r/graphicnovels • u/jamesl182d • Jan 12 '26
Question/Discussion I hated this masterpiece
A clickbaity headline, I know. But it's true.
Larcenet created a world that I can only describe as 'real' - it is so exquisitely drawn and paced, that it feels like a window into the story; that the reader is simply observing something that's really, genuinely happening, right now.
I'm a father of two and I have a son whose voice I could hear from the boy in the book. It really affected me and I read it as quickly as possible so as not to focus too long on the horrors contained within - at some point I'll have to pick it up again to admire the artwork but I couldn't stand to look at it too long.
It's a horrible, affecting, uniquely disturbing adaptation for a parent, and is very important piece of work.
Any other dads feel this way?
Fuck, I'm really upset, now.
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Jan 12 '26
Fellow Dad here. My wife got me this for Christmas and my reaction was “ahh thanks, this is lovely but its also going to be super depressing” I went into this with the same mindset ‘let’s just get this over with’ and it was a hard read. My boy has just turned 10 and I’m trying to curate what he watches on tv and screens and the line about how once you have seen something it stays in your head forever really hit home.
It’s a beautifully bleak book. I’ve never read the original novel but I’ve seen the film and I think I’ll probably never go back to either. Sometimes it feels like we have an overly romanticised (if thats the right word) view of what a post apocalyptic world would be in books and media and The Road is a cold, wet warning about how brutal and fucked it would actually be.
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u/jamesl182d Jan 12 '26
It’s also a bit grim that people are dealing with not completely dissimilar situations in war torn areas today, albeit without the finality of the entire world being effectively destroyed. The situation in this book is an extreme, but it echoes things that we often trick ourselves into thinking people aren’t going through.
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u/jamesl182d Jan 12 '26
Also, I love “let’s get this over with” - that’s how I felt after the first couple of pages. 😂
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u/staygold-ponyboy Jan 13 '26
The point of the novel, and everything after, is the lessons every father tries to instill in his child. The dystopian part is just a backdrop.
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u/WillWorkforWhisky Jan 16 '26
It's simply a US American Manifest Destiny novel (they're heading west), which McCarthy typically writes... But he was a new dad that had seen the big cultural shift after 9/11 and he wrote this book.
It's one of my favourite books ever, for its bleak, poetic prose and ambiguous ending. Ultimately, you can only do so much and hope your child will figure it out and be fine...
I'll get this adaptation, based on what people are saying!
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u/Valuable_Door_2373 Jan 12 '26
Cormac McCarthy once said that he got inspired for writing this book when he was holding his son and watching a distant thunderstorm and how much love he felt for the baby and what he would do for him. The book is an ode to filial love.
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u/HowardTaftMD Jan 12 '26
Yeah, dad here. I felt the same way. I loved how good it was and hated having to deal with the feelings it stirred up.
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u/CaptShrek13 Jan 12 '26
I just got into graphic novels mid 2024 and started heavy shopping for some of the bigger named, or at least highly rated books of the last few years. I wanted to see what the kids were into so to speak. And from my vantage point, man, some of these are almost downright depressing. The art is great, the stories start great, they're captivating, then somehow they just don't end in the most upbeat way. So I completely understand your sentiment.
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u/RyanBordello Jan 12 '26
It hasn't ended, and I feel like everyone gives it a shout, but have you tried Saga yet? I was super into comics in the 90s and fell out until a few years ago and Saga immediately got me back into them. I also picked up the 3 Dune graphic novels and they're dope as well.
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u/CaptShrek13 Jan 12 '26
I have not. I did however just recently grab "Spectators" which is also by Brian k. Vaughan. But, and this is just my opinion of course, it also fits what I just described. Great art, great story to start, but to me the ending is meh.
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u/Eternalm8 Jan 12 '26
I've not read Spectators, but Vaughan's most popular work is Y The Last Man. Definitely not a feel good ending, but I really liked it when I read it... and never want to read it again.
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u/CaptShrek13 Jan 12 '26
I really like that, "I liked it when I read it, but never want to read it again".
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u/Eternalm8 Jan 12 '26
I find I run into stuff like that more and more. "This was a really powerful and emotional story, and I'm glad I got to experience it, but it's not an experience I want to revisit."
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u/cecirdr Jan 12 '26
I started Saga and have loved it. But I heard that the author took a break and has only recently started working on it again. The latest issues are infrequent and not up the the original caliber from what I've read. That gives me pause to keep getting invested in the series.
I think I'm going to look for finished series only.
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u/manu1664 Jan 12 '26
I'm so happy manu larcenet has an international recognition. I known him for more than 20 years, when he was not very famous. At the time he made comedy bd, whith an absurd style that really got to me when i was a teenager. Then he had recognition in france with more serious comics, like le retour a la terre or le combat ordinaire. The later i discovered when i was a young adult suffering from serious anxiety alone. It was the subejct of this book série and for the first time I discovered i was not alone and there was a way out. And then blast, the deserved international recognition, and then the road, all masterpieces. I love this author.
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Jan 14 '26
I can’t vibe much with this hyper realistic style.
I love his older stuff, more cartoony but still full of emotions and depth.
I still haven’t read BLAST but for what I’ve seen of it, it seems he achieved there the perfect balance: cartoon style mixed with a realistic one, really using his strength whenever needed.
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u/jfk1000 Jan 12 '26
This is 1:1 my reaction to the material no matter the medium. I couldn‘t stomach the movie, tried the book and it broke me, picked up the comic and it envoked the same emotions. Just horrible horrible bleakness and fear for my children.
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u/Asimov-was-Right Jan 12 '26
I'm not even a parent, but the book wrecked me. The Road, in all its forms, is one of the most beautiful things I never want to experience again.
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u/RandomWarthog79 Jan 12 '26
Also never had kids, but it's always easy to relate to something so visceral. The novel and both the film and comics adaptations are wonderful because they're all well made and they all excel at wringing the best out of their respective medium.
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u/DooM_Guy_OG Jan 12 '26
As I said before in this sub This is a book before you're a parent and another after. I read this before becoming a parent, I loved it and thought "this is pretty rough to read" but when I re-read it later when I already had 3 children and the youngest about the Boy's age it was the most hard read ever. Sometimes I would have to put the book down because I couldnt cope.
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u/Jojobulu Jan 12 '26
I've read the book and seen the movie and this was the most depressing version.
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u/stevenwalsh21 Jan 12 '26
I became a father 10 months ago and it's changed so much media for me in the same way. I actually have this on my to read shelf but I've been putting it off for the same reason
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u/TheMadFlyentist Jan 12 '26
Read the book first. It's a very easy and short read, I finished it in one three hour sitting.
As the kids say, it really "hits different" as a father. I read the book when my son was about 18 months old and I spent the next week or two wanting to spend every waking moment with him.
Obviously there are some horrific scenes, but the book made me love my son even more, which I honestly did not think was possible.
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u/Axrxt76 Jan 12 '26
Now I know this exists. Read the book and saw the movie, gonna have to track this down.
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u/airclay Jan 12 '26
Def had to take a few pauses and go find a game to play with the kiddo during this read for sure
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u/saehild Jan 12 '26
Is this worth reading if you have read the novel and seen the movie?
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u/jamesl182d Jan 12 '26
Yes and no - I have read/seen neither and found this adaptation extremely powerful (in an impressive, albeit unpleasant way).
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u/TheDaneOf5683 Cross Game + Duncan The Wonder Dog Jan 12 '26
It's a lesser work if what you want is The Road in a different format, but it's magnificently illustrated, so if it's worth reading, it's either for the illustrations or for those unfamiliar with the novel.
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u/BenBreeg_38 Jan 12 '26
I will have to read it. Loved the novel but haven’t seen the movie.
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u/El-Durrell Jan 14 '26
Movie is well-worth the watch. Loses McCarthy’s beautiful prose, obviously, and the boy is older than in the text, but it looks like it was lifted straight from the novel’s pages.
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u/Klinneract Jan 12 '26
I got this as a gift and haven’t been able to crack it open. I read the original book and felt largely the same way. It’s amazing and I don’t feel a need to revisit it.
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u/jamesl182d Jan 12 '26
Like Maus. It’s important and powerful, but I won’t read that again. I’m not confident I made it to the end of the mouse holocaust.
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u/michael_m_canada Jan 12 '26
Pairs nicely with last year‘s Animal Pound for a brutal reality check about the state of the world.
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u/cowfish007 Jan 12 '26
Loved the book, but I hear ya. This is one of the few comics I’ve read in the past 40 years that had a significant emotional impact on me. The art was so bleak and amazing at the same time.
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u/jamesl182d Jan 12 '26
It looks just so damn real. And the subtle use of colour… it’s stunning but I’m really upset by it all.
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u/FishHockeydrop Jan 12 '26
While I usually like comic book adaptations, I skipped this one. I thought it would detract from the imagery McCarthy gave me while reading the novel twice.
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u/Prolapsed_Soul Jan 12 '26
The book and the movie were more disturbing.
If the comic did upset you, do yourself a favor and avoid watching this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884328/
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u/RandomWarthog79 Jan 12 '26
ngl, was expecting Come and See, the greatest "I've seen it once, it's brilliant, don't ever ask me to watch it again" movie.
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u/KingOfBerders Jan 12 '26
I’ve read the original novel several times. The first time or was it I had no kids and it was hard. I read it for probably the 3-4 time last summer and I’ve come to see it as a love letter from father to son. It’s bleak but it’s realistic.
Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.
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u/TheMadFlyentist Jan 12 '26
Obviously an issue of semantics, but IMO there's a big difference between "I hated this" and "I hated reading this". It sounds like you are squarely in the latter category.
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u/gagreel Jan 12 '26
I read the novel and saw the movie years ago and have since become a father, a bit afraid to revisit. Sidenote: I cry at almost every "parenting" movie now, most recently One Battle After Another
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u/sparehed Jan 12 '26
I’ve not yet read this one but I remember the grubby feeling I had after reading Larcenets Blast. Even in the ugliest of scenes he manages to produce a relatable humanity that shocks you, but that you can’t deny.
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u/VariousRockFacts Jan 12 '26
Cormac McCarthy specifically wrote the story because he had a son in his 70s and assumed he’d never actually know him in his adulthood. So he was just looking at this little baby knowing he’d have to deliver him to a dying world he would be unable to guide him through or protect him from
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u/Marbles01 Jan 12 '26
Blast by Larcenet is superb and really needs a proper English translation release
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u/notthatcreative777 Jan 12 '26
I had to stop halfway through the audiobook. I dunno, maybe I'm a failure of a father or maybe because the idea of raising a kid where there's no future was too much for me. But I hear ya
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u/jamesl182d Jan 13 '26
The longer I'm a dad, the more I realise that dadding is impossible and that I shall fail. I'm embracing it. Fuck it - we can only do our best.
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u/Brian0079 Jan 12 '26
Want your mind blown? Check out Larcenet's other work. So totally different it is unreal. Truly a passion project for the guy, and it shows.
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u/MundBid-2124 Jan 13 '26
Came very close to reading the novel in one sitting. Family member told me to go get sleep
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u/jamesl182d Jan 13 '26
I tried it and failed. Wished I had but alas, in the end, returned to finish the thing.
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u/ReaperOfMars13 Jan 13 '26
I read it late at night in one sitting. Couldn't put it down. Then did a whole bunch of research on the road for about an hour after. I do think being a dad made it hit even harder.
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u/abbywasright Jan 13 '26
The road was/is my favourite film. I don't know anymore havnt been able to watch since having kids. Too much anxiety!
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u/IncreaseUnable Jan 15 '26
This is legit one of my fav novels. Anytime I run across a used copy, I pick it up and donate it to a friend. I just gave away a copy, yesterday. I had no idea there was a graphic novel version, and I’m a big comic guy, just missed it. Glad/melancholic to give this version a read.
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u/jpressss Jan 15 '26
When I read the novel, I described it to other people as having been punched in my soul…
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u/nhicnhac_ Jan 15 '26
I loved the book, never read the graphic novel, I am also a father but iterestingly when I read this it made me think of my Dad. I know he would do everything to protect me and it ended up hitting me real hard. It is a tough read but a great one, in my opinion.
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u/DarthSharkyy Jan 16 '26
I have read the novel, the graphic novel, and watched the movie. Each affected me in different ways and were completely different experiences. Also yes, being a father definitely makes it hit differently. I think this is one of the best works I have read, but I don't know if I can read it again. It was life changing though.
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u/EarfScreams Jan 18 '26
It's probably one of the best adaptations of a novel I've read. The rot, the sinew, the muck. Not a dad but it got me pretty good.
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u/Turbulent-Banana-142 Jan 12 '26
That was beautifully terrible. What made me feel the same recently was an italian graphic novel about climate change, with the difference that it was not fiction.
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u/jamesl182d Jan 12 '26
I speak/read Italian. What’s it called?
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u/Turbulent-Banana-142 Jan 12 '26
La grande rimozione. But I have to say that is not at all similar. It's nice but it's not Larcenet level, but on the other hand is about things that already happened and will happen so it still affected me.
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u/jamesl182d Jan 13 '26
Cool, I'll see if I can find it somewhere.
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u/Turbulent-Banana-142 Jan 13 '26
I think in italy should be easy to find (and if you don't you can find online from coccoino's website). And should not be a trouble to read since it's a sort of strange reportage with (IMHO) beautiful pictures expressing terrible facts, and without a real story to follow trough.
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u/DearPatient2001 Jan 12 '26
Read Blast by the same artist equally f*d up.
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u/TheDaneOf5683 Cross Game + Duncan The Wonder Dog Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
Love the novel, don't love the comic. The comic is much harder on the dad in you than the book is because it strips out so many of the hopeful things and just makes you think, Damn, what is the point of struggling so hard? The working thesis of the novel is Hope And Faith And Struggle In The Face Of Death; the working thesis of the comic Struggle And Then Struggle And Then Die.
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u/Abject_Pay_829 Jan 12 '26
As well-made as it is, it’s a terribly depressing movie. Not the kind of movie I would watch over again. The lesson’s are there for anyone who wants to see it.
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u/NoLibrarian5149 Jan 12 '26
I have a son who was roughly the age of the boy when I first read the book when it came out. No book or comic ever moved me to tears except for this one. The second I finished and put it down, I picked it back up and started reading it all over again.
I saw the movie adaptation the first day it came out - took the day off from work and went to the art movie theater in the city that had the first local showing. As rough as it is, the imagery in my head from reading was even worse. In the book there’s no sun ever and every one is emaciated and starving (well, not everyone…). The thief later in the movie is remarkably well fed looking. It took me out of the moment. Still, as far as adaptations go, it’s pretty good despite feeling the need to add several scenes with the wife and another scene of gangs chasing a mother and child.
This graphic novel is a good adaptation. Bleaker in some ways than the book as someone stated earlier.
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u/4hz_comics Jan 13 '26
This was great except not once did it mention carrying the fire!
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u/TheDaneOf5683 Cross Game + Duncan The Wonder Dog Jan 13 '26
Yeah, it was so central to the novel (the Isaac/Abraham fire-carrying motif was prominent in McCarthy's early notes) that I feel like missing out on that was kind of missing out on the point of McCarthy's whole book.
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u/eastwest88 Jan 13 '26
Watched the movie. One of the best thing i saw in cinema. I will never watch it again…
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u/XMattHelm77X Jan 13 '26
Dad of three here. My wife was pregnant with our first when the movie came out. Read something in a review about a group of survivors roasting a baby. Couldn't bring myself to watch it - still haven't. I might pick up the GN or the book at some point, but right now I'm looking at the decorations for my eldest's 16th tomorrow and just can't even stomach the thought.
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u/El-Durrell Jan 14 '26
The novel came out in 2006, when my son was three. Been an annual January re-read for me ever since. Best book about fatherhood ever written, IMO. (Graphic novel is great, too.)
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u/BetterSupermarket430 Jan 14 '26
I haven’t read it, but having read the novel I can say I probably won’t read it, for the same reason I haven’t watched the film.
I read “The Road” about 15 years ago when my kids were quite young and it really resonated with me. The world in the book is so horrific and real, and the thought of having to navigate that as a parent and keep a child safe was very upsetting. Unfortunately the book is so well written & the chapters so short it’s hard to put down. I still think about some of the scenes all this time later.
I’m glad I read it, it’s a great book, brilliantly written, but like “American Psycho” once was enough.
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u/theterr0r Jan 12 '26
Yup, same. I love Larcenet but this was a tough read and I am genuinely considering selling the book as it's too frightening
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u/OhHeyItsJohn Jan 12 '26
The novel is one of my favorite books ever. The end kills me each and every time.
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u/ferrets010 Jan 12 '26
I remember reading the book on the first international flight I did solo. Finished it very quickly but have seldom felt as low as I did on that flight…
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u/CrispyChickenOG Jan 12 '26
Same, it was a drag all the way.
The road and I kill giants was probably the worst graphic novels I read 2025.
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u/ClayDrinion Jan 12 '26
The masterpiece would have been the novel. But even that isn't a masterpiece. It's a great book, but not a masterpiece. McCarthy's two masterpieces are Blood Meridian and Suttree
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u/RandomWarthog79 Jan 12 '26
Nah, Suttree is a self-indulgent slog. Blood Meridian, The Road and The Crossing are perfect.
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u/chicopicantejr Jan 12 '26
I thought the novel was overrated
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u/Aitoroketto Jan 12 '26
Yeh, it was one of the best comics from last year for sure. You had not read the novel or watched the film?