Thanks, NetGalley, for this ARC. t's a comic, but it felt like a collection of "day in the life" stories,

Wow Its a very interesting bio that delivers you his early hits. The art and words are has this underground-nish vibe. Not really for people who wants some actions and suspenseful story but for those who want to get to know the author and his development as an artist.

Full transparency: I didn't know Boulet before reading this book. Boy, have I been missing out. This French cartoonist/artist hits hard at all the embarrassing emotions we're feeling inside, and dumps them out on the page, messy and raw, for everyone to see. His style leans toward that "classic French quick cartoonist" style that probably has more official or technical name, but you probably know what I mean. But he's clearly a talented artist as well, based on sketchbook pages that he's included here and there, especially from some international travels.

It's hard to pick favorite strips or moments from this book, so I won't even try. I will say that there were several times I laughed out loud, and just as many where I got gut-wrenchingly embarrassed right along with him. His visually simple work and the tendency of his main character (him) to burst into Donald Duck-sized tantrums all disguises the fact that underneath, there's some deep storytelling going on across these pages. Of course, there's also many that are just plain fun, like the Leftovers series that is apparently infamous among his webcomic followers.

If you enjoy comics, or cartoons, or liked reading the Sunday funny pages as a child, do yourself a favor and check this one out. I think you'll enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review. This review will be cross-posted to my social media accounts closer to the book release date.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Oni Press for an advance copy of this look at the humble beginnings of a famous French cartoonist, his adventures with food, his travels around the world, and lengths he goes to be left alone and create.

Creating something new means sometimes staring at a blank page, blank screen and even worse a blank mind. These humble beginnings can sometimes be a story in themselves, a origin story one could say in while working in comics. Starting as a young man who hung with the nerds, though he tried not to be one. Imaging the future with rocket cars, flying skateboards and of course pretty girls. While slowly, gradually and sometimes without even the artist noticing art, and creating stories starts to become more and more important. Boulet's Notes: Back in Time is a collection of early works, with some framing stories to explain events, by the noted French artist Boulet, whose real name is Gilles Roussel. Boulet was one of the first French artists to have a blog, and in addition to his popular children's works has a webblog also entitled Notes that he was worked on for almost twenty years.

Boulet's Notes begins with the artist explaining to a female friend that after years of not wanting to collect his early works, the time has finally come to go back and and look at the beginning. This will also, Boulet hopes, put him in the adult field of graphic novels, allowing him better convention spaces, better interviews, and everything that comes with it. A trip to the archives, what looks like a basement, lets him explain the early years, working on websites, designing posters, and gradually learning how to set up, and soon build his own computer. And start his own blog. Most of these works are autobiographical, if a little fantastical. Boulet has sections about the places that comics have brought him, a convention in Seoul, South Korea, or teaching art in Cameroon and other African nations. Some strips detail his dealings with the French train system, about expenses, and crazy destinations trying to get to simple conventions outside of town. There are stories about the battle between leftovers, his own lack of social skills, and how Boulet avoids people, sometimes going to elaborate lies to do so.

Notes is a collection that sort of follows a set chronology, from past to today, but does jump around a bit, when the stories share a common theme. I enjoyed this collection, my first introduction to the writer/artist and found it funny, a little weird, a bit French, and a bit absurd. So more that a bit French. The art is very good, well not when showing himself, but the details especially in traveling to foreign countries is very good. Boulet can tell a story, and has no problem making himself the butt of the joke, or even a completely unlikable person, if the shoe is apt. One follows a shy person, gradually finding themselves and their art, coming together, and as one reads, can see a real progression in Boulet as a person.

Recommended for people who like graphic novels about people, with a touch of the weird. Also fans of European comics will enjoy the names, the people and situations. The parts set in comic book conventions with odd fans, and many, many things to buy are a lot of fun. I'd like to see more by Boulet.

I know I'm prejudiced because this is my sense of humor, but I absolutely loved this. It's a comic, but it felt like a collection of "day in the life" stories, and I identified with almost everything. I laughed out loud several times, and felt a little second-hand embarrassment when I identified too much. I think my favorite story was about how much trouble Boulet had getting train tickets -- I had similar problems in France, and I swear they did it to me on purpose. I'm definitely going to go back and read this again, and I'm sure I will find more to enjoy.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

I absolutely love this one. The comics are great with a dry sense of humour. I couldn't recommend it to my students because there are a few swear words in it. I think it is a great comic book for adults though.

Boulet's Notes by the online cartoon blogger Boulet is the illustrated log of the early years of the blog and it is a real pleasure to read

Boulet has a very dedfinitive style, but Boulet's Notes demonstrates the skill, versatility and variation in Boulet's illustrations, all of which are a visual delight with a cracking wry wit

The book chronicles events experienced and imagined and all are incredibly immersive. Funny, creative, inspired, I really enjoyed Boulet's Notes and it's a keeper for my art book collection

Thank you to Netgalley, Oni Press and Boulet for this outstanding ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

#BouletsNotes #NetGalley