Pascin

"One of the Best Comics of the Year. This graphic novel feels like truth, or, as Picasso said of art, it’s a lie that makes us realize truth."—Paste Magazine

"Sfar wades into such heavy issues as the strangeness of desire, artistic depiction versus reality, and Jewish identity. And Sfar does not shy away from shocking, explicit details, such as Pascin's preteen visit to a brothel. The art shifts wonderfully throughout, adjusting to the moment and the tone of whoever is in Pascin's orbit (in a delightful touch, Sfar's depiction of Chagall echoes the painter’s own style). Sfar is a superstar in French cartooning circles, and this is another example of why."—Publishers Weekly

Pascin, a biography of the noted Jewish modernist painter (Julius Mordecai Pincas, known as Pascin, March 31, 1885 – June 5, 1930), is Joann Sfar's most personal and important work. Pascin is portrayed by Sfar both as a kindred spirit and an aesthetic revolutionary struggling to redefine an art form. Sfar revels in the artist's celebration of all things corporeal in the world of art. Though the story is drenched in sex, it is never eroticized. Created in a direct and immediate drawing style, Sfar focuses more on the artist's personal and sexual life than on his art, and brings Pascin to life as the ultimate bohemian.