Pioneers of the Human Adventure
Illustrator of The Magician's Wife , Boucq here creates a humorous collection of surreal gag strips. He comically exploits a variety of "civilized," everyday cultural mannerisms from a skewered, tongue-in-European-cheek vantage point. In "Bengal Tiger," a little man with a fountain pen through his nose dons a leopard-skin coat and sprints through a jungle-like city full of savages in motorcycle jackets. In "Adventures in Malaysia," some rather large siblings get on Mom's nerves while playing war with real Japanese soldiers and live ammunition. In "The Pariahs of Nature," machine-like creatures gather at a river at dusk to build a nifty mass-transit station for peripatetic gnus. A major disappointment here is the limp irony of "Primitives Are Savages": its stereotyped drawings of big-lipped, dumb Africans are unacceptable. Overall, the artwork seems hastily executed as if in this comedic effort, Boucq has no need of the subtle line and dramatically sensitive color generally associated with his oeuvre.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.