The Old Geezers: Volume 1 is an eccentric graphic novel following the lives of three old geezers and one of their granddaughters.

I really enjoyed this book! It's a fun ride that goes back and forth between the 50s (the youth of our leads) and present day. They get into shenanigans and seem like a fun group of dudes! Not only is it fun, but it goes over loss, friendship and love in a unique yet intriguing way. I honestly would love to see more books like this in the future, or even continue with this series. It's a great and one-of-a-kind graphic novel.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. ( )

In the 1950s and '60s, Frenchmen Antoine, Emile and Pierrot were anarchists, activists, antifascists, and labor organizers. Now in their seventies, they are still pretty rowdy and anti-capitalist. In these two humorous adventures, Antoine and Pierrot separately receive letters that lead to revelations and regrets about past romantic relationships and send them reeling on paths to rather incompetent violence. Caught up in the chaos is Antoine's granddaughter, Sophie, a young single mother with a similar rebellious streak but a lot more sensibility than the geezers.

Very French and very farcical -- the sort of thing I usually dislike -- but I found myself having a good time reading the antics of these grumpy old men. And I see they have more tomes to check out in the future. I'm tempted to try the recent movie adaptation, but my history with French cinema is even worse than my history with bandes dessinées. ( )

The Old Geezers - Volume 1 - Alive and Still kicking is a wonderful graphic novel, or beginning of a series actually. The artwork is splendid and the story, like many first volumes in a series, both gives enticing information and withholds some important details. Plus a cliffhanger, though not so much of one that I was disappointed but rather just enough of one to make me want to read the next volume.

While I highly recommend this to most readers of serialized graphic novels I have to add a small warning. If you don't enjoy some societal critique on a level above simply "us good, them bad" then you might not engage with the story as easily. The struggles referenced are/were quite real and while simple acts of resistance might be there the discussion acknowledges that the problems are quite complex. The intergenerational banter, and sometimes argument, offers more than one perspective on the problems that still persist today which the old geezers had battled in the past.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

This is the first episode of a series, which has been translated from the French original. A trio of geriatric men are not ready to hang up their spurs. When one--an ardent unionist--discovers that his recently deceased wife had an affair fifty years before with the boss of his company (his arch rival in union negotiations)--he sets out to Tuscany from France for revenge, armed with a rifle. The two other geezers and his granddaughter set off in pursuit. It's a great story, well told and with great illustrations, both of the characters, many of whom are very old and wrinkled, and the landscape during the journey and once arrived in Tuscany. All of this brings the story and characters to vivid life.

The English text is very well done. It is believable, with more than a few curse words, but this aspect of the story is believable and not overdone for the sake of sensation. Despite the familiarity of the language, however, the story's sentiment and political content are very French. The granddaughter makes an outraged speech, for instance, in which she says that the old geezers' generation has been the worst in history and has ruined the world through globalization and a few of the other usual suspects. One of the geezers is part of a movement that disrupts upper class social events. The story also promotes acts such as putting matches and superglue into the doors of businesses such as banks to prevent them opening. Even in Trump's America, I'm not sure that there is a wide audience for this type of protest or a pervasive feeling that things are THAT bad.

The book's ending sets up the geezers for an extended set of adventures (or provocations?) Presumably, the English translation of these is on the way. It should be an interesting saga. ( )