The Wrong Place by Brecht Evens

The Wrong Place Reviews

• 
  mark monday

  I forgot to review this book like I forgot to go to that party the other night, I mean I left the first party early so I could be at least sorta on time for the second party, but going home between parties was a mistake, phone calls to make and interesting conversations to have and then maybe flip through these catalogs that just came in the mail even though I definitely have enough clothes, style to burn man, but what's the harm in looking and then let's get on the interwebs and buy just maybe one or two things and then let's just check out what's on the news, oh that's not fun at all, need some whiskey for that shit, and then let's watch some Watchmen, no too serious, and then let's watch some Black Lightning instead, we'll go to that party in a minute, and then and then I'm waking up and then it's time to send some apology text replies to the host and everyone else who was wondering where the fuck I was last night, don't forget the emojis, and then
  
  and then I realized I forgot to write this review and so here I am, which is sorta comic to me because a big part of this book is about some guy who forgot to go to a party and so everyone at that sad, small little party goes on and on wondering where that guy is, not to say that the party I missed was small or sad or that everyone wondered where I was, well, I'm sure a lot of people did, false modesty is not my thing, but I'm sure the party itself was neither small nor sad, and apparently the guy who missed this sad small party, the central character of the piece, is considered a stylish guy and that's a coincidence because I consider myself a stylish guy, I dunno if other people feel the same but I assume so, although in what dimension those blue pinstripe pants with suspenders he wears throughout the book are considered stylish, I surely do not know. those are some eyesore pants for real. and the suspenders??
  
  IGNORE ALL OF THE ABOVE
  
  much like my pointless, aimless musings above, this wonderful book has an aimless, free-flowing style that reminded me a lot of how people remember recent events. it is detailed but kinda smudgy. all of the small moments are there but they flow into each other just like conversations and actions flow into each other when socializing, when out and about in the great stream of life. the book felt real. which is also funny to me because the art is like a vividly colored dream, not real but real, smudges of color and bits of sharpness, emotions underneath, it's all a slow-fast-slow whirl, done in watercolors. the art is something special. so easy on the eyes, so right.
  
  the book itself is special. it has a semi-lovable free spirit at its center, brilliantly surreal scenes at a club, unnervingly realistic scenes at a dull party, and one of the most impressive sex scenes I've ever seen rendered in what I suppose should be called a comic but I think is better served by the phrase "sequential art". not that I am remotely a comic snob, but this is fucking art.
  
  the book is about how we connect and how we don't connect and all of the smudginess in between. it made me want to reach out to those friends of mine who aren't touchy people and who are kinda insular, kinda pessimistic, and give them a hug, somehow include them in something, just do something nice for them. I don't see in black and white but I think some people do; I don't think the human touch is toxic but it sure seems like a lot of people do. life is full of color and human touch and this book is all about that and it's also about how it's tough on people who don't feel that way.
  
  I mean that poor friend, he's insecure and lonely, he should have just sat on his buddy's lap when that blue pinstriped lap was offered, he should have just jumped from the balcony into that crowd's arms, he should maybe stop living in his head so much, and that's good advice for anyone. he should have been been like that girl who followed his buddy around until she finally actually did hook up with him, get it girl, and the hook-up was awesome. life's all about trying, right, trying to connect? people should keep doing that.
• 
  Jaidee

  3 "gorgeous artwork but boring story" stars !!
  
  Mr. Evens is a Belgian cartoonist and his artwork is divine.
  
  Here are two examples but not from this book:
  
  
  
  
  
  Thanks to Joachim S. whose review led me to looking at this book.
• 
  Dov Zeller

  Architectural and emotional, part artifact, part living, breathing thing. Reading it feels like going on a bit of an acid-trippy internal carnivalesque adventure, and at the same time like watching a very experimental/surrealist silent film. There are tensions in here that are hard to describe. A kind of timelessness and, despite its urban contemporary kind of setting and complex architectural feel, a certain quality of a cave-painting. History living, in motion, neither beginning or ending. And then there is a surrealist's puzzle quality to it. It's funny, mysterious, a bit slapstick, a little bawdy, a little bleak and yet vibrantly, unnervingly colorful.
  
  Well, not the most articulate review. Check out David's. It's great!
  
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 
  Dave Schaafsma

  Read this one especially fast, by Flemish artist Brecht Evens... and Evens is the star here, with his flamboyant watercolors, so explosive, and yet subtle in terms of gesture and social interaction... Robbie is the main character, with all sorts of party scene sexual energy, an attraction for boys and girls... so it is about urban night life, buzzing with energy, yet beneath that there is caring for the characters, a sensitivity for them, he likes them all, sees things from a variety of perspectives... This is a "small" book in that it is not hugely ambitious as Art or Novel. but it is very likable and refreshing and feels new to me, so colorful and alive. My first experience with Evens...
• 
  George Marshall

  Outstanding- Brecht has an extraordinary mix of gifts; exquisite and very original art style, a great ear for dialogue and the minutiae of social interactions and, above all, an complex understanding of how comics move through space and time (for example, the way he can use a tiny single speechless panel and a slight shift in body placement indicates the social exclusion of one girl from two others smoking cigarettes together).
  
  The art is that of a detached observer- usually small figures in the middle distance, rarely if ever showing facial closeups - we drift through peoples lives, but are not participants in their circle. This detachment allows us to have some distance - we get none of the angry and very personal contempt that you can find in Clowes or Ware.
  
  Brecht has compassion and empathy for all sides. So, the story appears to portray Gary as uninspired limited and, literally in the palette 'grey' whilst Robbie is utterly alive, vibrant and original. But Brecht is far more subtle than that- Gary may be insecure and limited but he is clearly a loyal friend and seeks to do something for wider society (he is working in a school). Robbie, on the other hand does nothing, lives off gambling and steals drinks. He uses people and, whilst maintaining contact with Gary only does so on his terms- failing to attend Gary's party and pressurising him to do things that make him embarrassed or uncomfortable. He uses women on a whim, seems to have no interest in what they say and leaves them feeling insecure and inadequate (after sex he just rolls over to go to sleep whilst his one night stand is left asking 'did I say something stupid?').
  
  Really this book is about social power and Brecht is showing us how rewards flow to people who have that power. But what we don't see is what happens to steady dull Gary and party animal Robbie 10 or 20 years on when the money runs out and the alcohol has taken its toll.
  
  All in all, an outstanding work from a great creator that hugely expands the potential of comics.
  
  
  
  Brecht shows people
  
  and all this with great compassion
• 
  Penelope

  If you approach this book as a traditional plot-driven story, you'll probably be disappointed. The "plot" isn't really...anything; it's there, and you can follow it easily enough, but it doesn't matter very much. It's all about the characters, the situations, and the interactions. As a sort of fictional "case study" of social interaction, this book is really amazing and sometimes painfully awkward (because it's just so true). Poor Gary...I could totally relate to him, and it made me sad.
  
  Aside from managing to capture a sort of "truth" about human social interaction, Evens also creates a whimsical world of over-the-top characters who seem to inhabit a realm totally separate from "reality" (in a too-good-to-be-true-but-would-you-really-want-to-live-there-forever kind of way).
  
  But the best part of this book are the illustrations. I wish I could have posters of every single page and plaster them on the walls of my apartment. So beautiful and inspiring...worth it for the excellent illustration & design alone.
• 
  Aaron

  I recently watched an interview with Dash Shaw in which he brought up Fantagraphics' process of finding authors to publish. In it he mentioned that they often times publish the author who is a great writer, regardless of how behind their art may be. The reason for this is that anyone can get better at art with practice, but bad writers are bad writers; sign the great writer, and soon enough every part of their work will be great.
  
  This is the most boring story I've read in years. I'm so tired of graphic novels that treat the medium as something entirely visual, or at least like visuals are so important that they can excuse awful story telling. I didn't make it halfway through this because nothing made me want to know anything more about any of these uninspired characters. The art is kind of cool, yeah. There are some striking images, specifically some on the train. But behind the sprawling lights and multi-colored humans is an overwrought, relentlessly boring story of white 20-somethings going to parties and the resulting "examinations" of anxiety and being a social outcast and whatever other problems they can blow out of proportion to make them feel separate from the privileged sphere of society they occupy.
• 
  Tom Vandevelde

  Negen jaar voor 'Het Amusement', dat vorig jaar erg hoge ogen gooide, verscheen 'Ergens waar je niet wil zijn'. In beide werken staan eenzaamheid, een krampachtig vasthouden aan vertier en verlangen en de maskers die het eerste verbergen en het tweede mogelijk maken, centraal. Evens slaagt er ook hier wonderbaarlijk wel in om in enkele zinsneden en penseelstreken de lezer onder te dompelen in een bijna tastbaar pijnlijk melancholieke sfeer van mislukt amusement. Waar 'Het Amusement' er ook in slaagde om de verschillende verhalen in het werk perfect te verweven, laat 'Ergens waar je niet wil zijn' hier en daar nog steken vallen. Laat dat er u echter niet van weerhouden dit knappe werk aan uw collectie toe te voegen. Magnifieke details: de half verweerde letters wanneer personages elkaar niet kunnen verstaan boven de tonen van het feestgedruis in Disco Harem, of de manier waarop een neukend koppel tijdens hun gezamelijk hoogtepunt vervaagt tot uitdijende lijnen.
• 
  Althea J.

  A quick read with fun and vibrant watercolor. I feel like I've been to that exact awkward dinner party, and that I know those party people, and that group of friends that revolved around a cult of personality, and I had that whirlwind club romance that lasts a night. Aaah, some fun nostalgia for me, and rendered with brilliantly stylish art.
  
  Perfect as a library book.
• 
  Joachim Stoop

  For those who doubt graphic novels can be art
• 
  Bryce Holt

  Something so beautiful should have more purpose. There's a thousand ways to describe the artwork, but only one way to describe the story, and that is 'pointless.' The pairing of Gary, a cloying and depressing character to watch bumble his way through life, and that of longtime friend Robbie, a Lothario who is bigger than the world he possesses, is not only implausible but so counter to one another that at one point I thought they might be split personalities of a single person. Unfortunately, this is not the case (or...I don't think it is. It's all very confusing).
  
  Every page is filled with watercolor that will baffle the mind, but if that's the focus, then stop there. Truly, Brecht Evens shouldn't even have included the story. I think there are a lot of themes at work here, but most seem to silently hint that to live a full life, you must want constant attention and sex. Awkward introversion is comparable to the worst thing imaginable and will lead to no one liking you. No, really...that's what I took from this. All of the watercolored beauty that Evens surely spent hundreds of hours manufacturing is lost to this core concept, and not only is it wrong, but it ruins the power of the art you're watching unfold before your very eyes.
  
  The story was foolish, distracting and the sign of a person who is young to the world at large and trying to be someone he is not. I'm sure there are others who feel differently, but I felt cheated by the time I turned the final page. Get this for the art, but pretend there are not words attached to it and I think you will have a powerful experience...if you read it, though, you'll feel you've just lost 2 hours of your life.
• 
  Emma

  This is an exquisite book. Formally, its so sophisticated; his use of colour and the compositional space of the page is unique. Each page is more like a painting than a comic, he doesn't use boxes and speech bubbles and takes advantage of the freedom this gives his art to deliver the story in fresh ways. Illustratively it's also wonderful; his gracefully dabbed figures have a very authentic, deceptively simple body language. He gives the characters all the right gestures and density and colour. People criticise the story as banal but I think it's brilliantly observed, I was both convinced and even gripped by the social dynamics his story tells. The dialogue is subtle and precisely noted. He has an ear for language as well as an eye for, well, the visible. I also love his use of watercolour, he perfectly exploits its capacity for both opacity and translucence. He paints physical spaces beautifully too.
• 
  Edmundo Mantilla

  ¡Qué genialidad! La única razón por la que no considero que merezca cinco estrellas es porque olvida la trama y el final es uno de los más desconcertantes (tanto que llegué a pensar que faltaban páginas). Sin embargo, no por eso deben dejar de leer "Un lugar equivocado", porque es arte auténtico: sus dibujos (acuarelas) no expresan, sino que te arrastran a la escena y a las emociones de la situación; sus diálogos muestran lo convencional y aburrida que puede ser la vida, pero también existen momentos de conversación vertiginosa y muy honda.
• 
  Ty

  Really great watercolor comix. Boring parties, cool parties, faces, sex, feeeeeelings, and elaborately tiled floors are all fun to look at in this book and they seem realler in here than they often seem in other comix or books or movies. There's a dude in here who everyone wants to be and hang out with and dress like, and while I was reading this I wanted to be and hang out with and dress like him too.
  
  
  
  http://tymelgren.com/books/april2013....
• 
  Sydney S

  A hauntingly beautiful graphic novel. Definitely one for your bookshelf or coffee table. The art is incredible and unique. The story is sobering and distant, in a good way. There's a sense of loneliness and longing for connection, and it's a wholly human experience. We follow themes of insecurity, conformity, community, socialization, urban life, identity, and emptiness. What does it mean to be happy? It isn't the same for everyone, but we sometimes think it is.
• 
  Brendan Monroe

  We're a social species, but not all of us socialize in the same way. Some of us are quite at home interacting with people, while social interaction comes not at all easy to others.
  
  Brecht Evens is a Belgian cartoonist — not to be confused with Hergé, of Tintin fame. "The Wrong Place" is more "The Adventures of Robbie" than "The Adventures of Tintin," and deals with far more adult subject matter.
  
  Robbie's the life of the party — men want to be him, women want to be with him. You know the drill. When he isn't around, he's notable by his absence. Why is he friends with Gary, the sad sack, literal gray man who's also at the center of this book? No clue, though it's a relationship imbalance that many of us are likely to be familiar with from our own experience.
  
  Evens is an astute observer of relationship dynamics and imbues these characters with qualities that make them seem all the more real. But there's not much of a story here, not that that matters, necessarily, but "The Wrong Place" never adds up to more than just an observational piece. The pages turn easily partly because they don't feel particularly weighty.
  
  Is the moral of the story that we shouldn't be like Gary, who it seems takes life a bit too seriously? Is it that Robbie's careless, happy-go-lucky attitude masks an immaturity and inability to commit that perhaps stems from an earlier trauma, so we shouldn't lionize him the way the other characters do?
  
  While there is much to admire in the illustrations, these characters never feel more than two dimensional. The questions brought to mind by "The Wrong Place" feel unintentional. You'll answer them in whichever way you're wired to, but you won't find much prodding here.
• 
  Stephanie (aka WW)

  This is perhaps the most strangely colored graphic novel I’ve ever read. Illustrated all in watercolor, I didn't really “get” it at first...there are incomplete and overlapping figures, hints of decor, incomplete scenes...it all looks so sloppily done. But I soon found the style interesting and the story took over. I had to know just who this enigmatic Robbie was.
  
  There's not much in the way of story, just a slice of life related to Robbie and those who obsess over him, including unpopular Gary who throws a party hoping his 'good friend' shows up (he doesn't) and a seemingly unpopular girl who gets "chosen" by Robbie as his woman of the night. It’s all good fun, though, and a good independent comic.
• 
  Felipe Assis

  Que arte... Que facilidade de falar das relações humanas... Se tivesse que definir esse trabalho com uma palavra seria: noite.
• 
  Celien

  Valt het op dat ik uitstelgedrag heb? Wel echt schoon seg
• 
  Manon

  No plot just Vlaams feestje vibes (je suis Gert), maar mooie tekenstijl man wajow
  
  3.5 sterren
• 
  Marcia

  Ergens waar je niet wil zijn vertelt het verhaal van alledaagse beslommeringen in kleurrijke aquarelprenten. Het verhaal begint met Bert, nogal een grijze muis, die een feestje houdt in zijn appartement. Gesprek van de avond is echter de populaire Robbie die niet aanwezig is. Wat volgt is een melancholische bespiegeling van het leven vol herkenbare dialogen. Naar de kapper gaan, dansen, drinken, one night stands, solliciteren naar een nieuwe job, platgedrukt worden in de metro: je vindt het allemaal in deze prachtige graphic novel van Brecht Evens.
  Mijn complete recensie lees je op
  Boekvinder.be.
• 
  Cynara

  In vivid, vibrant rainbow of water colour Evens charts the anxiety, spontaneity, palpable awkwardness, heartbreak, ugliness, beauty and moments of chaos that characterize human social interactions and connections. The text and dialogue is loose and spare, allowing images/colours carry much of the book's weight. The basic story revolves around the luminous character of Robbie, a charming bon vivant whose name is always on everyone's lips, and who draws everyone into his orbit whenever he enters a room. He is contrasted with the dull (the character is, in fact, grey in colour) and repressed character of his childhood friend Gary, who, even among his friends is overlooked. Gary is sympathetic and relatable (when attempting to host a party, rehearses his script in the bathroom and struggles to hold his guests attention). But rather than deeply develop the characters, Evens suggests the night clubs and parties as characters themselves.
  
  I particularly loved the kinetic collapsing of Evens illustration style in Robbie's lovemaking scenes, as well as the lush, visually dense double-page spreads of packed subway cars, overcrowded night clubs, and a multi-level staircase teeming with house-party guests. Evens style deftly captures our desire to be special/individuals (to matter, to stand out) at the same time that he communicates the feeling of isolation in a crowd and the fear of being socially eclipsed. The artistic decisions are smart, innovative and visually poetic--like having the characters' dialogue colour match their clothing, so you can keep track of who is speaking at the same time that there is a sense of people talking over each other, conversation literally hanging (free of the structure of speech bubbles) in the air. Evens is one to watch, The Wrong Place is stunning.
• 
  Victoria Haf

  Desde el momento en el que abrí este libro en el Salón del Cómic de Barcelona, supe que me iba a gustar, Brecht Evens sabe usar las acuarelas, sabe usar el color y sabe cómo se comportan las personas: groseramente amables. Como tiene un estilo muy gestual al principio me era difícil reconocer a los personajes, pero después de un rato de leer el libro ya no y de hecho me parecían más claros porque identificaba a cada personaje con un color que los impregnaba no solo exteriormente sino en su modo de ser, es increíble como con casimanchas logra expresar las sutilezas de las relaciones sociales.
  Me gustaría mucho leer su otro libro ya que dice que trabaja menos con páginas completas y creo que sí es una cosa que tiene este que resulta un poco exagerado.
• 
  Jennifer

  I have been itching to read this book for years now. I was thrilled to find a copy of it at the Vancouver Public Library and spent a pleasant hour furiously consuming it. While the art was positively wonderful--the layers of watercolor silhouettes that make up people are pretty magnificent--I wasn't as much captured by the narrative of loneliness and dichotomies between the extroverts and introverts. Maybe Evens is commenting on that dichotomy within everyone. Hm. In any case, it was a gorgeous book and I will be looking for more of his work
• 
  Robert

  You could get a little delirious drinking in the sheer beauty of the watercolor imagery in this book. Brecht Evens is an artist to reckon with, and his crack timing and way with characterization & dialogue deserve mention as well (he’s also not even quite 30 years old yet, sheesh). Many thanks to my pal Mari, who demanded I read this, and in fact had a copy sent to me for just that reason. I owe ya one, pal! And definitely put me in line to read more of this remarkable cartoonist’s books and stories. 4 1/2 out of 5.
• 
  Petitpois

  Hay algo subyugante en esa acuarela, que facilita transparencias y sobreposiciones, a veces simple esbozo, por momentos colapsadora y naif, que transmite expresividad y emociones como trayazos, y con una sensación de movimiento fascinante. Me ha enamorado el dibujo de este hombre.
  La historia, reflejo de lo complejas y patéticas que pueden ser las relaciones sociales hoy en día, nos habla de inseguridades, de amistad, de soledad, de hipocresías, de sueños y de realidades. Genial.
  
• 
  Shannon

  One of the most exciting pieces of comic art I've come across in a while. The story is a little too indie/20-something/angsty for me, but the watercolor art is mind-blowing, both from just a craft aspect and from an artistic vision one as well. This is what Asterios Polyp thought it was.
• 
  MariNaomi

  Stunning artwork, great pacing, and a thoughtful message. I am so blown away by the gorgeous watercolors that I don't want to stop looking at them. I hope to see more of his books reach the U.S. Four and a half stars.
• 
  Derek Royal

  An early book of Evens's that I've been meaning to read for some time. I finally did so due to our recent review of his new book, Panther, on The Comics Alternative:
  http://comicsalternative.com/episode-....
• 
  Chris Drew

  The art is fantastic and vibrant, the world and its characters are just non-sequitur and unpredictable enough. Makes you excited for the possibilities of graphic story telling. Comparable to Dash Shaw if you are familiar with his work or looking for something in the same vein.