Richard Leroy and Etienne Davodeau, two men in their 40s living in France, come to appreciate their differing, but remarkably similar, viewpoints on the creation of art when they exchange jobs and engage in a spirited discussion of ideas in Davodeau's quiet, philosophical graphic novel, The Initiates.
The story begins in Leroy's Montbenault vineyard, as he shows Davodeau the basics of pruning grapes. Through four seasons, as Leroy educates Davodeau about the art of winemaking, Davodeau develops Leroy's sensibilities in the area of comics. Leroy views wine as the link between earth and man--and his vineyard as another living, breathing incarnation of himself. Davodeau has trouble grasping this "living" concept initially, but through energetic discourses about art, comics and wine with his "master"--and a nose-to-the-ground crash course in wine-growing--he begins to appreciate the analogies between the two seemingly dichotomous professions.
In one beautifully rendered scene, this understanding is brought to fruition when Leroy equates barrel-making to book-printing; both wine and novel must leave the inventor's hands and become dependent on others for its final output. Later, as Davodeau sits at his drafting table completing a drawing with Leroy looking over his shoulder, Leroy ties the "art" arising from Davodeau's fingers to the manual "artistry"--pruning, weeding, feeding, plowing--required to bring the vineyard to full bloom.
Davodeau's lines are clean and economically sparse, but powerful enough to forge the bonds that tie both professions together. He concludes that books, like wine, bring people together and cultivate new friendships based on mutual understanding. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant