Writer: Mark Bellido / Penciller: Judith Vanistendael Translator: Erica Mena / Self Made Hero (HC)
The Pitch: Mikel has a lifelong dream: to become a writer. Seeking to inject some extra cash and inspiration into his life, he uproots his family from their sleepy village to the Basque country, where he takes a job protecting politicians from the armed separatist group ETA. But financial security comes at a price: fear, uncertainty and family breakdown. Drawn in part from his own experience, Mark Bellido’s intense and vivid story finds its perfect counterpart in the bold beauty of Judith Vanistendael's artwork. Together, they have created a powerful and troubling graphic novel that probes the consequences of personal conviction, and the limits of social responsibility.
This book came out in 2019, but I want to talk about it now because it moved me and I think you should take a look, in case you missed it. It's the story of Miquel, who changes his name when he uproots his life and moves to Northern Spain and becomes a bodyguard for a Basque Judge, part of a 3,000-strong force that were assigned to Basque judges, politicians and artists. This book is one of tensions, not only life and death but marital, sexual and platonic. It's also about the tension that exists between the people we would like to be, the careers and dreams we have and the realities we have to craft and choose in order to achieve those. And of how sometimes, we don't achieve those at all, but pay the price anyway. It's worth noting that this is based (partly) on Bellido's real experiences. When you think about that, what follows becomes all the more horrible.
It's hard to contextualise your own life into books like this – despite the fact that identification is crucial in acceptance of stories as a medium, especially when the characters in the book are dealing with the constant threat of murder. But the things that make Miquel a relate-able foil are things that make so many of us human. He's a dreamer, a man with ambition and plans but not drive. In short, he's a writer who doesn't write and doesn't know what he wants to write about. His life is carefree, in a way. He tries to provide for his wife and two children, he is anti-violence... he shirks his work and breaks his phone a lot. He is us. What's interesting from a technical standpoint about this first chapter is that the art, too is carefree. It's bright, easy-going. But life gets in the way.
AS THE BOOK PROGRESSES, MORE BLACKS CREEP INTO THE ART AND INTO THE TONE OF THE WRITING
Miquel takes a job protecting a Basque judge in Northern Spain, starting over with his wife an kids, taking a new name (the titular version) He’s given almost zero training to begin protecting a drunk. He takes on a partner, whom his his wife worries he might have an affair with and hopes he's going to have something to write about. Of course, having something to write about but no time to write is one of the cruel juxtapositions that life places creative people in. Even crueler is the fact that Mikel takes a dangerous job to provide for his family, but is slowly wrenched away from them. The style of the book takes a turn here. More blacks creep into the art and the tone of the writing, fittingly since the ETA bodyguards are called 'dogs'), becomes more barked – short outbursts, a lot of them driven by fear and anger. The colour drains in every sense. Mikel is in the North now. It rains there. There's a grim fascination that takes over in the book's later stages. You're watching a person's life unravel. As he gradually loses all the emotional anchors in his life, he tries to make knew ones, failing. The book becomes a frightening landscape, not because things happen but because of what might happen. And of course, this is the curse that Mikel's trapped with. He wanted a life where things happened. And something to write about. This based on a true experience. When you think about, it becomes all the more horrible. Or all the more tragic.
You can buy Mikel from Gosh Comics.