Creator: Christophe Blain (cartoonist) with Joe Johnson (translator)
Publishing Information: NBM/ComicsLit, paperback, Color, 80 pages, $13.95 (US)
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 1-56163-349-6 (ISBN-10)
Originally published in 1999 by the French publishing house, Dupuis, The Speed Abater is a graphic novel from Christophe Blain. NBM published an English language edition of The Speed Abater in 2003, with translation by Joe Johnson. A French cartoonist who once studied economics, Blain has worked with David B. and Lewis Trondheim and is the creator of the Isaac the Pirate graphic novel series.
The Speed Abater is set during wartime (World War II?) aboard a destroyer, a battleship named the Bellicose. The story primarily focuses on George Guilbert, a young helmsman, who has difficulty adjusting to life on the high seas due to his extreme seasickness. He befriends Louis Bleno, another novice helmsman, and Sam Nordiz, a coxswain with a penchant for claiming to be more well-connected than he really is.
Trying to find a place to get a way from the noise and also the constant motion that causes their seasickness, George and Louis follow Sam deep into the bowels of the Bellicose. An accident causes problems with the Bellicose’ sensitive reduction gears. Catastrophe follows and the men find themselves trapped, while an enemy submarine stalks the Bellicose.
On the surface, The Speed Abater seems like a character drama, and in many ways, it is also a suspense thriller. At its core, however, Christophe Blain’s graphic novel is about the struggle between man and the enormous, complex, and bureaucratic machine that is life on this planet. The Bellicose is this giant, self-contained world and, perhaps, a stand-in for our own world.
For all its immensity and power, the Bellicose is susceptible breakdowns, even those sometimes caused by the most insignificant objects. The Bellicose has a seemingly unending supply of sailors/operators and also parts that keep it operating. With so much that can go wrong, it is a wonder that the ship operates at all. When it comes to the crew members, Blain’s narrative gives the impression that they work at cross purposes. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, indeed.
George Guilbert and, to a lesser extent, Louis Bleno and Sam Nordiz, are tiny souls trapped in this world that is the belly of the beast. The goal is to survive the Bellicose and life – by hook, by crook, or by luck and circumstance. The colorful, odd assortment that is this story’s cast and the riveting storyline that is the story’s driving force are all engaging. Why? The answer is in how this deeply human story unveils George’s path to victory and survival.
