Een graphic novel met humor, een tikje melancholisch en een einde waar mijn hart een beetje van brak. A new printing of a 1980 book by Briggs, a famed children's author, Gentleman Jim is a quaint, but interesting book about a toilet cleaner who pursues his dream of becoming a Robin Hood-esque "highwayman. The Man is a dialogue between a boy, John, and a tiny naked man who appears in the middle of the night, demanding clothes. But he doesn't understand that a cowboy or highwayman is not a legitimate profession, and everything costs more than he can afford. If it were not for the gentle humour which continues even through these final panes, and the stoic, upbeat, “make the best of it” attitude of these two endearing characters, the pathos would be well-nigh unbearable.

He had tried to get the right forms and permission, but time and time again he had fallen foul of the bureauocratic process. First published in 1980, two years after The Snowman, Gentleman Jim has been unavailable for many years. Our hapless hero finds out that life isn't quite that simple, when he cobbles together a Highwayman outfit and sets off on a series of comic misadventures. While this ostensibly might look like a children's book, there's considerable pathos in the plight of Jim Bloggs, the character in this story.

Raymond Briggs (Engeland, 1934-2022) tekende deze kleine 32 bladzijden tellende beeldnovelle uit 1980 met kleurpotlood, wat een heel mooi zacht effect geeft en de melancholische ondertoon nog eens onderstreept. Due to the smallish format of the book, at times it is difficult to read the text or spot clues in the artwork. But the real world does not work like that, and increasingly he is subjected to an endless procession of petty officials marching into his life, and a succession of authority figures bringing all manner of threats, trouble and summonses. A darkly humorous, kafkaesque story about a British middle-aged man Jim Bloggs who has been working as a lavatory attendant his whole life and who dreams of a more exciting, adventurous job with more of a challenge. The illustration is layered and warm while still capturing the mundanity of Jim's life and the textures of his dreams.

Oddly too, because his work is read by people who do not normally read comics, the British comics industry tend to ignore his work, because they just do not consider what he does as proper comics. A remarkable success story for a book which is entirely wordless, and illustrated with only pencil crayons. in its view of how easily destructive the world can be for those naive fools who complacently follow along, ignorant of the dystopian nature of their lives. Briggs is best known for his 1978 work 'The Snowman' and won the 1966 and 1973 'Kate Greenaway Medals' for his illustrations. The Snowman” is a magical book without words, and has been overwhelmingly successful in Great Britain.Given to fantasising about outrageous alternative careers, Jim eventually tries his hand at being a highwayman. Jim is one of his most engaging characters - not especially bright, and with only a limited understanding of the world around him, but a romantic idealist who means well despite his behaviour. The abiding message is to feel for all the little people who try so hard in life: all the afflicted Jim and Hildas of this world. Later in his career, Briggs shifted his focus from charming children's tales to more somber adult-oriented stories including Gentleman Jim, the tale of a working class hero, and When the Wind Blows, a story confronting the horrors of nuclear war. seated astride a mangy old donkey and wearing a pair of old wellingtons, his wife’s lacy blouse, an air raid warden’s battered helmet, bearing a toy mask and pistol, and a black and red cape lovingly sewn for him out of stuff from the jumble sale, by Hilda.

The book perfectly captures an enchanting friendship with its message of kindness and intolerance of prejudice. It's a bit existential as well as VERY British (I have a feeling anyone who's lived in England will be laughing over the many domestic regulations suffered by Jim!Briggs won the 1966 and 1973 Kate Greenaway Medals from the British Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. The ultimate conflict and the resolution are a bit on the outlandish side, but, eh, I think Briggs was still working out the kinks in what was a pretty dang new format at the time. As a tale of thwarted ambition, it is heartbreaking, but Briggs never succumbs to a dark kind of despair.