The Cigar that Fell in Love with a Pipe

Camus follows up his award-winning series, the Book of the Cross, with a charming graphic novel about Orson Welles’s discovery of the secret behind a cigar box he received on the eve of the premier of The Lady from Shanghai, which he directed. On opening the box, Welles identifies the cigars as having been rolled by Conchita Marquez, the famous cigar roller. The narrative then drifts back to Cuba and tells the story of Conchita, who was imprisoned by her boss/husband and forced to roll cigars while suffering from a debilitating nicotine allergy. On a journey to cure her ailment, Conchita falls in love with a sailor who’s carving a pipe. Through a strange but entertaining series of events, Conchita and the sailor become trapped in Welles’s drawing room, with disastrous results. The book contains many gorgeous moments, such as a dream sequence. Abadzis’s (Laika) page layouts are innovative, and his art adds many layers of charm and tongue-in-cheek humor. Some of the characters (especially the women) are a bit one dimensional and cartoonish, however, and the connection to Welles is a bit tenuous. (Apr.)