'John: Life is Worth Fighting For by Mario Boon and Luc Colemont with art by Mario Boon is a graphic novel about a man who gets what seems to be a fatal diagnosis and what he does next.

On John's 50th birthday, his daughters give him a trip to Italy to celebrate and to get himover his fear of flying. He gets to Italy fine and this divorced dad even finds romance, but the trouble starts on his trip home and he ends up fighting for his life.

The art is good, the story is a bit mediocre, but the message of the book elevates it in my mind. If the book causes people (especially older men) to get their health checked, then it's worthwhile.

Short and semi-autobiographical this is the story of John, a 50-year old teacher whose dream is to travel to Italy. His daughters get him a ticket, and he even meets a beautiful woman there, but on his return home he finds out he has late stage colon cancer.
The story is mostly John wrestling with his feelings about possibly dying, and doing some things that are both dangerous and stupid because he's so emotionally conflicted.
This is weirdly interwoven with flashbacks/fantasies (?) to a time when John was a gladiator in the Colloseum and his quest to fight the biggest, baddest gladiator of all times.
I get the metaphor but it's kind of silly and unnecessary to the story, as is an oddly unimportant side story about one of John's daughters dropping out of college.

A book that's hard to review, for it's highly polemical but for all the right reasons. A Belgian teacher takes a daughter to her college in Rome and comes back with his heart smitten, but it's other organs that are of concern, such as the cancer that seems to be in his colon, if not elsewhere. In truth the whole Italian aspect is partly to show the colour of the man, but mostly to provide an allegory for the fight against the disease through the use of gladiators. And I don't think that really worked. The soapy romances are OK, the daughter's Italian life is of little consequence, and all told the narrative drive is just a pegboard for the creators' knowledge of cancer and its treatment to be pinned on to. With all the will in the world I have to hope the book is successful, but I'm not ever going to say it's brilliant, for it just isn't.

This is a page-by-page review:

Page 1: There's something noticeable already about the dialogue not really fitting in with the drawings of the mouth movements (or the lack thereof); not totally disruptive to the storyline though, I mean, the lighting artwork is brilliant, the scenery and atmosphere are wonderful.

Page 2: There's an essence of something improving in the artwork depicting the scene, but the disruption is taking over just slightly from the lack of movement in the mouth when dialogue is present; the characters are developing nicely though and it's super easy to pre-judge the sibling relationship (in a good way) and that relationship with their father.

Page 3: Nice little reference there to Ridley Scott's (2000) Gladiator, the second half-page set of panels... that was a bit disgusting... also, why would you be talking a practising second-language in that scenario... surely something else could've been written.

Page 5: It's genuinely appealing to see more of the real-life motorways being used in European comic artwork, like this of the A201 in Belgium.

Page 7: Oh man, those sun-rays, the scene-shift back to Ancient Rome... really nice.

Pages 9 through 11: A great use of forwardness; well needed for John I feel... he looks happy.

Page 15: "Oh... Merda!" indeed... sorry, John, dude. :(

Page 20: Oh, jeez, man... John, dude...

Page 21: Oh, man, that's a hell of a piece of news. A positive attitude is the only way when such news is given; back to the reality of the comic though, that last panel with the "time flies" and John's fear of flying is depicted in-scene with the aeroplane passing, where he found a wonderful relationship... that was beautifully written. Oh man, I came away from the comic overnight and went back to it the next evening: I realise the mouth movements have not become a problem whatsoever in reading the panels.

Page 22: Wow, the artwork here... a brilliant transition job in ageing* John character slightly (*Don't want to give too much away...).

Page 23: Man... the emotions...

Page 27: At least it's not an innocent story told, that of Ancient Rome...

Page 29: Oh man... "Life is Worth Fighting For..."...

Page 33: F***ing brilliant, hahaha!

Page 37: Oh sh*t! No, no, no, no, no...

Page 41: "Life is Worth Fighting For."...

Page 45: :*( :*)

Page 46: https://www.stopdarmkanker.be/event/dirk-het-leven-is-een-strijd-waard/ (MD Luc Colemeont)

I loved everything about this graphic novel:

* The story was engaging and drew me in.
* The artwork and colouring were really good.
* The balance between text and pictures was just right.
* There is a lovely suprising romance, a life threatening challenge,
echoes from ancient Rome, courage, love and hope.
* There were also some really vital health messages interwoven in
the story which both surprised and educated me.

Altogether this was an excellent reading experience!

John is a 50 year old divorced man. His daughters decide to surprise him for his 50th birthday by buying him a ticket to Rome. This is John's first challenge because he fears flying. Nevertheless he embraces this adventure and travels to Rome.

John ends up having a really lovely holiday in Rome. He gets to see his daughter who is studying there and he visits the Coliseum. He also experiences some kind of vision or daydream about gladiators and suddenly the gladiators training and preparation for the arena comes alive in his mind and so he decides to buy a replica helmet.

John also has a surprise encounter with a woman and suddenly there is the potential for a new relationship but John begins to encounter a battle of his own and so begins the journey that leads to a confrontation with cancer of the colon, and John realises that just like the Roman gladiators he is now in a battle for his life.

Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine (colon), which is the final part of your digestive tract. Most cases of colon cancer begin as small, noncancerous clumps of cells called adenomatous polyps. Over time some of these polyps can become colon cancers but early detection can prevent colon cancer by identifying and removing polyps before they turn into cancer.

This was news to me and it is also news to John. I loved the way this health challenge is interwoven into John's story along with issues about family and love. The way the story draws on the legends in the history of the gladiators and how John pictures himself as a gladiator fighting against cancer, is a very engaging way to make people think about their health.

But beyond all the health messages is simply is a really good story.

I enjoyed getting to know John and learn about his life and family, his past and the sad breakdown of his marriage, the love he has for his daughters and the fears that he has and how he overcomes them. Not only does John admire gladiators, he becomes a gladiator in his own right.

At the end of the graphic novel is quite a bit of information for people who want to know a bit more about colon cancer. I thought this was helpful and definitely something that I am now learning about myself, but of course this story is more than just a health message, it is also just a beautiful story of life, family, friendship and love and I really enjoyed it.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I enjoyed the illustrations and respected the message, although the latter made it look like it was a hospital's brochure.
However, the story felt forced, the time jumps weren't natural, it seemed like the authors were rushing to meet the deadline and decided to just skip out on some parts of the book. The plotline didn't make a lot of sense and, in the end, it was all for nothing, the story could have been explained in a few sentences. The characters were one-dimensional, and, personally, I didn't care about them; we weren't given enough time to become attached. Oh, and the romance was cringey as hell, it felt so unnatural! Additionally, at times, I was questioning the illustrator's decisions, for instance, did we really need to see the main character's feces? How was that beneficial to the story? The book was also heteronormative and lacked diversity.
Overall, it was a decent attempt, however, the story could have used more time... like, a lot more time.

chose this comic book based on its cover alone and its possitive message.
I had no idea what it was about. I thought John has a look of Don Quixote and he'd don his helmet and tilt at some windmills.
Well there are some imaginary enemies here but the symbolism of gladiators in the arena is for a far more serious battle; possibly even a fight to the death.
This is a story that flags up the importance of early detection of colon cancer and the europe wide initiative to screen between 50 and 74.
This graphic novel without any sentimentality provides us with the story of John just turned 50, divorced but still incontact with his two grown up daughters. If the right people read this book it cannot fail to strike a chord,
John goes to Rome for his birthday gift; hence the trip to the Colosseum and the thoughts of fights to the death in the Arena.
A panic attack on his flight home leaves him in hospital and undergoing tests which leaves him wondering if he'll ever celebrate another birthday.
Well illustrated throughout, with insights into the development of ideas and bringing them to publication. a brilliantly executed story that stands on its own but as a health warning brings home that point in an entertaining way but with stark realism.
This could be anyone's story, apparently the ending is down to how soon one tries out for a part. It left me thinking play your part with me and enter this screening programme once you hit 50!

This story is able to be funny while dealing with a very serious subject. The main character has to deal not only with the cancer diagnosis but with the inherent shame that comes with feeling weakened by the treatment. The story also shows how important it is to have a support system in place and uses several of its pages to show the reader how to do the cancer test themselves and the importance of prevention. I also liked the art and the colors that were used, so shiny and light when compared to the somber theme.
Thank you to Net Galley and Europe Comics for this ARC.

An interesting graphic novel. The art style is simple and clean. The story wasn't anything amazing, but it held my interest until the end.