Paul Joins the Scouts

Sep 19, 2012 by Andy

Paul Joins the Scouts
Michel Rabagliati

Translation by Helge Dascher

ISBN 1-894994-69-8 / 978-1-894994-69-9
172 pages, 7.5x10 inches
black and white, $20
BDANG Imprint
May 2013

Following on the heels of the The Song of Roland, Montrealer Michel Rabagliati returns to the childhood story of his famous semi-autobiographical character. It’s 1970 and Paul’s family watches the news with anxiety as bombs are going off around Montreal. But Paul is more interested in flying his kite, comics, and his first kiss. Soon Paul joins the Scouts and heads off to camp. Away from his parents and extended family he discovers self worth in a troop of like-minded and enthusiastic boys. Things take a turn, however, when the troop gets mixed up in the terrifying events of the FLQ crisis. Paul Joins the Scouts is a coming of age story which takes an historical approach to both the Baden Powell scouting movement and the October Crisis, but humanizes these incidents for both a YA and adult audience. It is original, sincere, captivating, and a little bit retro.

The French edition, Paul au Parc, sold incredibly well and was critically hailed, nominated for the youth award at the Angouleme Festival 2012, a Shuster Award, and for a Friends of the Library Award in Montreal. Paul Joins the Scouts will debut at TCAF 2013.

The Toronto Star has an excellent video of Rabagliati detailing his creative process.

Michel Rabagliati was born in 1961 in Montreal, where he grew up in the Rosemont neighbourhood. Having developed an interest in typography, he studied graphic design and in 1988 moved into freelance illustration. Since 1998, his graphic novels have revolutionized the comic-book art form in Quebec. With his six books, Michel Rabagliati has become an essential figure in the comics scene of Quebec. In April 2005, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la ville de Québec, care of the Festival de BD de Québec, and was selected as a Personality of the Week by the daily newspaper La Presse. In 2007, Rabagliati’s body of work to date earned a Special Mention from the Prix des libraires du Québec.