Overview

It's Good We Talked About That is a manifesto on lethargy, depression and failed communication. It's a world populated by a spiteful grandma, a doting diarrhoeal pug and a passive-aggressive house plant. Anyone who doesn't know what do with their life will, for better or worse, likely see themselves in these pages. Spanning ten ludicrous and laconic slices of life, Julia Bernhard reveals the world of her protagonist: a collection of everyday, caustic conversations and monologues about art projects, affairs, relationship dramas and procrastination. 'The title is pure irony, because although the book contains much talking, including about highly personal matters, it seems that no one is properly listening. Over a diverse set of episodes, Julia Bernhard places her protagonist across from people who should, theoretically, be interested in her life, such as her grandma, a friend, a lover... However, no interest in her as a person is to be found. Instead, she's lambasted with hollow words and ascriptions that make for a discomforting read. It's Good We Talked About That is nevertheless a joy to read because Julia Bernhard consistently juxtaposes these unspeakable conversations with beautiful imagery. All of her counterparts look so attractive and sensitive that the reader feels like they would like to add them to their own digital network. This chasm of polished surfaces and abysmal indifference to their human counterpart results in a comic book debut by Julia Bernhard that builds on the humour of Woody Allen and which is superbly effective in today's world.' — The jury of Max & Moritz Prize 2020

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9781912278367

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Reviews

'Good communication is not necessarily the rule in interpersonal discourse. Julia Bernhard, a graphic artist and illustrator, compellingly demonstrates this in pictures and words. In the end, the only escape is the couch, but it turns out quite differently than you'd expect... Julia Bernhard's comic book debut Wie gut, dass wir daruber geredet haben (Good Thing We Talked It Over) is evocative of a well-known quote from the song Das Ende der Beschwerde by Peter Licht, roughly, Company is great if it weren't for the people. And for the illustrator, as she says in an interview with the online magazine jetzt, it's about society's, or people's, expectations, especially of young women. Bernhard has already received several awards for her comic book. She was a finalist in the Leibinger Stiftung's Comicbuchpreis of 2019. She won the Design Talent category of the Designpreis Rheinland-Pfalz 2018. In their statement, the jury commends her reduced, but suitably detailed drawing style in which every line hits home. They go on to say, Likewise, the punch lines, or the obvious omission of a punch line, hit home. Just as lost as the protagonist, readers are left by the wayside, only to be caught up again on the next page when yet another tragicomic encounter with the self or others is overcome, often by drifting off into a dreamland in surreal moments in which one, joyfully abashed, finds oneself again. The young woman, who is seen in transitional pictures flopping, rolling or trying to relax on a couch, frames the episodes. Above the couch hangs a poster with the significant, to wit realistic, words, Eat. Shit. Die. When, in the final, wordless chapter, the character completely surrenders to her couch, the reader, if in the right misanthropic mood, wants to crawl right in beside her.'- Holger Moos, Goethe Institut The title is pure irony, because although the book contains much talking, including about highly personal matters, it seems that no one is properly listening. Over a diverse set of episodes, Julia Bernhard places her protagonist across from people who should, theoretically, be interested in her life, such as her grandma, a friend, a lover... However, no interest in her as a person is to be found. Instead, she's lambasted with hollow words and ascriptions that make for a discomforting read. It's Good We Talked About That is nevertheless a joy to read because Julia Bernhard consistently juxtaposes these unspeakable conversations with beautiful imagery. All of her counterparts look so attractive and sensitive that the reader feels like they would like to add them to their own digital network. This chasm of polished surfaces and abysmal indifference to their human counterpart results in a comic book debut by Julia Bernhard that builds on the humour of Woody Allen and which is superbly effective in today's world.-the jury of Max & Moritz Prize 2020

"'Good communication is not necessarily the rule in interpersonal discourse. Julia Bernhard, a graphic artist and illustrator, compellingly demonstrates this in pictures and words. In the end, the only escape is the couch, but it turns out quite differently than you'd expect... Julia Bernhard's comic book debut Wie gut, dass wir darüber geredet haben (Good Thing We Talked It Over) is evocative of a well-known quote from the song Das Ende der Beschwerde by Peter Licht, roughly, ""Company is great if it weren't for the people."" And for the illustrator, as she says in an interview with the online magazine jetzt, it's about society's, or ""people's,"" expectations, especially of young women. Bernhard has already received several awards for her comic book. She was a finalist in the Leibinger Stiftung's Comicbuchpreis of 2019. She won the Design Talent category of the Designpreis Rheinland-Pfalz 2018. In their statement, the jury commends her reduced, but suitably detailed drawing style in which every line hits home. They go on to say, ""Likewise, the punch lines, or the obvious omission of a punch line, hit home. Just as lost as the protagonist, readers are left by the wayside, only to be caught up again on the next page when yet another tragicomic encounter with the self or others is overcome, often by drifting off into a dreamland in surreal moments in which one, joyfully abashed, finds oneself again."" The young woman, who is seen in transitional pictures flopping, rolling or trying to relax on a couch, frames the episodes. Above the couch hangs a poster with the significant, to wit realistic, words, ""Eat. Shit. Die."" When, in the final, wordless chapter, the character completely surrenders to her couch, the reader, if in the right misanthropic mood, wants to crawl right in beside her.'- Holger Moos, Goethe Institut ""The title is pure irony, because although the book contains much talking, including about highly personal matters, it seems that no one is properly listening. Over a diverse set of episodes, Julia Bernhard places her protagonist across from people who should, theoretically, be interested in her life, such as her grandma, a friend, a lover... However, no interest in her as a person is to be found. Instead, she's lambasted with hollow words and ascriptions that make for a discomforting read. It's Good We Talked About That is nevertheless a joy to read because Julia Bernhard consistently juxtaposes these unspeakable conversations with beautiful imagery. All of her counterparts look so attractive and sensitive that the reader feels like they would like to add them to their own digital network. This chasm of polished surfaces and abysmal indifference to their human counterpart results in a comic book debut by Julia Bernhard that builds on the humour of Woody Allen and which is superbly effective in today's world.""-the jury of Max & Moritz Prize 2020"

Author Information

Julia Bernhard is a German illustrator and cartoonist, currently living and working in Mainz and Berlin. She graduated with distinction in Graphic Design and Illustration from the University of Applied Sciences Mainz. Her cartoons and illustrations have been published by The New Yorker, the Nib, Avant Verlag, Narrative Magazine, The Lily and Büchergilde Gutenberg among others. She is a founding member of the all-female illustrator's collective Crush Club and teaches illustration as a guest lecturer at HS Mainz and FKA Frankfurt. Her comic debut 'It's Good We Talked About That' was published in 2019 and was a finalist of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung Comic Book Prize. In 2020, she received the Max & Moritz Prize for Best German-language Comic Book Debut.

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