Leonard Cohen revives as a comic book character

Cover image of 'Leonard Cohen.

On the Wire', graphic biography of the Canadian musician.

Cartoonist Philippe Girard (Quebec, 50 years old) began thinking about creating a comic about his compatriot Leonard Cohen in 2012, when he attended a concert by the musician in Quebec.

“He said he would have come sooner if he had known we loved him so much.

It seems to me that in those years he was very loved here, but with less attention than in the rest of Canada, ”Girard tells EL PAÍS by phone.

“Then came his death [in November 2016].

I waited for a book to be published about him that was to my liking, it didn't come and I went to work”, he adds.

Five years later came the result:

a graphic biography of the Canadian artist, published in French in April 2021, in English last November and this month in Spanish under the Norma Editorial seal.

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His starting point was clear.

“I tried to guess the man behind his works.

I wanted to establish a kind of dialogue with him, although it is always something subjective: he is my Leonard Cohen, what I like, what catches my attention”, comments the cartoonist, author of both the illustrations and the text of the comic.

Girard describes himself as a follower of the so-called "clear line school", with Hergé as his main reference, so when drawing him he wanted his character to be perfectly recognizable by the silhouette: "I put special effort into the clothing, a fundamental element.

He was a very elegant guy.

He wanted to respect that.

He attached a lot of importance to the way he dressed.

In 120 pages, Girard covers places, experiences and emotions.

Montreal is the setting for much of this work: from Cohen's stages in Westmount, a quiet Anglophone area where he was born in 1934 and spent his first five years, to a landscape of university classrooms, bars and bookstores.

There he came across the verses of Federico García Lorca and learned the first guitar chords thanks to a young Spaniard.

Enrique Morente and Lagartija Nick responded affectionately in 1996 with their

In this dialogue between the Cohen universe and the Spanish language, the writer Alberto Manzano has been a fundamental bridge with several books dedicated to the Canadian musician, including a biography.

Cartoons from 'Leonard Cohen.

On the Wire'.

As his poems begin to gain attention in literary circles, a drawing of a twentysomething Cohen comments, "I feel like an impostor, but after all, poetry is the verdict of others on an author's work."

Then came other coordinates: London, the Greek island of Hydra, New York, Los Angeles.

Poetry gave way to novels and songs;

friendships left their mark (Lou Reed, Nico, Joan Baez);

the sentimental blog was getting fatter (where the two Suzanne and Marianne cannot be missing) and times of tobacco, alcohol,

, antidepressants consumption arrived.

“It had its dependencies, of course, but also a great religious, spiritual impulse.

It seems to me that this caused it to prolong its existence, ”says Girard.

Judaism and Buddhism left a clear imprint on the artist.

The comic-biography signed by Girard imagines some of the last moments of the artist.

He also references

, the first track on Cohen's last record in life, in which he recites in peace, aware that the end is near: “Hineni, hineni;

I'm ready, my lord” (“Here I am” in Hebrew, followed by “I'm ready, my lord” in English), to give way in the song to the choir of the Westmount Shaar Hashomayim synagogue.

Another page from 'Leonard Cohen.

On the Wire'.

"He tried to work on himself, to be a better person," says Girard.

also explores the simple areas of the Canadian.

“I tried to generate affection towards him.

He wasn't just another superstar.

He had a very simple side, ”says the cartoonist, who says that the photographer Dominique Issermann —who was Cohen's partner— sent him a message a few months ago.

"He told me to show him what he was like out of the spotlight," she says.

Girard confesses that he has a special predilection for the last two sound works by the dandy with the cavernous voice:

and

;

also for two of his books:

and

.

The cartoonist is part of a group of Québécois authors who have seduced audiences from numerous countries with strokes and words.

Names like Guy Delisle, Julie Doucet and Michel Rabagliati make up this list.

Author of more than 20 works, his cartoons have also appeared in newspapers and magazines.