In 1980, Sylvie Rancourt and her boyfriend moved to Montreal from rural Northern Quebec. With limited formal education or training, they had a hard time finding employment, so Sylvie began dancing in strip clubs. These experiences formed the backbone of the first Canadian autobiographical comic book, Melody, which Rancourt wrote, drew, and distributed, starting in 1985. Later, Rancourt collaborated with artist Jacques Boivin, who translated and drew a new series of Melody comics for the American market - the comics were an instant cult classic. The Rancourt drawn-and-written comics have never before seen English publication. These stories are compelling without ever being voyeuristic or self-pitying, and her drawings are formally innovative while maintaining a refreshingly frank and engaging clarity. Whether she's divulging her first experiences dancing for an audience or sharing moments from her life at home, her storytelling is straightforward and never sensationalized. With a knowing wink at the reader, Rancourt shares a world that, in someone else's writing, might be scandalous or seedy, but in hers is fully realized, real, and often funny. The Drawn and Quarterly edition of Melody, featuring an introduction from Chris Ware (Building Stories), will place this masterpiece of early autobiographical comics in its rightful place at the heart of the comics canon.

About the Author
Sylvie Rancourt is a cartoonist and painter who was born in northern Quebec and moved to Montreal in the early 1980s. With limited options for work, she began performing as a nude dancer and recounting her experiences in comics form, self-publishing a series called Melody. In the 1990s, Rancourt collaborated with Jacques Boivin who translated and illustrated her stories. The English Melody became an instant cult classic, selling over 200,000 copies. A compilation of early Melody comics was recently published in France and nominated for a prize at the 2014 Angouleme Comics Festival.

Reviews
[Sylvie Rancourt] is one of the pioneers of autobiographical comics...The republishing of this long out-of-print and difficult to find saga... plunges the reader straight into a profoundly sensitive work that no moral judgment could taint. -Le Monde



Book Information
ISBN 9781770462007
Author Sylvie Rancourt
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Drawn and Quarterly
Publisher Drawn and Quarterly