Betty Blues

by Renaud Dillies

Overview

Little Rice Duck has built himself quite the reputation around the West Wood, playing his trumpet in bars with their smoky, sweaty ambience, tequila sunrises, and jazz. All he needs is that Betty character, one bitch bathing in expensive champagne. But like the champagne, he’d much prefer she just stay chilled. In this graphic novel, the acclaimed author brings together his love for music and comics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561637584
Publisher:	N B M Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/01/2013
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Renaud Dillies is a comics artist who studied at the famous St. Luc School of Art in Tournai, Belgium. He won the Best First Album Award at the Angouleme Comics Festival, France’s highest set of awards for comics. He is the author of Abelard and Bubbles & Gondola.

Editorial Reviews

10/28/2013
A moody story of anthropomorphized animal romance from the creator of Abelard. Little Rice Duck is one of the best trumpeters in the West Wood’s various jazz dives. But he’s such a dedicated player that his girl Betty, a real glam looker, is starved for attention. So when a (literal) fat cat shows up and promises Betty all the champagne and high living she wants, that’s it for her. The already-anger-prone Rice spirals down fast, announcing that he’s “fed up with this life of monomaniacal musical has-beens.” He then renounces jazz for a life of wandering. Dillies’s autumnal-toned art is awash in smoky ambience, with its tangled alleyways and grimy clubs. The patter is straight painted-on noir, which makes it all seem like something of a gimmick. But Dillies tries to leaven the mood with the occasional romantic aside and comic detail: when a dog gets knocked unconscious, little fish circle his head instead of birds. The art is as lovely as it is irresistible. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

While a melancholy tale perfect for overcast days with a little Bessie Smith or John Coltrane in the background, the artwork will be sure to lift your spirits. Hopefully, more publishers will see the value of expanding their styles and allow a bit more freedom for their artists. Until then, we have publishers like NBM hunting down these treasures on our behalf.” —Jenny Randle, New York Journal of Books


"Recommended for those who think talking animals don't always have to just be funny animals." —Bill Sherman, Seattle Post Intelligencer

From the Publisher

03/01/2014
Gr 10 Up—In this noir-inspired graphic novel, Rice Duck is one of the best trumpet players in the West Wood. When his girlfriend, Betty, leaves him for a slick millionaire, he throws away his horn and skips town to try and cope with his loss. With little backstory, it's hard to get truly invested in these characters and their relationships, but some dream sequences do provide background in an abstract way. However, once the main characters really start to develop and learn about what they have taken for granted, the story abruptly ends, which readers will find either poignant or frustrating. Though the story is lacking in parts, the illustrations are flawless; drawings are heavily shaded, leaving a bit of grit and rawness that perfectly matches the dismal tone and filthy settings. Slinky characters with oblong angles bring jazz-fueled craziness to life. Like a jazz song, Betty Blues is a short but wild ride that doesn't hit all the notes just right but comes together in the end and lingers well after the music is over.—Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

School Library Journal