Fun, satirical, and action-packed graphic novel about a time when celebrating Christmas is legally mandated and those who don't celebrate adequately are punished by the Jolly Fellow brigade. This is a wild ride but also very smart commentary about government power and freedom.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Well, this was interesting, funny, a bit witty, the art style is... However, it fits the narrative, dark, strange, a little twisted. I mean, Christmas everyday could only lead you to a very dark and twisted place. I appreciate this as a one shot, I don't think I could continue reading this as a series. The script itself was strange in the most humorous way and pointless in quite an interesting way. I didn't think that was possible, however here we are! I appreciate receiving this ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

This was without a doubt, one of the dumbest things I have ever read in my entire life, but somehow also strangely compelling.
Picture this: you are a resident of Joylandia, a land where Christmas is forcibly celebrated every single day. Renee lives in this land, going to Christmas parties night after night with his family until the night he meets Arlette. A disgruntled woman who basically hates everything about Joylandia. Of course, hating things is against the law as is not being super cheery 24/7, so before Renee can tell Arlette he likes her, she gets arrested, charged with an illness (being ill being among the worst crimes) and sentenced to hospital - because there are are no jails here, just hospitals where patients are forced to attend perpetual Christmas recitals.
Eventually though a series of very stupid events, Renee is mistaken by police as the leader of the resistance and becomes a wanted man.
It's all very silly and slapsticky but interesting in its way. The art is - well -let's call it interesting, if nothing else, and the shenanigans (especially those surrounding the chief of police and two poorly trained attack dogs) are pretty funny.

This didn't work for me at all. Premise is kind of funny and interesting, like, really, let's go to be happy, all of us, together! We must! But the look of that, ouch. The art was literally hurting my eyes, and more I was reading, more I was somehow bored.. I don't think it is bad book, it's just not something I would appreciate. And believe me, I tried five times. Five times until I finished this.

Although I could see the potential in this text, I was not able to sustain my attention and finish the narrative.

A strong four stars for this book, which at its best can be quite trenchant satire. Our world is one where it's always Christmas – people are forced to go to nightly Xmas dinners, and give each other copious gifts and obligatory seasonal wishes. There is, of course, a reaction against that, and some 'terrorists' are trying to get out from under that regime, and defy the jollity-enforcing police and their bosses. Lo and behold, our hero keeps crossing paths with said 'terrorists', until the lines between him and them blur… Visually I might have wanted for a better style, and it is a little overlong and lacking in acerbity at times, but I certainly liked the ethos here. It's a battle cry against the bloody-minded idiots in power, whoever and wherever that may be, and a plea for individuality. (It's also making sure it gets to use the word "prick" for comedic effect a lot.) As someone who hates those seasonal charity things where you're supposed to feel obliged to join in, and someone who always wants to have plan B or the less popular choice, I found this was a fun read.

*thank you to Netgalley and Europe Comics for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

1 star.

Nope. Just nope. I was so disappointed with this! The description of this book sounded so good and like it would be so much fun to read but it clearly wasnt my style. I cant even say that I liked the illustrations because I really didn't. This was a real struggle to het through and I kept Wait I g for it to improve or that maybe I might even grow to like it. But neither happened. It's a miss from me but based on other people's reviews, this isn't a bad book. It's just not my type of book. Unfortunate but a no from me.

You can‘t feel unhappy in Joylandia - it‘s a crime. Christmas, with all its forced kindness, happiness, dinners, gifts happens every day. Police dress as Santa and arrests people for eating sardines and crackers instead of Christmas dinner.

Rene Poliveau lives a regular life until he meets a mysterious woman who gives him a bent fork as a present. He tries to learn more about him and learns about joy regime along the way.

I liked the plot, the setting and ideas but hated the art. It significantly decreased my enjoyment in the story but it’s highly subjective. Others will probably like it. 

<i>Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review</i>

Houppeland is very, very happy place. In fact, you're not allowed to be anything but happy, cheerful and festive.

In a dystopian place, citizens are obligated to always be cheerful, merry, and pretend that everything is wonderful in every festive season. Everyone who doesn't comply will be dealing with the Jolly Fellow squad. And then, the nightmare begins.

Joylandia is a genius allegory of pretend happiness during the festive season. Sarcastic, smart and compelling, this is a plot that will keep the reader captivated. Definitely a recommended read for everyone, especially comic book lovers.

Disclaimer: A copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Just before Christmas, I was at an annual lunch with two friends and we are mentioned how the holidays were particularly trying and depressing time for us. It was more based on the expectations that other people had, of making everything perfect because that was the only way the people around us would be happy. It isn’t the holiday; it is what other people want you to act and be because of the holiday.
Which is also the point of the graphic novel Joylandia.
It is land where it is Christmas every day. And you must be merry, and you must give gifts, and go to parties.
Otherwise you are arrested.
Joylandia is the story about what happens when people finally start to rebel. The story is interesting and vigorous. The artwork, while not to my normal taste, actually matches the story quite well. The story is really about what a holiday should be. Quite nice.

This is graphic novel which aims to hit deeply on an oppressive psyche of massess enforced by mindless anarchist government and religiously followed traditions.
Story is set, in it maginary city joyland where whatever president orders becomes the forcibly implimented rule. Book is funny, sarcastic, dark and hits on oppressive forces, President forces everyone to enjoy Christmas and exchange gifts and being sick can land you in trouble on day when everybody has to be happy.
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When President is killed by contract killer, new president and new rule sets in and so on.
Rene and Arlete are main protagonists and story revolves around them.
Story is funny, cartoons are funny according to story and story is fast and filled with twists. But I wish captions could be shorter.
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Overall nice story with great artwork and hits somwhere deep on forces who aim to hit on free will and liberalisation.
#netgalley#joylandia#ebook
rating 3.5/5

Ever feel pressured to have fun on a holiday? Certain holidays are worse than others for sure. It used to be just New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day forces pressures for party-going, but now Cinco de Mayo has inched up and even Halloween pressure has become more prevalent. As a low key person, those holidays can be a nightmare and I’m happy to celebrate each of them quietly at home.

Same for Christmas, though that’s not so unusual. But there is something militant about the demand that we embrace Christmas celebrations, whether it’s Republicans bitching about not observing Christmas the right way or commercial interests shoving canned-music carols down our throats in October or well-meaning office parties demanding jollity when you just want to meet your deadlines.

If you feel even remotely similar, Joylandia understands. By combining holiday distress with dystopian fiction, French cartoonist Tronchet, with the help of superior translation by James Hogan, crafts a hilarious holiday farce filled with twists and turns, chaos colliding cleverly, and devilish social commentary amidst the careening comedy.

It’s a world with squads called Joy Divisions patrolling the streets and measuring for merriment in passersby, even as they barge in on private Christmas parties to ensure everyone has entered into the spirit of the season.



Enforced Christmas jollity is not the only point of authoritarianism. There’s also a frantic fear of germs that means sure arrest and incarceration for a publicly sneezing person and a ban on sports that leads to round-ups of secret cadres of athletes. This is all the doing of the President in a reactionary bid against his invalid life of constant suppositories. He just wants joy. Who can blame him?

It’s these dire circumstances that bring together the fates of Rene Poliveau and Arlette Champagne, both guests at an enforced Christmas gathering that features awkwardness on Rene’s part and confrontational rudeness on Arlette’s. He can’t help but find her intriguing. But it’s that attraction that sends things in motion, bringing forth squads of fixated bringing to justice the rebels who are trying to unseat the President and his oppressive seasonal glee.

Poliveau becomes the object of law enforcement and gains the attention of rebel groups when he intervenes to help Arlette, and that sets into motion a chain of events that involve crazy chases and several regime changes. It seems that each succeeding president must pick a new holiday for society to center itself around, and each time this happens, the crazy chases become even more absurd and the holidays themselves become obstructive to any state other than chaos.



By using holidays as political constructs for social order, Tronchet has picked the perfect affectation not only to characterize ruling regimes but qualify the support of the people. Often, it’s not that political rule changes from something bad to something good, but from something the same to something different, and that can steer what citizens think of any leader or government. We see it play out often enough. Witness the scary shenanigans of Trump causing some liberals to downplay the misdeeds of George W. Bush and transform into a plushie version of a Republican president who started a fake war.

Tronchet’s work here is hilarious. The tone reminds of me of the film Delicatessen, with a little bit of Gilliam’s Brazil thrown in for good measure, and Tronchet’s wit is so quick and so clever, so attuned to setting plot points of for laughs as well as forward movement, and really approaching the humor itself with the same sophistication as the story or concepts within that I think these comparisons are good indicators of what you’ll encounter in this book. Comedy inevitably has moments where it falls flat, and it’s a special creation that never stumbles — Joylandia is definitely one of those.

This was really weird, and just not my kind of comic at all. I normally like a good satire, but maybe I love Christmas too much to get behind this particular one. If you have a darker mind than me, and also love satire, this might be perfect for you.

3.5 stars.

What a fun read. It's kind of creepy but also have a humor touch in it. The illustration is actually pretty good even though it's not really my cup of tea. But I still enjoy it.

The story of Joylandia is rather interesting because I usually love reading sweet Christmas stories. However this year, I am interested in reading a dark Christmas stories that would not creeped me out to much. Joylandia was a fit read for the season. But the story did not stop around Christmas time only, it expanded to something more and more. I was a little surprised. I am not sure if it's a good surprised or not. But all in all I enjoyed Joylandia.

Down with santrification!

Interesting concept and interesting read. Loved the positive ending despite the gloom. Loved how the pictures come to more life like colors as the story builds on to a cheerful end.

'Joylandia' with art and story by Tronchet is a darkly comic story about a town run by a dystopian government where every day is Christmas.

In Houppeland, every day is Christmas because the government says so. Gift giving, holiday dinner parties and cheerfulness are all enforced and checked. A bad gift or attitude can lead to oppressive prison sentences. A man and a woman meet, but are separate when she is inprisoned for sneezing in a department store. A resustance overthrows the government, but now the new leader gets to decide the next holiday. Welcome to a town where it's always Mardi Gras.

This book has some interesting things to say about oppressive governments, and even the kind of false cheer we feel like we need to have during the holidays. I liked the art and story. I felt it ran a bit on the long side, but the ending didn't disappoint.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Undoubtedly, this two-decade-old graphic novel is one of the best and so far my favorite read from the publisher, Europe Comics. The story sort of reminds me of the movie series, The Purge, minus of course the morbid killings. People in the country of Joylandia is under the totalitarian government and everyone should follow what merry holiday was set by the current president.

The narrative begins with the Christmas imposed by the ruler all year round and when he was assassinated, the next president has chosen another joyous festivity. Citizens should be happy but because of how the regime forced people to celebrate and be cheerful, the essence of what they are celebrating is not genuine and is lost. There are a lot of funny parts in the story that is quite hilarious especially on how the police were compelled to wear hideous costumes.

Joylandia is a humorous and entertaining read that will make anyone laugh, and readers will agree that the government in the story reflects how often those who govern people in real life are ridiculous.

My full review appears on Weekend Notes. Thanks to the publishers for sharing this title. It was a bit unusual and made a nice change.

This is an interesting Holiday read. The world is so fictionally humorous yet different from the mainstream holiday representation that it makes the overall read a more thinkable experience.

So Christmas is here and celebrations need to be enjoyed so any and all party poopers with grumpy faces or health issues are going to be taken into custody. No wonder, it's not possible for a population to be on the same page in terms of emotional and physical wellness so the female protagonist is keenly observed when she fails to impress the 'officers' on rounds looking for happiness and joy among the citizens. Plus, she sneezes in a mall and that's an offense! A trial starts for her case and the rest of the story is a rollercoaster ride for both her and her well-wisher, the male protagonist, Rene.

The dialogues were fun and the story was laid out pretty well through the classic box style. The art was different from what I usually see and it's, again, not the mainstream style which definitely makes the comic much more refreshing. Overall, a pretty good read and definite recommendation this Holiday season!

Welcome to Joylandia where it is Christmas everyday and where it is a crime to be unhappy. In Joylandia festivity is compulsory and woe betide you if you forget to attend a compulsory Christmas dinner, or if you don't show up with a gift. This is a country where the police dress as Santa and where people are arrested for eating sardines and crackers instead of Christmas dinner.

Rene Poliveau lives with his son and father, and the three of them muddle along, attending dinners and exchanging presents and displaying the necessary amounts of joy. All of this changes when Rene meets a mysterious woman at one of the dinners and when she gives him bent fork as a present he knows he must find out more about this beautiful woman who isn't afraid to resist the regime openly.

What follows then is an entertaining story through Christmas, Mardi Gras and Valentines day as Rene seeks to hide from the police with his Dad and son, and protect the beautiful resister. With the police on his trail Rene and his family go from one adventure to the next, falling in and out of danger with many near misses.

This is an entertaining and imaginative story with great art work and a humorous tone. The story is easy to follow with a witty dialogue and great drawing. It also a great story for this christmas and other festive periods.

Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.