Miss Don't Touch Me

Miss Don't Touch Me is a four-part full-colour noire graphic novel published first in France by Hubert and Kerascoet. The novel, is made of four chapters, the first two (The Virgin of the Bordello & Blood in the Hands) narrate a murder story, and the last two (Prince Charming & Until Death Do us Part) are a follow-up and development of the main character, Blanche, with some mystery added as well.Miss Don't Touch Me is in a way a very musical piece but with the music muted. I see a clear relationship between the story, settings and type of story and two musical theatrical genres that were very popular in the 1930s, when the novel is set -- the vaudeville and the operetta or comic opera especially Offenbach's works. Thus, there is a mix of burlesque, comic stage piece, social satire, grotesque and erotic element, therefore, a mix of ingredients that have a common link. This could have been a terror novel and Blanche a depressed overly dramatic character, but the story is told in a light-hearted way, is sprinkled with light humour, and Blanche is more temperamental than dramatic.One of the downsides might the be different tone, mood and tempo in the two different parts of the story as we go from the mystery and the murder to the exploration of Blanche's character. Personally, I liked both parts and I thought they made sense together and one comes to understand who Blanche really is and what she really wants. To be perfectly honest, the second part of the story could have been presented at the beginning of the book with some modifications and the murder story presented afterwards and the story would still be one to me.The main downside to me is the ending, but has artistic integrity. It is a bit vague and abrupt and utterly unfair but it makes sense taking into account the nature of the main characters and the era where they live.Hubert and Kerascoët make a great artistic combo. They understand each other and create amazing colourful elaborated pieces of art that are very thought-provoking, pregnant with meaning, but presented in a fun light-hearted entertaining way.Hubert, is a master at creating complex characters: utterly charming and interesting but also deceiving and full of flaws, and who surprise the reader every time. In that regard, all the characters in Miss Don't Touch Me aren't what they seem to be at first sight, not even Blanche. Moreover, there is a clear digging into the individuality of each character, so the secondary characters aren't presented as story-fillers or accessories, they are fully-constructed individuals who have a narrative purpose.Kerascoët's drawing style is based on precise naturalistic drawing with clear lines and added flare when necessary. The couple behind this plume name are equally good at depicting interiors, exteriors, country and city landscapes, night and day settings, and navigate from the ordinary and mundane to the hallucinogen and extraordinary, from the intimate to the external with great easiness. Besides, Kerascoët are able to give a specific personality to all the characters they draw.Hubert is also the colourist of the book. He has a great knowledge of lighting and how colour works and uses them with naturalistic but cinematic precision. His trademark is flamboyant intense vibrant colouring and toned up pastels. So the novel doesn't have a specific hue or overall dominating tone, but the story is the one that dictates the colour. He does similarly in his other graphic novel  Beauty .The lettering by Ortho (an American lettering studio that also did the lettering for  Beauty ) is classic. This is a graphic novel that is as verbal as it is graphic, so there is quite a of text, but it is cosily located in rectangular balloons and economic captions upper-vignette areas. The lettering is appropriate and not invasive, but not specially expressive either, except for some of the spiky-shaped balloons when the characters are shouting. In fact, there are very few kapows as well, as the drawing is particularly expressive.Overall, Miss Don't Touch Me is a great entertaining and satiric novel that goes beyond the murder mystery and digs into social conventions and double morals and shows how the hunger for life plays a role in the survival of people who have to endure much in life but present themselves not a as victims.

This is a Parisian crime tale set in the 1930s. The art style reflects the style of the time period, veering a little into a much more mature style on made see in books for children from the time period. This comic, however, is very much not for children. This was published in French as two separate volumes titled "The Butcher of the Dances" and "Prince Charming." I think the quality of the first volume is far superior to the second. The protagonist, Blanche, is far more complex than one would have originally thought but her impulsiveness becomes a primary plot-driver in the second story arc. Furthermore, for all the risque elements of the story, the comic is fairly tame.

A very interesting story. I can't stop reading it until finish. The introduction of the heroine remains me of The girl with a dragon tattoo: the opening is for telling a bigger story. And when things seem clear and done, it never will be, just like in real life. I love it and recommend it.

Good story of murder and prostitution

If you are looking for something realistic, this graphic novel might be the best choice. The ending is unexpected and I couldn’t help reading it till the last pages.

Unique story line, well written, definitely dark with a little comedy, but more of a sentencing than not.Great illustrative style!!

Great plot and the art work is very detailed!

Excellent

Warum hat mir "Fräulein Rühr-mich-nicht-an" nur so gut gefallen?Wenn ich über den Inhalt nachdenke, fallen mir viele Kritikpunkte und Unzulänglichkeiten ein, und doch hat das Buch einen ungeheuren Charme, der es zum echten "page turner" macht.Im Paris der 1930er Jahre werden mehrere junge Frauen ermordet am Ufer der Marne aufgefunden. Da sie zuvor Tanzveranstaltungen in den Vororten besucht hatten, geht das Gerücht vom "Butcher of the Dances" um. Doch dann wird Blanche, die jungfräuliche Heldin, Zeuge, wie im leerstehenden Haus nebenan eine Frauenleiche abgelegt wird. Sie berichtet ihrer Schwester davon, die daraufhin durch den verräterischen Mauerspalt hindurch erschossen wird. Blanche, mittel- und obdachlos will sich als Zimmermädchen verdingen, findet stattdessen aber Zuflucht in einem Pariser Luxusbordell, wo sie als "Miss Don't Touch Me" ihre Jungfräulichkeit als Domina erhalten kann. Und bald stellt sich heraus, dass die Morde des "Butchers" in einer Beziehung zum Etablissement stehen, in dem Blanche nun lebt und arbeitet.Da kommt schon einiges an Zufall zusammen, und allzu kritisch darf man die Handlung nicht hinterfragen. Zwar werden die Eífersüchteleien und Spannungen der Prostituierten untereinander beschrieben, aber insgesamt hat die Handlung nichts Schmieriges oder grob Anstössiges - und das, obwohl es um Prostitution und S&M geht.Um nun aber auf unsere kleine Heldin zurück zu kommen: sie wird nicht nur der Star des Bordells, deren Stern bald über der gesamten feinen Gesellschaft von Paris leuchtet, sie will auch den Mörder ihrer Schwester zur Strecke bringen und zeigt sich dabei erstaunlich willensstark und wenig zimperlich.Den ganz besonderen Charme allerdings macht ihre kindliche Naivität aus, die in denkbar größtem Kontrast zu ihrem Arbeitsumfeld steht.Die Kriminalhandlung ist nach den beiden ersten der vier Teile abgeschlossen und in der zweiten Hälfte geht es um den Wunsch vieler Nutten: Mr. Right zu finden ("Pretty Woman", man erinnere sich). Erst scheint es, dass Blanche riesigen Glück hat, aber auch hier läuft es keineswegs so, wie Blanche es sich wünscht. Ihre trunksüchtige sexbesessene Mutter und der Galan, der sich als homoerotisch entpuppt, machen ihr das Leben schwer.Dass unsere tapfere Blanche dies alles in jeder Hinsicht unbeschadet übersteht, ist bemerkenswert. Eine Jugendlektüre ist die Graphic Novel deswegen trotzdem noch lange nicht.Ein Zeit- & Sittengemälde, eine interessante Heroine und bestechende Artwork haben mich dazu gebracht, das Buch zu verschlingen, trotz der vielen kleinen Unzulänglichkeiten.

HQ de história instigante e envolvente, não consegui largar até terminar a leitura. Os desenhos são maravilhosos e delicados, mas não se engane, a história é densa e profunda.

ちょっと怖い感じ、でもまた読みたい