Graphic Novel Review: Blackbird Days

Posted on November 27, 2018 at 11:07 am by Gene Ambaum

Blackbird Days by Manuele Fior. Fantagraphics, 2018. 9781683960836. 104pp http://amzn.to/2QlRnSA
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As a balding middle aged guy, I should probably support the decision to put Inspector Marcuzzi and his futuristic car on the cover of this collection of short graphic works. But honestly? I’m not drawn to books about guys who look like me, and I doubt you are, either. It was only after seeing the book a few times that I recognized Fior’s name as the author / illustrator behind 5,000 Kilometers per Second and The Interview and started reading.
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The title story is very softly science fiction, and has some connection to The Interview. Of the rest I really enjoyed “Class Trip,” a very short tale about a rude student and the literature instructor he’s at odds with in which Fior doesn’t shy away from or mock middle aged nudity. “Postcard from Oslo,” a two page vignette about a young Italian woman staying in the Norwegian countryside, demonstrates his mastery of color and style — this one is less realistically drawn and colored than the former, and is possibly a bit more amazing for that.
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The book is full of comics that will wow adult fans of the medium, and it includes at least one giant robot fight.