Graphic Novel Review: Gary King of the Pickup Artists by Alexandre Simard and Luc Bossé

Posted on July 30, 2024 at 6:31 am by Gene Ambaum

Gary King of the Pickup Artists by Alexandre Simard and Luc Bossé. Translated from French by Alexandre Simard with Rupert Bottenberg. Pow Pow Press, 2017. 97829240433. 150pp.

Gary is awkward, and it doesn’t go well when he tries to meet women he’s attracted to. His friend Mike has a lot more confidence, and it serves him well though it also makes him a dick. These are their adventures and misadventures in Montreal’s dating scene.

The book is mostly people chatting, which works well because the way Bossé draws the characters makes them fun to look at. And for me the book, like all of Pow Pow’s best, provides a sense of what life in Montreal is like that supplements the vacations I’ve spent there. (My other favorite books from Pow Pow are Zivane’s For As Long As It Rains and Hellman’s Mile End.)

You can see more of Pow Pow’s graphic novels at https://powpowpress.com/shop/  I bought this one at my favorite comic shop, Cosmic Monkey in Portland, Oregon, which stocks a selection of Pow Pow titles and many other hard-to-find, small press graphic novels. I highly recommend stopping by.