The Prague Coup By Jean-Luc Fromental and Miles Hyman: a review

I haven’t read many graphic novels and comics in my time, especially compared to “regular” novels. I don’t really have much memory of them from childhood, though I think I might have read some Doctor Who ones from their magazines. My first proper experience of spending real time with graphic novels was last year when I did my 50-book challenge. My library has an excellent collection of books from the larger companies like Marvel and DC, but they also hold some more independent companies that newbies like me haven’t come across before.

            The Prague Coup written by Jean-Luc Fromental with the art by Miles Hyman, follows Graham Greene and Elizabeth Montague and is inspired by the story behind Orson Welles’ movie, ‘The Third Man’. The pair are in Czechoslovakia as the Prague Coup, a plan to overthrow the government, is brewing. Greene is preparing to write his new movie and Montague is there to assist. Its twists and turns are absolutely stunning and the art style and writing work brilliantly together. It is also worth saying that this book does contain some nudity, so if that turns you away for any reason then don’t pick up this book.

            As much as I enjoyed the book, the male characters had somewhat of a habit of blending together. If you can see them from the front, then it’s fine but from behind it can be really difficult to tell. As it is a visual medium, names aren’t used as often; in regular novels you get speech tags to give clarity but that isn’t necessary in graphic novels. It doesn’t help that the characters sound so alike. They have quite similar speech patterns, so watch out for that. Maybe it’s just me, because I haven’t read many graphic novels, but I still feel as though there should be a little more clarity.

            There aren’t many female characters in this, but there aren’t many characters in it overall. The characters suit the gender that they are, and I didn’t find myself expecting or hoping that there were more female characters. Our lead female protagonist, Elizabeth Montagu is utterly superb at every moment. She’s ridiculously intelligent and, quite frankly, Graham Greene would be utterly lost without her. The case that permeates the novel would never have been solved so quickly and her language skills left Greene in the dirt. There are two methods that are employed to show translation; the most common is a character talks in their native language and the response is in English basically telling the reader what they said. This works but isn’t as well done as this:

I love the way this is done because it feels far less jarring. The flow of the piece isn’t halted by coming across a language that I’m not familiar with. It also shows Montagu’s skill sets clearly for the reader in a visually brilliant way.

            I do love the art style in this book. I’m sort of reminded of courtroom sketches and I think the simplicity generally works in its favour. It isn’t trying anything fancy, but it does its job and still remains rather striking. I do apologise here for the quality of picture, I’m no photographer:

Here you may also see why I had some issues with the male characters. He looks, well, he looks like a man, but there isn’t anything that’s particularly more interesting about his features than that.

            Overall, I really did enjoy this book. I can well recommend it. While it does have its faults, all books do. The joys of this book massively outweigh its flaws. The art and writing styles are brilliant and work off each other perfectly. It feels authentic to its time and, while it isn’t perfect, I still fell in love. Plus, it’s the first book I’ve read this year that’s purely for pleasure, so that’s an absolute bonus.