Clay Footed Giants from Alain Chevarier and Mark McGuire is a deep, multi-faceted graphic novel, examining family trauma, modern masculinity and parenting. Published by Mad Cave Studios, and marketed as a tragicomic, the story focuses on best friends Mathieu and Pat, both fathers struggling with the various challenges of parenthood. Realising that his children are beginning to reflect some of his own traumas, Pat bands together with Mateiu and his mother to work through the intergenerational trauma that haunts him, in an attempt to heal himself and his broken family.
First of all, there are many nuances in the title Clay Footed Giants. Feet of clay, or to be clay footed, is an idiom referring to an inherent weakness or character flaw. Giants obviously refers to being large in stature, or powerful, and yet, these words together juxtapose; a domineering being with feet of clay cannot support their own weight, and will easily be knocked over. Originating from the book of Daniel in the Bible, the expression refers to the way in which people can appear successful or happy, but the foundations these things are built upon are completely unstable – a.k.a, underneath their smiling demeanor, they are struggling. This is an incredibly clever choice of title from Chevarier and McGuire alluding to protagonist Pat’s generational trauma.
From its very first few pages, Clay Footed Giants asks the reader: what is a real man? Set in Montreal, the wispy, chiaroscuro pencil sketches illustrate Mathieu wheeling his baby around the park, partaking in some sweet gobbledygook as the baby coos. An older gentleman looks on in disgust, before remarking, “what’s going on with men today?”. Meeting up with his good friend Pat, the two men reminisce about their lives before fatherhood; for Mathieu, this was his artistic ambitions as a filmmaker, and for Pat, his successful basketball career. Whilst Mathieu seems to have accepted his role as a stay-at-home dad with grace, Pat clearly yearns for his past life and is holding on to a lot of anger. This is evident through his glowering expressions, a cloud of mist often obscuring parts of his face and dissolving it of any real emotion, as well as spontaneous bursts of anger at his children.
These outbursts are when Pat allows his simmering resentment to completely take over. Transforming into a huge, growling bear, Pat’s moments of uncontrollable rage are always followed by deep regret and sorrow. Fearing being alone with them, Pat confronts the uncomfortable truth that he’s afraid he will hurt them. As we learn more about Pat and his own upbringing, we discover that his treatment of his children stems from a toxic relationship with his father, with the same bursts of anger being mirrored in Pat’s and his father’s conversations. When a package from his estranged father arrives, its contents fuel Pat into an obsessive quest to discover more about his father’s past, and therefore, begin his own journey of healing.
The emotive pencil sketches and effective shading were very evocative of Jane, the Fox and Me from Fanny Britt, often grounded in realism, but edging into the fantastical when emotions are heightened. Its focus towards epigenetic trauma was incredibly revealing, delving into how parents’ trauma can be biologically passed down to their children; a cycle we can see through Pat’s father, Pat, and his son Sam’s anger issues. Throughout, this question is always at the forefront; can we fix our present by understanding our past? Chevarier and McGuire offer no definitive answer to this but showcase how we can begin to heal.
The characters of Pat and Mateiu are based on the two authors of the book, and it is wonderful to know that their dynamic of supportive, emotional male friendship isn’t just confined to the fictional pages of Clay Footed Giants. As we are all aware, male mental health struggles are often overlooked, due to the stigma of emotionality being seen as weak. This is both authors’ debut graphic novel and took over six years of work to bring to completion. Their hope is that talking about their struggles will help others realise that they aren’t alone.
Alain Chevarier & Mark McGuire (W/A) • Mad Cave Studios, $19.99
Review by Lydia Turner
