Coming this November from Top Shelf Productions, pianist and writer extraordinaire Filipe Melo delivers a touching, emotional journey through the 20th Century in the simple, yet poignant graphic novel, Ballad for Sophie. Telling the fictional tale of French virtuoso pianist Julien Dubois and his upbringing in war-torn World War II-era Europe through his rise to stardom as a popular entertainer, Melo’s transcendent tale of magical realism and reverence for artistry is brought to life in beautiful canvas-painted panels by Argentine Juan Cavia. Some of the more psychedelic passages are presented here in this exclusive to Screen Rant.
Top Shelf, now an imprint of IDW Publishing, has long been an imprint for more out-there material, including Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Jeff Lemire’s Essex County. Presented in glorious vibrancy, Ballad for Sophie is an immersive retrospective on the dilemmas of artistry in the pre-social media age, when a musician’s dignity did not necessarily rely upon their ability to gain popularity or sell records. Ostensibly a document of main character Julien Dubois and his lifelong rivalry with pianist François Samson, Ballad for Sophie shines most in its vivid depictions of subjective experiences rife with beauty and tragedy just beyond the scope of realist works to capture. Yet they are captured nonetheless by Cavia’s Bill Watterson-esque, cartoonish yet subdued illustration style.
In this newest preview presented exclusively by Screen Rant, Dubois relates his experiences as a popular entertainer. While he enjoys the rich and lavish lifestyle of a rock star, he struggles with the emptiness he feels having abandoned his true passion of classical music in favor of a new identity under the pseudonym Eric Bonjour. Presented in wondrous composition by Cavia with delicately powerful design and narration by Melo, this preview is a typically nuanced exhibition of the type of quality this team exhibits in this graphic novel, highlighting the story of an artist at war with his past. Check out this wonderful preview art below:
Ballad for Sophie is a rare sentimental journey of heartfelt emotion that does not fail to enrapture, brought to life by a team working at the best of their abilities. Told with the framing device of the elderly and infirm Dubois narrating his life to the young journalist Adeline Jourdain, there is a quality of synesthesia in this work regarding the immortal ability of music to transcend life that is translated here better than most previous attempts across the breadth of fictional media.
Looking for a colorful, artistically-brilliant tale about the beauty of life, artistry and music? Ballad for Sophie goes on sale November 2 from Top Shelf Productions.
