Enchanting. Growing up on Spirou (or Robbedoes in Dutch), I never realised he was inspired by a real-life person. It was fun to find out a bit more.
But even without knowing Spirou, this is a touching, inspiring, adventurous story, telling the exploits of a brave young man. Definately worth a read.

I received a free copy through netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very enjoyable graphic novel for me. I liked the "old" feel of the illustrations, as well as the time period it was set in. The characters were well developed and it was definitely one I would recommend for someone looking to branch out their comic / graphic novel reading habits.

Perhaps interesting for some but I was not able to engage with this narrative despite myself. Perhaps improving the structure could help.

If you are at all familiar with boy adventure type, Belgian, comic strips, then you would probably think of TinTin or Asterix. However, apparently, just as well known, at least in Europe is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirou_et_Fantasio">Spirou</a> which means squirrel in French.

This story, framed by an uncle telling children a Christmas story, of Ptirou, a young acrobat who loses his mother in an accident, and decides to seek is fortune in American, just in time for the Great Depression.

Filled with the magnificence of the steamships of the past, as well as devious characters trying to cause harm to the ship, this is a fun story, that follows Ptrirou as he tries his best to be the bell hope aboard the ship.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-544" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-26-at-4.19.19-PM.png" alt=""/> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-545" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-26-at-4.18.52-PM.png" alt="" />

Nice sort of cliched story of noble pilots, and brave captains, and industrial moguls, and Ptrirou thrown in, trying to do his best to keep the daughter of the rich guy alive.

And the supposed surprise at the end was that he was the basis for the series of comic strips, that I mentioned above.

I think some of the importance of this reveal is lost on most American audiences, who know nothing about Spirou, but it is an interesting look at life in the late 1920s, amongst the well-to-do.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

In 1929 France, an orphaned acrobat becomes a cabin boy in His Name was Ptirou.

Slice of 1929 cruise ship life, this comic provides a fictional backstory to the creator and main character of Spirou Comics. Spirou et Fantasio is a famous Franco-Belgian comic begun in 1938 and still in print today.

The comic the entertainment on a luxury ship in 1929 including movies, balls and boxing. A seaplane is also featured. His Name Was Ptirou includes romance, tragedy, acrobats, intrigue, union drama, sabotage and a mystery. There is truly something in here for most readers (sorry horror/paranormal/fantasy fans). 4 stars!

Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for a copy.

'His Name was Ptirou' by Yves Sente with art by Laurent Verron is part of a series, but it's such a grand adventure that I didn't feel like I needed to know much outside of this book.

When Uncle Paul comes over for Christmas dinners, all the kids in the house gather around to hear one of his stories. This year it's about a young acrobat named Ptirou who loses his mother and starts to lose his way until he stows away and becomes a bellboy on an ocean liner. There is intrigue going on with the ship's captain and a group of workers who want to sabotage the ship. One act seems to threaten the captain's daughter and Ptirou has a chance to prove how brave he really is.

I really liked this story in a story from another era. What we learn in the story is that Ptirou was the inspiration for a famous character in Franco-Belgian comics. This was a cool fact, but whether you are familiar with Spirou or not, this is still a fun adventure graphic novel.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.