Column -- "One Life, Many Books: Michel Rabagliati’s Paul"

I read Paul in the Country (2000), Paul Has a Summer Job (2002), Paul Moves Out (2005), Paul Goes Fishing (2008) and The Song of Roland (2012), and enjoyed them all, but I couldn’t shake my suspicion that Rabagliati’s art was too emotionally and visually simple. Recently, after hearing that a new Paul book was on the way (Paul Joins the Scouts,forthcoming in English from Conundrum), I re-read all of Rabagliati’s books, and liked them much more. Rabagliati’s freedom to choose different characters to highlight in various scenes and books is complimented by the rough chronology of Paul’s life that percolates underneath the entire series.