Here’s what I love about this one. That it exists; I want watercolor-laden graphic novels about all of my favorite artists. Yes, please and thank you.
That said, despite the gorgeous art, – for me – this one doesn’t work. The dialogue is beyond clunky (Hello, and welcome to the land of wooden exposition) and the characters are all off-putting. I understand that Rodin’s life story needed to be consolidated to fit the books form and purpose. The idea is that the book “views the artist's story through the eyes of the three women who shared his life, for good or for bad.” And perhaps a different frame would have been preferable here, because as I read this there was only room everyone to hit two notes. For all three women, these notes were sex and jealousy. At least Rodin got sex and art. Seriously, Rose and Camille were both introduced and then within a few pages (3 for Rose and 6 for Camille) they’re both literally presenting their close-up shot bare breasts into Rodin’s hands. The spreads are only dissimilar in that one is outdoors during the day and the other is… Indoors. At night. *shocked face*
Perhaps I just wanted to romanticize an artist whose work I admire, but Rodin comes across, not great in this and I wish more focus had been given to his relationship to art instead of sex. Or perhaps, I’m just the wrong audience? I don’t think is aimed at kids given the amount of nudity and the fairly not-simplified take on art, but if it is aimed at adults, then why was the narrative so clunky?
I did think the integration of historical sources was great though, the song, the letters, etc. That was a great way to connect the text to the subjects within it.

My thanks to the creators, the publisher and NetGalley for the arc to review.

'A. Rodin' by Joel Alessandra with art by Eddy Simon is a graphic novel biography about the artist primarily known for his sculpture.

An interesting take for this biography is that the chapters are named after the women he primarily was with for each period. Beginning with long-suffering Ruth who say the talent and put up with the nonsense. Second was Camille Claudel who was a very good artist in her own right. Then Claire came along late in life to work on getting Rodin more fame and a museum.

I've read a number of the NBM series, and some are better than others, but they are all interesting. I liked this look at Rodin's life and philandering. His major works are covered and some of his thought process. The art is good, with a hazier line style that worked well for this book.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from NBM Publishing, Papercutz, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

3 stars ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book .

I saw a few people who reviewed this in Instagram and was quite excited to receive a copy. However, this book never really came to life for me. . Although it recounted Rodin’s life from the perceptive of the women in his life, the story never elicited any emotion from me.

I have never been a big fan of comics or graphic novels but recently discovered this little niche of biographies in the art form and really enjoy them. In less than 2 hours I can take in some art, learn a little about someone I before knew too little about and come away feeling that it was time well-spent.

This one details the life of Auguste Rodin and the three women he loved. I knew very little about Rodin outside knowing some of the art he created, so I was excited to learn more. It did not disappoint. The art is subtle and moody, giving me the feeling of old sepia photographs.

The book tells the story of his life from birth to death, and is divided into sections chronologically with an emphasis on the women in his life. This man was a philanderer who must have caused a lot of pain to these three women. I was surprised to learn that Rose stayed in his life for their entire lives and married him in the end. As a feminist woman in the 21st century I would have kicked him to the curb.

I love history and so a book that lets me explore a small moment in time is one I usually enjoy. I found the artwork to lend itself perfectly to the era, person and to the original art of Rodin. It felt like a loving tribute from one artist to another.

Thank you to Netgalley and to NBM Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.