Gentleman Jim

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Needless to say he runs up against numerous persons in authority, and things don't work out the way he wants. A brilliant picture book for adults, in the same vein as 'Ethel and Ernest' and 'When the Wind Blows'.

The book has been inscribed by the author to the front blank end-paper : 'For John , Raymond Briggs, 1998'. It's a really sweet and poignant tale about two simple people who care au each other and are a little naive about what is possible as his ideas get crazier and her gets in trouble with the law.Jim's flights of fancy are very lushly illustrated (they break out of the panel format completely) and put me in mind of Walter Mitty's daydreams. We see by the captions on the strip story, Jim’s painful spelling-out of the unfamiliar words and their context on the page. Scatological humour aside (and there's more than a whiff of that), there are also moments of fine gentle humour in this short graphic novel. There is actually plenty of humour in Gentleman Jim which a child would appreciate, but the story, and the underlying message, is firmly geared towards adults.

When he discovers he can't afford the plane tickets from England to Texas, he decides to become a Robin Hood type character instead. It is whimsical and sweet, uplifting and funny, but it is ultimately heartbreaking, as we witness the absolute crushing of a simple man’s dreams. Encouraged by his wife, who is also eager to incorporate more adventure into her life, Jim sets out to bring these dreams to fruition by accumulating various accoutrements, only to discover that the life of an executive, an artist, or a cowboy is more complicated and costly than it appears.Briggs’ social critiques would become more strident in later works, particularly the savage anger over the Falklands war displayed in the illustrated book The Tin Pot Foreign General and the Iron Woman . Jim can’t afford the boots, and the gun dealer wants to see both his certificate and an export licence. This book was turned into a two-handed radio play with Peter Sallis in the male lead role, and subsequently an animated film, featuring John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft. With this playful style, Briggs expertly transforms common feelings of inadequacy into an endearing and enjoyable experience that speaks across generations, concluding with an optimistic implication that even a misfortunate outcome can be better than no change at all.