Synopsis:

This is the story of Obadiah Oldbuck, as he tries to win the love of his life. The course of action takes a detour and the marriage to his girlfriend is called off. His varying attempts and desperate moves become the crux of the book.

AWEsomeness:

The plot is simple and funny, and the art is very simple to make the comics very enticing.

My Review:

Keeping aside the use of suicide as a point of humor, the book was surprisingly diverting to read. This satirical book is termed as the first American comic, making it the MUST-HAVE for a pannapictagraphist. Obadiah Oldbuck’s adventure harrowed through strange lighthearted pictorial stories of failed courtship, dueling, attempted suicide, robbery, drag, elopement, the threat of execution, and what not just as mere trifles. A topic such as ‘suicide or suicide attempts’ is a very sensitive matter and one should be careful what they are treading on, but over here it has its sensitivity in the form of dark comedy taking it comically, simultaneously. A light read! I loved the plot execution, though it was filled with an unusually lot of suicide attempts than one would get to see in a comic. 

During my days in Vancouver, I did a Google search for the first comic and that’s how I came across this. The one I own is of course a reprint, but surely a MUST-HAVE. A small Publishing house in NYC, Wilson and Co., gave ‘Monsieur Vieuxbois’ an American name ‘Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck’. It was created in 1827 and first published in Geneva in 1837 as Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois. Having Oldbuck can create the required magic a collector will value, in their Pandora. It’s a wonderful piece to be collected.

Rating: 5/5

^{Pic Credits: Leopold Publishing}