Toronto Star Sunday, August 21, 2005
It may not have felt like it at the time, but hefting your inaugural
garage-sale sofa home and washing your debut load of laundry were pivotal
moments. Whether you remember your first apartment with fondness or a
shudder, Paul Moves Out will reintroduce you to the pleasures and horrors of
living on your own for the first time.
Following Paul in the Country and Paul has a Summer Job, the third
instalment of Michel Rabagliati’s popular graphic novel series celebrates
the process of becoming an adult. It’s refreshing in an era reeking of teen
spirit and paralyzed by Botox. And, in an amusing reversal of the rebellious
youth stereotype, Paul and his girlfriend Lucie are often depicted as more
reasonable, cautious and levelheaded than their older counterparts.
The ubiquitous milk crate and dumpster décor are MIA for this college
couple. After Paul and Lucie paint, build cupboards, varnish floors and
install a trellis to make their apartment a real home, Lucy finds a rat in
the bathroom. The bungling superintendent subsequently destroys their
perfectly decorated bathroom in the process of hunting the rodent down and
killing it with a hammer.
Jean-Louis, the college couple’s eccentric graphic design instructor,
conjures their first glimpse of bohemian life, complete with an introduction
to art-house films, lofts, kitsch, intellectual discussions and mixed
drinks. Paul and Lucie are challenged in the company of Jean-Louis’ friends.
Lucie gets an earful of avant-garde when she praises the B52s: "That
charming little neo-retro soft-punk group! They’re just great! What about
Kurt Weill, Erik Satie, Nino Rota? And how do you like Glenn Gould?"
Jean-Louis smokes in the classroom and inspires his students with
contemporary ideas and new examples of design. Yet on a school trip to New
York City, his sexually aggressive behaviour toward a student, together with
his disclosure that he has sex not for love, but for sex itself (he calls it
"hygiene"), leaves Paul disillusioned with his teacher-idol.
Back at home in Montreal, Paul and Lucie make friends with their neighbours,
deal with a death in the family, work hard at their studies and baby-sit
Lucie’s nieces. It’s a slow, measured trajectory into adult
responsibilities.
Rabagliati’s childhood fondness for Gaston and Asterix comics is evident in
his ability to tell a simple story in an engaging way.
He spends six panels depicting a tiny bird diving into a morning coffee cup,
demonstrating his tremendous ability to draw animated movement. Characters
are shown in mid-routine, brushing their teeth and combing their hair. Even
when his characters daydream, the story remains fluid.
Rabagliati’s technique of alternating between realistic pauses and
plot-driven action pulls the reader into each character’s subtleties and
sensitivities. The early ’80s are accurately depicted: a TV tuned to an
episode of Dynasty, headbands, skinny ties and a magazine cover featuring
Farrah Fawcett.
Montreal comes alive with pâtisserie signs, cluttered dépanneurs,
graffiti-strewn alleyways and familiar landmarks including the Fairmount
Delicatessen, the late, great Warshaw grocery and the headstone shop on
Boulevard St. Laurent.
If Tintin were to eschew globetrotting and settle in Montreal, his life
might look like this.
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