Graphic Novel Review: The Cliff by Manon Debaye

Posted on June 18, 2024 at 6:21 am by Gene Ambaum

The Cliff by Manon Debaye. Translated by Montana Kane. Drawn & Quarterly, 2023. 9781770466944. 152pp.

Thirteen-year-old Charlie and Astrid make a secret blood pact to commit suicide on Friday, before noon, by holding hands and jumping off the cliff. Astrid wonders if anything will change at school before then because at school she’s bullied by Charlie’s group of guy “friends.”

Charlie goes home and tells her mother she’s going to kill herself. Her mother doesn’t take her seriously. At school Charlie beats up Enzo, who calls her mom a whore and suggests she might be one too. And she continues to act like she doesn’t know Astrid when other people are around.

This graphic novel is just brutal. In tone and and because of the bullying it reminds me of ancco’s Bad Friends, also published by D&Q. In contrast to the dark story, its colored pencil art is striking. I love the way Debaye draws birch trees and, in particular, Charlie’s facial expressions. My favorite moment involves a request for kindness, when one girl asks the other to style her hair.