balances out the witty and dry humor and the the darker, sadder events in a style that doesn't feel forced or out of context, place or character. This is, as I think I mentioned a few times before, a huge weakpoint for me when it comes to comedy as a genre, so I'm glad to see Macan defying it in such a manner.

(4) The Artwork

Comics are a genre where two complex artforms come into one: writing and artwork. You can have an amazingly written comic with visually unappealing artwork, or maybe it has stunning art but it's written like a fifth grader's Sonic fanfiction.

Fortunately, La Bete Noire's gorgeously written prose is accompanied by the stunning drawings of Serbian comic book artist Milan Jovanović (Jovanovitsz). Granted, I'm not familiar with any of the artist's other works, but, it needs to be said, I think he's one of the most talented men still working in that particular industry in the Balkans.

Every character design oozes personality and originality, every pannel is striking, creative and makes you look for clues and easter eggs, every setting at the same time looks familiar and new to the reader. It's clear that the artist puts a lot of effort and energy in order to make his style stand out, to quote Frank Gallagher: Blood, sweat and tears!! (yes, you heard it right, somebody who wasn't a fan of Shameless is referencing Shameless).

Even people who weren't fans of the comic (a.k.a. a single negative review I found on Goodreads) admit that the artwork is the comic's strongpoint, with some even calling it the best the Balkan comic book industry ever had (which I just so happen to agree with myself).

(Not gonna lie, the artwork in this combat scene reminds me of the Eastman and Laird TMNT comics for some reason)

(5) The Structure

There is a moment in the first chapter of the graphic novel where Bete states: If someone were to write a novel about me it should start at the very end.

For some strange reason I found this line extremely poigniant and it resonated with me on some sort of scale which I can't even begin to explain myself, so I'll leave it at It just did.

Back to the topic of the parapgraph now.

This is a very clear reference to the structure of the comic, starting with the ending of Bete settled in, having a discussion about his life with two of his fans and ending with Bete's childhood and loss of his raven familiar Alan. I wouldn't call this in medias res, given that, well, we don't start the plot in the middle of the story itself, we just start at the very end and progress to the beggining, with some things which are completely unclear to us in the previous chapters, getting cleaerer and clearer as we move through the thick woods of the plot.

What's funny is that, the comic is far less entertaning if you try to read it in chronological order, feeling way too simple and far less puzzling, which goes against everything the original conception of this structure goes for.

It's probably the most unique aspect of the whole project and I applaude the authors for going into this bold direction.

So do I reccomend it?

If you're fond of European comics (note that they do have a very different style to stuff you'll see in the US) then you will have a terrific time reading this one.

It's intelligently written, has a unique (albeit underexplored) setting, strange characters you wish to see more of and is structured far more differently than any other comic I read.

It was a real treat for me and I hope that the duo of Macan and Jovanović will bring out a fresh new take on something else in the coming days.

I'm given to understand that English and French language editions exist, so, please, read it and I'm sure you'll find something new that will make you want to come back tot his universe even more.