Paul Joins the Scouts

    I don’t often see a graphic memoir about happy families. After reading the well-known selections -Maus, The Arab of the Future, Persepolis, and Stitches, to name a few – I came to the conclusion that lousy lives make for better storytelling. This is where Michel Rabagliati’s Canadian comics defy parameters: he writes and draws of a happy life, that’s both a pleasure and a tragedy to read. The story begins with a sneaker hanging from a wire, foreshadowing an abrupt and shocking end to a wonderful childhood.

    The story begins simple enough: Paul Riforiati is ten years old, like to eat Aero Bars, watches cartoons, draws comics, gets chased by a red-haired girl his age, and enjoys the child-friendly atmosphere of Montreal. He’s introduced to a Catholic scout troop (though it’s not clear if it’s part of the mainstream Boy Scout movement) and meets a whole new set of kids. And new adults. But is there something else going on here? Could the scout masters have a hidden motive for their involvement? The story is told against the backdrop of the FLQ and the October Crisis, and if you’re not familiar with Canadian history, you may need to do a quick web search.

    The character of Paul is a French-speaking Quebecois, though the family has absolutely no use for nationalism. They view the Front Liberte de Quebec as a nuisance, and the conservative Catholics probably see it as Communist. One of the scoutmasters is a beret-wearing leftist college student named Daniel Sabourin, who may or may not be involved with FLQ. It’s left to the reader to wonder, is the scout troop really a front for the nationalists? Is it some kind of recruiting effort? The scouts have to be Catholic, and despite one of the scoutmasters being a Priest, there doesn’t seem to be any religion involved. Is the requirement that they be Catholic really just a way of keeping Anglos or Jews out?

   The motives of the scoutmasters are another issue that’s left to the reader. While one of them is ordained, the scoutmaster named Ballou is revealed to be gay and living with a man. His lover boyfriend, disappointed in how much time Ballou spends on the scout troop, actually questions his motives, saying, “You must like seeing those boys in their little shorts!” Yet there’s no sign anywhere of inappropriate behavior among the adults in the equation. Then there’s Akela, working in a factory, and refusing to join the coworkers on their tours of the strip joints (hey, did I mention that Montreal was somehow the strip club capitol of North America?). Is Akela really gay and closeted? Ballou probably has a job where nobody will question is lifestyle, but Akela, if he is in fact gay, would probably have to keep it hidden. Is the scout troop a substitute for these men having no children of their own?

    In terms of family, Rabagliati portrays his mother as a sexy, vivacious woman, proud of her looks and enjoying her life as a stay-at-home parent. The only problem is her mother-in-law, who lives across the hall, and with whom she’s locked in a messy power struggle. Her obese bachelor brother-in-law lives with his mother and he’s another thorn in her side. The family are what we’d consider middle class: they have a spacious apartment, the kids have their own rooms, and they dress well. One of the recurring themes in the Paul Riforiati saga is how he always finds himself to be better-off than others. He wears Adidas sneakers (not exactly the priciest of shoes) but the other scout wears far cheaper ones.

   Rabagliati begins with that image of the shoe hanging on the wire, the result of a car crash that kills everyone. Except Paul. Staying home from the scout trip, thanks to a broken leg, saves him from the accident. Though the loss of his friends is never mentioned in later episodes of the book, I wonder if he develops survivor’s guilt? Could it explain his lack of motivation later on? Then there’s the stadium for the 1976 Olympics, which we see in the later episode Paul Up North. The ’76 Olympics will be another disappointment for the family.

   Perhaps this book is some kind of metaphor for disappointment? The kid goes from being a bit of a loner, to an avid Boy Scout, to losing his friends in the space of one day. The ending is shocking.