Glacial Period

The first in a series of graphic novels created in collaboration with the Louvre, this is a charming novella that celebrates the collections within the famed Paris museum and allows a nice showcase for De Crecy's detailed, engaging drawing. The story opens with a team of archeologists exploring the earth thousands of years from now, after a long glacial period. Cut off from their history, the ragtag bunch wonder aloud about what the planet might have been like. Serendipitously, they stumble upon the edifice of the Louvre and begin to explore inside. As they stroll through art history, they speculate on what kind of civilization could have produced such images and objects. De Crecy makes this both informative and humorous, as he affectionately riffs on art and life. And then the works themselves begin to speak to each other, telling us and them about life as it passed through the Louvre. It's all quite charming. De Crecy is a gifted storyteller whose eye for body language and ear for a funny line never fails him. He deftly combines art history, science fiction and simple philosophizing in a short but very sweet tale. (Feb.)