{"product_id":"social-fiction-isbn-9781681377407","title":"Social Fiction","description":"\u003cb\u003eAppearing together in English for the first time, three politically charged sci-fi graphic novellas by a pioneering French comics artist.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDark, smart, and indomitably cool, the ’70s and ’80s dystopian visions of Chantal Montellier still unsettle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVisitors  to an underground mall must recreate civilization after a nuclear  strike may have wiped out the rest of humanity. Newlyweds find  themselves implicated in a government eugenics program. A disembodied  authority reprimands a man for stepping out of view of a security  camera.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this collection of three novellas\u003ci\u003e—Wonder City\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eShelter\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003e1996—\u003c\/i\u003epublished  together in English for the first time, Montellier’s blend of dark  humor, gripping storytelling, and consistent focus on the perils of  totalitarianism shows her to be a master of both comics and science  fiction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSocial Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e includes a Q\u0026amp;A between Chantal Montellier and Geoffrey Brock.\"Authoritarianism and resistance to it are twin threads that run through the dystopias of \u003ci\u003eSocial Fiction.\u003c\/i\u003e... Montellier’s drawings favor clean, symmetrical lines and a meticulous attention to detail....The dialogue is beautifully and idiomatically rendered in English by the poet Geoffrey Brock, who also contributes an introductory note and an interview with the author.\"  —Laila Lalami,\u003ci\u003e The Nation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Montellier is no prophet, but rather a feminist and an anti-fascist. Her dystopias of the ’70s and early ‘80s address political, social and technological conditions which follow from patriarchy. Her alternate futures are real because they flow from our present, and her insights remain relevant and profound.” —Helen Chazan, \u003ci\u003eThe Comics Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“There's anger in Social Fiction by Chantal Montellier but it's tinged with a wry sadness...which I think is best summed up by this quote: '...the betrayals of the 'leftist' government and the destruction of working-class communities upset and revolted me.'\" —Clark Burscough, \u003ci\u003eThe Comics Journal \"\u003c\/i\u003eThe Best of 2023, As Decreed by Our Contributors\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I loved this. Montellier’s shade of political disillusionment has a strikingly Ballardian sheen—dilapidation preoccupied with the appearance of function—with gorgeous cartooning. 'Dear Collaborators' might be the best one-page comic I’ve ever read.\" —Hagai Palevsky\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A pioneering woman in French comics […] Montellier, who is now 76, is not as flashy and action-oriented as her male counterparts of the era. What comes through in these stories is her dark humor, feminism, and still-relevant political allegories about government control over our lives. We’re fortunate this work has finally been translated.” —Matt Bors, \u003ci\u003eBors Comics\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hauntingly farsighted satire…, which still feels vibrant and at the same time prophetic.” —Emmet O’Cuana and Kumar Sivasubramanian, \u003ci\u003eDeconstructing Comics \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This book collects together the 70s and 80s dystopian visions of the pioneering French feminist cartoonist Chantal Montellier in the form of three novellas. With its focus on the horrors of totalitarianism...it is gripping and sometimes darkly funny.” —Rachel Cooke,\u003ci\u003e The Guardian \u003c\/i\u003e“Rachel Cooke’s Best Graphic Novels of 2023”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Published together in English for the first time, this spiky collection of three science fiction graphic novellas from Montellier, one of the few women published in the famed French comics magazine \u003ci\u003eMétal Hurlant\u003c\/i\u003e in its heyday, makes a case for her place as one of the publication’s brightest creators. . . . Montellier’s firm line and punk ethos recall the early, science fiction–themed installments of \u003ci\u003eLove and Rockets\u003c\/i\u003e, but her vision is far bleaker, fueled by political rage, satirical wit, and a full-bore feminist drive. The anarchic sensibility feels both of its time and eerily prescient. It’s a thrilling introduction to an unmissable comics talent.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Montellier's 'dirty future' is not just dirty, it is barely functional. The dystopia in \u003ci\u003eSocial Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e droops from the loosening tape that holds it together, yet people still comply. Like most \u003ci\u003eMétal hurlant\u003c\/i\u003e contributors, Montellier lived through 1968, but unlike nearly all of them, she worked extensively in radical leftist venues prior to her narrative strip work; the sigh behind her pestilent societies is that of faded promise.\" —Joe McCulloch, \u003ci\u003eThe Comics Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The perils of totalitarianism take center stage in this collection of grimly humorous science-fiction novellas…Montellier emerges as a true visionary of the graphic-novel medium and the science-fiction genre in these captivating tales of human beings struggling to retain their dignity under repressive regimes.\" —Tom Batten, \u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eChantal Montellier \u003c\/b\u003eis a French novelist, painter, and comics creator. Montellier began working as an editorial cartoonist in 1972, with work appearing in newspapers and magazines such as \u003ci\u003ePolitis\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eL'Humanité, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMarianne. \u003c\/i\u003eA contributor to the renowned comics magazine \u003ci\u003eMétal Hurlant \u003c\/i\u003eand one of the most active female comics creators in France, Montellier is known for her realist drawing style and her engagement with political and feminist themes in her work.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGeoffrey Brock\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of two books of poetry, most recently \u003ci\u003eVoices Bright Flags\u003c\/i\u003e, and the translator of a number of books, including the NYRB Classics and NYR Children's Collection editions of Carlo Collodi’s \u003ci\u003ePinnochio\u003c\/i\u003e and the NYRC edition of \u003ci\u003eThe Tenderness of Stones\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"New York Review Comics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233561850085,"sku":"NP9781681377407","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781681377407.jpg?v=1767736869","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/social-fiction-isbn-9781681377407","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}