B+

About Betty’s Boob

Betty’s Boob is a graphic novel about a woman’s emotional and physical recovery from a mastectomy. It’s joyous and body-positive. However, it doesn’t pull any punches with depicting the physical and emotional pain that Betty goes through along the way. Because of this, some people may find this book to be triggering rather than empowering – it depends on the individual reader.

The book is almost completely wordless. Betty wakes up from a mastectomy and demands that her breast be returned to her. She keeps it in a gift box. This is the first of many surreal images in this books, which blends fantasy and reality to the point where they become largely indistinguishable. Betty’s partner is unable to cope with her new body and leaves. Then, Betty loses her job. After a series of events that swing wildly between tragic and comic and back again, Betty finds affirmation with a burlesque troupe that celebrates all kinds of bodies with joyful abandon. There’s a romance, and it’s wonderful – but the primary romance is that of Betty falling in love with herself in a positive, not narcissistic, way.

The art in this book is fluid and vibrant. There’s a lot of male and female nudity and several sex scenes featuring different body shapes and sizes. The dominant colors are red and black with other colors coming in to convey different moods. It can be confusing to follow because the art shifts so rapidly from what’s happening in people’s minds to what’s happening in their actual lives. It requires the reader/viewer to pay attention. The art, especially in the burlesque scenes, reminded me of Toulouse-Lautrec only more curvy (in terms of line).

I found this book to be painful at first but ultimately incredibly celebratory. Obviously it’s primary focus is on breast cancer survivors, but it also made me think about my own body in a more positive light, scars and fat rolls included. It’s a book that I want to look at more than once so that I can shift focus from “what is happening” to “oh, look at that.” A lovely book, but not always an easy one.

– Carrie S

An inspiring and surprisingly comedic tale of loss and acceptance told largely through silent sequential narrative, About Betty’s Boob is a seminal work from master storytellers Véro Cazot and Julie Rocheleau. Betty lost her left breast, her job, and her guy. She does not know it yet, but this is the best day of her life.