Now, the above might seem kind of fawning and patriarchal on the face of things, but I found it pretty-much the opposite. (work with me here?)

In short-- these three gals come from a range of backgrounds & scholarly ability, and are all vying to self-torture themselves through graduate school, essentially. For example, the advisor to Helen (the redhead below) is especially an enormous asshole, toying with her dissertation and future job-prospects unnecessarily, altho I suppose that’s also par for the course when it comes to the academic grant-process, no? *sigh*

Oh, right-- what’s happening here is that the school year is finally over, and they’re spending a few days in the country at Helen’s family’s place. Fresh air, mountains, hiking, et cet.

Now, all three of them had pretty-consistently been dealing with shit from their BF’s or love interests (and vice-versa) for the whole semester, so it was just nice for them to chill out, just girls, and symbolically as kids once again, with Helen’s family.

Those are the lines that really killed me-- the idea that gifted academics can suffer such thoughts. Uh… “Imposter Syndrome,” or something like that? So, meanwhile alongside their own accomplishments, they can be almost in a state of awe upon expert craftsman and people who make things happen with their hands, see?

If the pics don’t show up correctly, try the page:
https://imgur.com/gallery/little-sequence-from-fascinating-slice-of-life-work-glory-days-i-e-le-bel-ge-by-merwan-2012-AVlBEKe

Merwan is just wonderful to me:
https://www.bedetheque.com/auteur-9301-BD-Merwan.html

  • woodenghost [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    Thank you! It’s really awesome of you to make all these quality posts all the time and share these cool comics.

    My grandfather, a machinist, build their house in his early twenties with his own hands. It was in a kind of cooperative, where you could pay in party by working on building sites to help others build their houses. So, even though he had help from others in the coop, he really effectively build identical houses multiple times. He learned as he went and did everything except electrical work, even the heating and plumbing. My grandparents raised five kids in this house. It really was his proudest accomplishment and near the end, he told the story again and again, almost every time I saw him and I made sure to listen.

    • JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.eeOPMEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      Thank you! It’s really awesome of you to make all these quality posts all the time and share these cool comics.

      Ah, you just made my day! 😃

      My grandfather, a machinist…

      That’s so cool to me. Would you say you inherited some of his ‘working with one’s hands’ sensibility?

      This totally dates me, but one thing I really liked from the film Witness (1985), is that the Pennsylvania Amish would organise building projects along the same lines.

      EDIT: Oh wow, I think I found the very scene:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL_X7GelX5Q

  • Horrible_Goblin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    I scrolled by this post more than a few times now, but I guess with time my tastes have changed? Or I’m more actively avoiding work than usual.

    Either way, I’m so glad to have stopped this time. The 3rd page alone is a little work of art. The thension is palpable. I’ll be looking into this artist some more!

    Also, maby (but probably not) I’ll make a post about dutch artist Aim’ee de Jongh later. Her GN de terugkeer van de wespendief (the return of the honey buzzard) also has that powerfull slice of life art. Amazing expressive faces, ect.

    anyway, thanks for this.

    • JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.eeOPMEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      Awesome; glad to hear it! :D

      And dammit…
      I don’t think I’ve read de Jongh yet. Could you pick one these for me, please?

      Le retour de la bondrée
      Jours de sable
      Taxi ! - Récits depuis la banquette arrière
      Soixante printemps en hiver

      • Horrible_Goblin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 month ago

        So for I have only read Le retour. Its her debut, and for a debut its more than decent. Gotta give a heads up for some triggering themes though (I won’t spoil which, if you’re really concerned, pm me) The book is about dealing with trauma, so go figure.

        I browsed trough taxi, and it definitely seemed decent, but it didn’t appeal to me as much as Le retour which I ended up buying. Title is a pretty accurate description.

        Jours de Sable is critically aclaimed, I’ve only seen some pages from it, but my guess is you won’t be disappointed. It’s about dust bowl, a man-caused ecological disaster in the states.

        Soixante printemps I’ve also only seen a few pages from. I’m excited to buy it. Thematically its part of 2 books adressing love at a later age. the other one, I think, is called fleurs en automne. Both are made as a collab (soixante with Ingrid Chabbert, and the other with Zidrou)

        So I think Le retour de la bondree is definitely a sound starting point. Although if one of the other themes or artists she worked with draw your interest, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to start there. She also did a rendition of lord of the flies. That one has amazing art as well.

        • Horrible_Goblin@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 month ago

          Also, I wouldn’t say its worth making the trip, but anyone who does find themselves close to Rotterdam NL, they have a really nice expo about her in the Kunsthal (museum) right now. The other expo’s they currently have on are worth visiting too.

          Ok, maby I should just make a post about her… at this point im spamming so much anyway XD

              • JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.eeOPMEnglish
                1·
                1 month ago

                Wah? Et voyez-vous notre barre latérale?

                Ce sont des “bande dessinée!” (“BD”)

                (sorry, sorry, my bad. I get worked up sometimes, I’m sorry)

                • Horrible_Goblin@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  2·
                  1 month ago

                  Ah right, yeah its a struggle sometimes, bouncing between 3 languages. French isn’t really my forte anyway ^^"

                  I think the Dutch talk of franco-belgische strips as an alternative to BD. Often just ‘Strips’ As for the american/japanese varieties we tend to use Comics/Manga respectively.

                  We used to have have a stripmuseum in Groningen. More info here

                  Apparently there’s also a museum of comic art in noordwijk aan zee.

                  I havn’t been to either, sadly.

        • JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.eeOPMEnglish
          2·
          1 month ago

          Merci beaucoup!
          So then, I will start with Le retour!

          Ooh, ooh, did I also hear you say that you’d be willing to make a post on our sub about de Jongh? That would be so amazing, if you could. T_T

          Gosh, there’s so many great female cartoonists in the genre, and altho I’ve done my best to feature them myself, I still feel like I’m letting them down, on the whole. Plus of course, so many of the lesser-known talents in BD.

          (argh, my version of “heaven” is being able to finally touch on every BD creator, ever, until I have to go, one day)