"My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill" Review!

Upon first glance, "My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill" looks like a children's book. The cover is BEAUTIFUL, but generally, books with this type of cover are very oriented towards kids. Despite this fact, I decided to read it as a change of pace (and at the suggestion of one of you, dear readers!). I was oddly, pleasantly surprised. 

  The story opens with the main character, Jean. He's at a new school in a new place and the first grade without any friends is scary. To me, the most touching part of the story (especially knowing the ending) is when Jean's classroom is called upon to answer role with their name and what their parents do for a living (this is extremely insensitive, for one! Jerk teacher!). Jean is young when his mother goes "on vacation" and can hardly remember her. He sweats up a storm as the other children proudly exclaim their mother's jobs. Jean very quickly says that his father is a boss and his mother is a secretary. Luckily, he isn't questioned about it despite his hasty answer. Jean finds a friend in the girl next door and soon, she's reading him postcards from "his mommy". In these post cards, Jean's mother is visiting places all over the world. She visits Africa, California, and a few other places. Although confused as to why his mother is writing only him and not his brother or father, Jean keeps the secret and clings to what little piece of his mother he has. Days go by and soon it's Christmastime. Jean and his little brother try to snap a photo of Santa Claus. He succeeds only in getting a photo of a foot/leg. Excited about his discovery, he takes it to his neighbor girl. She ends up being a complete b%^#@. Not only does she tell him that Santa Claus is Jean's father, but she tells him that his mother is dead. Ouch.

Let's get more specific. 

Creativity of Writing: 5/5 What I love about this work is that it's very obviously not aimed at children. What I mean when I say this is that there's so much reading between the lines. In fact, the words on the page don't really convey the true meaning. The fact that Jean's grandparent's friends pity Jean and his brother so much and that people are always acting sad for the children when they see them is a major clue at what's going on. A visiting school psychologist talks to the children and asks Jean if he misses his mother. Jean tries to practice reading and he manages to read his neighbor's name on the post card. Why would it be addressed to her? Because she's making it up, of course. The writing is so adult and there's so much hidden meaning yet it could easily be a good story for children who will take it at face value. Jean very obviously grows over the course of the story. In the beginning, he's so eager to believe what everyone tells him. By the end, he's accepted the fact that there's no Santa Claus. With that, he gives up on ever seeing his mother again and accepts the fact that she is gone. He's moved into this more grown-up world while his younger brother, for contrast, is still living in an oblivious child's world. The way that the child's mind is depicted is understanding and non-condescending. It doesn't depict the child as a mature-thinking creature but rather as a learning, growing being.

Creativity of Art: 4.5/5 The art is beautiful. It's simplistic but it works. It follows the look of a children's book with its simplistic shapes, lines, and areas of color. There's lots of line detail, but it's not overwhelming and it adds to, not subtracts from, the overall page. The proportions of the children is adorable, too. They're stubby, tiny little things, but they don't look deformed (though they obviously are). 

Overall Casual Read Rating: 5/5 I love this story mostly because there's so much more to the story that what's written or shown. I love the fact that you have to dig and THINK to get the full meaning. Watching Jean grown and evolve is very touching. It's a very satisfying read and I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone. Great for anyone who works with children, especially.

Note to the Creator(s): Jean Regnaud and Émile Bravo, you are a winning team. The writing and art compliment each other perfectly and everything together is beautiful. You've done something that not many comics do- dig deep into psychology and having the reader as an omniscient presence. Amazing job.