Melvile

Haunted by the memory of his successful father and desperate to escape his personal demons, a novelist seeks solace in a rural town—but, of course, no one can outrun their troubles for long, especially not in Melvile.

Samuel Beauclair’s life has hit the skids. He’s late with his second novel, he’s going through a rough patch with his pregnant wife, and the bank is foreclosing on his apartment. Desperate, he flees to Melvile, an idyllic small town in the middle of nowhere where he once spent vacations with his novelist father.

After spending most of his days drinking, smoking, and staring at a blank page, Sam eventually takes a job as a handyman for a pair of siblings in town, David and Rachel. Sam paints their house each day and, slowly, the trio become friends, with Sam beginning to shed some of his troubles and come out of his shell over the course of their conversations. But is it a true fresh start, or just a willful denial of reality? And will Sam ever be able to escape his father’s long shadow, or will his past mistakes finally catch up with him?

Melvile, winner of the Belgian Prix Diagonale for best graphic novel of the year and the Prix Espoir for best story at the Versailles Festival and at the International Comic Festival in Algeria, is a dramatic and gorgeously illustrated look at the life and times of a lost man struggling to find his way back.

Romain Renard is an illustrator, designer, comics creator (American Seasons), and musician based in Brussels, Belgium.