Reading: SPIROU: THE DIARY OF A NAIVE YOUNG MAN - Emile Bravo

Spirou and Fantasio, one of most popular Franco-Belgian comics of all time, debuted in 1938. In it, Spirou was a young boy and Fantasio his older friend and mentor, both of them journalists who had many great adventures together, often with Spirou's pet squirrel Spip along for comic relief. Indeed, ask anyone in Brussels and they may well know Spirou better than Mickey Mouse. In more modern times Spirou and Fantasio have gone through huge changes in one-off volumes where their adventures happen well off home turf ... and in 2006 Spirou: The Diary of a Naive Young Man was released to critical acclaim and even a major industry award. The love given to this volume is apparent from page one; set in Brussels in 1939, the artwork looks completely period and Spirou even reminded me of a younger Tintin (one of the reasons I wanted to read this). This story is darker and deeper, however, finding a young Spirou as a bellboy at a five-star hotel while, in attendance there, Polish and German officials are meeting clandestinely, the Polish delegates trying to forestall an invasion from Germany and all-out war. This volume also shows how Spirou and Fantasio meet, with Fantasio a fairly inept reporter for a local paper who is always trying to get Spirou to leak information about the guests - and Spirou even gets a love interest here, in the form of a pretty young maid, new to the hotel, who seems to be a lot more politically aware than Spirou could ever be. I really enjoyed this graphic novel, was totally engaged from the beginning and felt fully transported back to those gray, ominous days just before WWII, before the Nazis made their final push that would start a war; to that end, even got a few chills while reading. But what makes it all come together is that I really like Spirou; yes, beyond naive here when it comes to what is going on, but a good, honorable guy - the quintessential "boy scout" - just trying to do his job well and get the girl.  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.