Contains 3 stories of government run amok in a Kafkaesque setting. Stories where you shouldn't ask the purpose of your job or the government mandating what you eat or when you go on vacation. This kind of thing just seems absurd to me and something a right winger would hold up as the boogeyman these days.

Authorised Happiness has 3 short stories about a world where everything is controlled, your diet, your health, your job, even where and when you go on vacation. Even who you are allowed to talk to,

They are quiteinteresting, if comical portrayal of governments that are allowed to run amok.

#AuthorisedHappiness #NetGalley

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review. Well, this is the extreme side of social equality, lol! I actually enjoyed reading this first volume and look forward to reading more. I didn’t exactly enjoy the art style, however it was well done. I’d like more background on what sparked the societal shift, have to keep reading I guess!

The lesson this books smacks you over the head with VERY hard is "socialism is bad, kids."
I don't happen to agree with that sentiment but, to each his own I suppose.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good graphic - featuring three different stories that may or may not be taking place in the same place and time.
In the first, which is quite Orwellian, a man living in a city with extremely high unemployment is exceptionally lucky to get a new job after being unemployed for five months, but soon learns that asking too many questions about the nature of his work can be dangerous.
The second story takes a look at a worst case scenario in a world where the government controls the health system - which has led to mandatory exercise, and state controlled diet plans.
The final story, which was my least favorites takes a look at government control of employee vacations through the eyes of what I can only describe as a dumb-ass teenager.
They are interesting, if completely unrealistic portrayals of government run amok.

What to do when the government is the one controlling everything in your life so there'll be some type of social happiness going around?

In Authorised Happiness we have 3 short stories about a world where everything is controlled, your diet, your health, your job, even where and when you go on vacation. Talk to someone off your group? Oh no no, you are green you stick to green.

The art is beautiful and the message in the stories so harsh but so important. It was a very nice read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Europe Comics for the chance of reading this ARC in exchange of a honest review

A strong four stars for this book, which has taken far too long to reach an English language market. The original series seems to have had three volumes, and annoyingly we're being forced to wait for the rest, when I'm sure we could have had everything at once. This book is three self-contained parts, where Kafkaesque treatments are given to everyday life and we see what a dictatorial approach leads to when it's applied to something generally pleasant. So a worker is stuck crunching numbers and finds it practically impossible to find out why and what the company even does, a woman breaks away from the stultifying medical demands of a universal health system that requires everyone wear thermal vests and not hang around outside when there's a chance of a sniffle, and we see life in a Butlins from hell, as everyone is forced to kowtow to a horrid "holiday" plan.

Yes, books such as The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips have kind of usurped what the first story here is trying to say, but things haven't completely dated – the stories here are very pertinent to our times. Some people will see obvious links to Obamacare with part two, of course. The second book is supposed to be more of the same, before the trilogy of volumes closes with a larger piece tying everything and everyone together. I'd certainly hope to see them.

'Authorised Happiness' by Jean Van Hamme with art by Griffo is a series of stories told about a dystopian state where happiness is part of the bureaucracy.

In the first story, a man gets a job. He doesn't really understand what the job really is, and all attempts to find this out lead to dead ends. Is having a job and not knowing what you are doing better than the freedom of unemployment?

In the second story, a woman who has her life and diet dictated by the state decides to live outside the norms, but the cost may be too high when someone close to her becomes ill. In the final story, a group of people go on a holiday dictated by the state. Doing well at group participation means you might get a better vacation time next year, but what if you just want to relax and read, or fall in love?

I liked these stories of state controlled happiness taken to extremes. The stories don't seem to be linked, but the situations all seem similarly controlled. The art is pretty good as well.

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.

Great plot, I love dystopian stories. The characters were good and the art work was okay. Quick read for me

What happens when every aspect of life is controlled by the state?

This graphic novel explores this in a number of short, powerful stories. A man questions what his company actually does but he doesn't get the answer he seeks. A woman opts for the freedom of non - regulated life but then her daughter falls ill and she can't opt in again. A young man is tired of compulsory state provided holidays with regulated activities, but how can he find freedom?

Each story is illustrated by graphics which convey the powerlessness and futility of going against the state machinery. This is just book one and so it ends with lots of questions which I hope will be answered in the next two books.

This is brilliantly portrayed and told. It reminded me of being forced to attend corporate events and not being able to get out of tedious work events. We all have them and sometimes we hate them, but what would you do if every aspect of your life was controlled. What you eat, where you go, what you wear, all controlled by the faceless machinery of the state.

The story is quite eerie in a way because we are not shown what happens to the dissidents and those who protest against the state control.

This is brilliantly told though and I desperately want to read the rest of the series.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Not exactly what I was expecting in a graphic novel. The art style has a cool classic comic look to it. The story was a little underwhelming to me.