Glacial Period

I really enjoyed Nicholas de Crécy’s bande desinée, translated by NBM Publishing, though I hope I won’t be saying too much in suggesting that only a male French writer could have come up with a genetically altered talking dog/pig chatting up a (human) woman.  As a post-apocalyptic science fiction piece set thousands of years in Earth’s future, Glacial Period could have taken the earnest (and interesting) tack of Xtinct; instead, no doubt influenced by its subject matter, its satire was directed with more humor and less earnestness.    By this, I mean its explorers—clueless though they are, as we all are, with the cultural practices of their predecessors—though faced with dangerous situations and even death, do not seem to exhibit despair and desolation in their Arctic landscape.  

The graphic novel, commissioned by the Louvre, comes delightfully alive when the explorers find their way into the Louvre, and Hulk, the aforementioned dog, comes into contact with the animal/anthropomorphic objects within.  This is when the story starts to shine, and the gorgeous, intuitive, and affectionate quality with which the artifacts are drawn makes the heart soar.  I appreciated that list of all the artworks depicted in the story were detailed at the back of the book.

I was left thinking about Glacial Period for days and wanting very much to go visit the British Museum again.