The Great British Bump Off

The Great British Bump Off is John Allison's newest comic series. Parts 2 through 4 will be published throughout the next few months with a paperback of all 4 of them coming out in November 2023. It is a graphic murder mystery that takes place on the set of the Great British Bakeoff tent. 

When Shauna Wickles enters the Bakeoff, she expects that she will delight the judges, charm the nation and meet a few friends along the way. She did not expect to be an amateur sleuth investigating the poisoning of a fellow contestant. It is up to her to figure out who the killer is while avoiding elimination from the contest.

The comic is as delightful as a British traybake. The cast of characters is diverse. There is the retired grandmother, Shauna, a choir director, street musician, dental technician, meteorologist and a pharmacist to name a few. Some contestants are pleasant while others are "competitive."  This is a goofy rendition of the British TV show that female readers will definitely like. It might be too sacharine sweet for superhero comic readers though. 

I loved the comic and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars. I am looking forward to the release of part 2 next week.

Notes on a Thesis

French cartoonist Tiphaine Riviere's graphic novel covers the life of Jeanne Dargan during her 6 years as a PhD student.  While the book is satire, her story is sad and discouraging as well. Jeanne's life during those years was so disjointed that I would not choose to work one a PhD myself.

The publisher's summary:

"When Jeanne is accepted on to a PhD course, she is over the moon, brimming with excitement and grand plans - but is the world ready for her masterful analysis of labyrinth motifs in Kafka's The Trial?  At first Jeanne throws herself into research with great enthusiasm, but as time goes by, it becomes clear that things aren't quite going according to plan.  Notes on a Thesis is a reminder of the strangeness of academia, of every awful essay, every disastrous exam, and every insanity-inducing dissertation."

The artwork in Notes is interesting.  As Jeanne becomes more and more discouraged by her lack of progress, she is drawn with an increasingly wilted body.  Some of the other characters are drawn the same way, especially the lazy administrator Brigitte who I think resembles a government employee more than an administrator. 

The story was funny but also discouraging. I have thought about getting an advanced degree but Jeanne's experience makes me think twice about it. Jeanne got bogged down in teaching grad students and spent years just working on her thesis idea and creating the writing plan. This is not something that I want to do. 

Riviere is known for writing satire. She certainly excelled with Notes. She has Jeanne reading 3,200 books during the research phase of her degree and Jeanne wrote a 69 page outline of her thesis. Unbelievable!

5 out of 5 stars.