Audubon On the Wings of the World by Grolleau

Title: Audubon On the Wings of the World
Author: Fabien Grolleau, Jérémie Royer (Illustrations)
Pages: 174
Published: April 4th 2017 by Nobrow PressSource: Library
Links: goodreads

At the start of the nineteenth century, John James Audubon embarked upon an epic ornithological quest across America with nothing but his artist’ s materials, an assistant, a gun and an all-consuming passion for birds... This beautiful volume tells the story of an incredible artist and adventurer: one who encapsulates the spirit of early America, when the wilderness felt limitless and was still greatly unexplored. Based on Audubon's own retellings, this embellished version of his travels captures the wild and adventurous spirit of a truly exceptional naturalist and painter. Fabien Grolleau has written and created several comics for Vide Cocagne (which he co-founded) as well as the graphic novel, Jaques a Dit. Jérémie Royer is an illustrator and designer. After studying art for two years in Nice, he specialized in comic book art and illustration in Brussels.

I love birds.  I really enjoying bird watching and discovered who John James Audubon is because of my love of birds. I have read a few books about Audubon and love reading about his obsession with birds.  It was a true obsession.  I discovered through Audubon.org (the website for birding not for the man) that there was a graphic novel out there all about James Audubon's life.  Honestly this comic book fell short of being great. The story could be confusing at times.  For example there was a time when Audubon was sick with a fever and he had these strangely illustrated hallucinations.  Then there was a strange section about slavery where Audubon runs into a man who took his family and ran. Then that part of the story was over.  I noticed a small footnote in the back explaining that this was a nod to the fact that Audubon had slaves at some point?  Confusing. Darwin is thrown in as well as Native Americans.  Just seemed random.

The art is great.  I enjoyed the pages that had birds.  I liked that the book emphasized that Audubon killed thousands of birds. This is how he drew them so well. I really loved that the end of the book includes about 5 of Audubon's art so that those who are unfamiliar with what they look like can see. This book would probably be great for a middle school kid who would have fun reading a graphic novel and learn about Audubon.  Perfect for a school library.  I did enjoy the book though the information on Audubon was lacking. 

This counts for 26 comics towards my 2017 Graphic Novel Reading Challenge