Frédéric Poincelet's 'Mon bel amour' marks a stylistic shift

Frédéric Poincelet's 'Mon bel amour,' published by Éditions ego comme x, represents a departure from his earlier autobiographical comic series 'Périodique autobiographique' (1999–2002). The new work consists of sixteen loosely connected vignettes exploring romantic relationships, focusing on moments of happiness, communion, misunderstanding, and breakup. Unlike the earlier volumes, which featured a sickly, patchy line and unbalanced figures, Poincelet's drawing is now cleaner and more refined, based on photographs rather than inner turmoil. The first-person narrative and extensive text have been replaced by speech bubbles, with the author appearing only rarely. The book addresses themes such as questioning happiness in a relationship, conflicts over watching a porn film, and breakups over the phone. The review notes that while comics are only beginning to tackle such everyday subjects with sensitivity, the shift comes at the cost of the feverish, anxious quality of Poincelet's earlier work.