The Cross-Eyed Mutt

 

Étienne Davodeau

The Louvre Collection:

Fabian is supervisor at the Louvre. He loves his job. He also loves Mathilde.

When it comes time, she presents him to her family in their vast country house and not without some apprehension, as the Benion clan is a bit special. There's her father, Louis, who heads since 1975 the family furniture company founded in 1947, and two brothers, Maxime and Joseph. They're not bad guys, just rather clumsy and with a decidedly unsubtle sense of humor.

The fact that Fabian works in the Louvre is a welcome coincidence, since they just found in the attic a painting by an ancestor in the nineteenth century. It's a sorry representation of a cross-eyed mutt. What is the value? ask the Benion. Is this an eyesore or a masterpiece?

Fabian, pretty embarrassed, punts on the question. So for the Benion, case closed, if it ain't an eyesore then no doubt it has its place on the walls of the Louvre! Fabian is left hoping the whole delusion will just go away, until one day the two brothers show up at the Louvre and ask. Getting the Cross-Eyed Mutt into the Louvre would demonstrate his commitment to becoming a member of the Benion family! Fabian is now in a pickle when he meets Mr. André Balouchi, an oddball frequent visitor of the museum who turns out to have quite a bit of clout!

A raucous satirical comedy that asks: Who decides what makes a work of art worthy of being in a major museum?

REVIEWS:

"Five out of five stars."
-First Comics News

"A superbly crafted graphic novel. Highly recommended."
-Midwest Book Review

"Grade 9/10. Fantastic!"
-Sequential Tart

"Amateur and professional art watchers alike will be amused and challenged."
-Library Journal

"Davodeau takes readers on a comic romp that questions the nature of high art. What differentiates low art from pieces worth millions? In the end, Davodeau suggests that both sides of the spectrum are equally ridiculous, exquisitely incorporating classical sculptures and oils into his cartooning—but sparing a moment to laugh at his own form, too."
-Publishers Weekly

7½ x 10½, 144pp., B&W hardcover, $24.99 SALE! $9.99
ISBN: 9781681120973

Buy the e-book: $9.99