The Butchery Hardcover by Bastien Vivès

Product Details

• Publisher: Fantagraphics (2021-08-24)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 92 pages
• ISBN-13: 9781683964476
• Item Weight: 567.0 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

This poetic graphic novel explores the emotional bloodbath of a romance gone awry.

A young man and woman fall for each other and all is sweetness and light. But when their relationship crumbles, they each must endure the ensuing emotional fallout. Starting from this ostensibly simple premise, Bastien Vivès crafts an affecting narrative about the mercurial and tempestuous nature of romance and why we pursue it anyway.
The Butchery is composed of the little moments that make and break a relationship: lively dancing, silent strolls hand in hand, stilted phone calls, tearful pillow talk. Rendered with delicate colored pencils and an elegant use of white space, this story achieves an emotional clarity through its skillful brevity. At turns tender, agonizing, and darkly humorous, The Butchery is painfully relatable to anyone who has loved and lost.

About the Author

Bastien Vivès is a Parisian who has drawn or collaborated on more than a dozen graphic novels since his published debut in 2006, including most recently The Butchery (Fantagraphics, 2021). The Angoulême Comics Festival granted Vivès the “Revelation” Award in 2009 and the prize for best series in 2015.


Jenna Allen is a freelance translator based in Colorado.