What do you think?
Rate this book
California Dreamin'
Ellen Cohen rêve de devenir chanteuse. Sa voix est incroyable, sa personnalité aussi excentrique qu'attachante, son besoin d'amour inextinguible. À l'aube des années 1960, elle quitte Baltimore pour échapper à son avenir de vendeuse de pastrami et tenter sa chance à New York.
276 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2015
About the author
Pénélope Bagieu
78 books859 followersPénélope Bagieu, (born 22 January 1982 Paris), is a French illustrator and comic designer. She became known for her comic blog My quite fascinating life.
Penelope Bagieu graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economic and Social studies, she spent a year at ESAT Paris, then at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris and then at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. Multimedia and entertainment, where she graduated in December 2006.
(from Wikipedia)
Penelope Bagieu graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economic and Social studies, she spent a year at ESAT Paris, then at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris and then at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. Multimedia and entertainment, where she graduated in December 2006.
(from Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 500 reviews
December 19, 2018
This is originally in French which is funny considering that Cass Elliot and the Mamas and the Papas were American. I am a huge fan of Cass and the Mamas & Papas. I enjoy listening to them all the time. Yet, I still did not know their story. To me they were this successful group and for some reason I never wondered how they became.
This is a fascinating behind the scenes before they were famous story of Cass Elliot. Cass was an amazing person. I wonder where Penelope did and received all her research. I bet it was from the family.
Cass had the pipes, but she also had that star quality and she also had a will to be there. The group was originally the other 3 and the guy who put it together didn’t want Cass, but she followed them around and wouldn’t leave them alone. Cass was instrumental for California Dreamin to be a hit and to keep ‘the Journeymen’ from being a forgotten folk group.
Cass was in the flower power generation and she did the drugs and sex thing. Cass was also a big girl, but that didn’t stop her from expressing herself and being out there. She took her lumps, sure, but she was a strong person.
It’s always interesting how people who make it have this fierceness inside them that no one seems to be able to stop. That’s way they make it. I want to learn to have that quality.
This is a long book and a great book. I really enjoyed reading it. The art is black and white and it’s well done. I hope to read more biographies of people in this form. It’s quick and you get to know a lot about the person. I’m still a fan.
This is a fascinating behind the scenes before they were famous story of Cass Elliot. Cass was an amazing person. I wonder where Penelope did and received all her research. I bet it was from the family.
Cass had the pipes, but she also had that star quality and she also had a will to be there. The group was originally the other 3 and the guy who put it together didn’t want Cass, but she followed them around and wouldn’t leave them alone. Cass was instrumental for California Dreamin to be a hit and to keep ‘the Journeymen’ from being a forgotten folk group.
Cass was in the flower power generation and she did the drugs and sex thing. Cass was also a big girl, but that didn’t stop her from expressing herself and being out there. She took her lumps, sure, but she was a strong person.
It’s always interesting how people who make it have this fierceness inside them that no one seems to be able to stop. That’s way they make it. I want to learn to have that quality.
This is a long book and a great book. I really enjoyed reading it. The art is black and white and it’s well done. I hope to read more biographies of people in this form. It’s quick and you get to know a lot about the person. I’m still a fan.
April 9, 2017
Penelope Bagieu’s California Dreamin’ is a biographical comic about the early life of Ellen Cohen aka Cass Elliot of ‘60s group The Mamas and the Papas. It’s not a bad read but it definitely has its flaws.
Cass’s life turns out to be fairly ordinary which unfortunately doesn’t make for the most riveting of stories. She wants to be famous, goes to New York and hangs out with artists who recognise her amazing voice. Eventually she becomes friends with musician Denny Doherty who joined a folk trio called The Journeymen which, when Cass joined them, would become The Mamas and the Papas.
It was interesting to note that Cass came up with the call and answer song structure of their most famous tune, California Dreamin’, which is definitely what made it a hit. But it’s also Cass’s powerful vocals in the answer part that elevated that song and made it so good.
I wonder why Bagieu chose to tell the story of Cass’s life up to the age of 24 though (when California Dreamin’ became a hit)? Maybe the book is meant to be inspiration for girls who don’t conform to societal beauty standards to show them that raw talent and personality can carry you to the top regardless of your looks?
Except the whole book is more of a downer really. Bagieu’s portrait is of a girl who secretly wants to fit in, who always falls for men who don’t love her back (probably in large part due to her being 300 lbs, let’s be real) and who struggles with her weight constantly. What’s left out of the book is even more tragic - maybe that’s why it wasn’t included? She does well as a solo performer but her weight makes her depressed, she starts doing heroin and dies of heart failure in her sleep aged 32.
I also didn’t love Bagieu’s illustration style in this book. It’s drawn with sketchy, pencil drawings throughout and, while you can clearly see the skill behind it, the finishes look messy and rushed. Maybe that’s the point, to mirror her subject with her style? Cass wasn’t a knockout either but she had talent, just like Bagieu’s art here is underwhelming though undeniably artful. I know having read her previous comics that she isn’t this sloppy usually.
California Dreamin’ is a sometimes-enthralling and somewhat informative read but a lot of it feels drawn out and unremarkable because the material is lacking. I thought it was an ok comic but I was a bit disappointed and I wouldn’t say it’s a must-read for anyone even for Cass Elliot fans who probably know all this already and in more detail anyway.
Cass’s life turns out to be fairly ordinary which unfortunately doesn’t make for the most riveting of stories. She wants to be famous, goes to New York and hangs out with artists who recognise her amazing voice. Eventually she becomes friends with musician Denny Doherty who joined a folk trio called The Journeymen which, when Cass joined them, would become The Mamas and the Papas.
It was interesting to note that Cass came up with the call and answer song structure of their most famous tune, California Dreamin’, which is definitely what made it a hit. But it’s also Cass’s powerful vocals in the answer part that elevated that song and made it so good.
I wonder why Bagieu chose to tell the story of Cass’s life up to the age of 24 though (when California Dreamin’ became a hit)? Maybe the book is meant to be inspiration for girls who don’t conform to societal beauty standards to show them that raw talent and personality can carry you to the top regardless of your looks?
Except the whole book is more of a downer really. Bagieu’s portrait is of a girl who secretly wants to fit in, who always falls for men who don’t love her back (probably in large part due to her being 300 lbs, let’s be real) and who struggles with her weight constantly. What’s left out of the book is even more tragic - maybe that’s why it wasn’t included? She does well as a solo performer but her weight makes her depressed, she starts doing heroin and dies of heart failure in her sleep aged 32.
I also didn’t love Bagieu’s illustration style in this book. It’s drawn with sketchy, pencil drawings throughout and, while you can clearly see the skill behind it, the finishes look messy and rushed. Maybe that’s the point, to mirror her subject with her style? Cass wasn’t a knockout either but she had talent, just like Bagieu’s art here is underwhelming though undeniably artful. I know having read her previous comics that she isn’t this sloppy usually.
California Dreamin’ is a sometimes-enthralling and somewhat informative read but a lot of it feels drawn out and unremarkable because the material is lacking. I thought it was an ok comic but I was a bit disappointed and I wouldn’t say it’s a must-read for anyone even for Cass Elliot fans who probably know all this already and in more detail anyway.
February 7, 2019
Let's face it - on a superficial level, 'Mama' Cass Elliot was an unlikely pop star in the latter part of the 20th century. By the mid-60's the popular music world was as much 'visual' (think of TV variety shows and teen magazines) as it was 'audio,' so in this narrow-minded atmosphere a performer's looks counted for a lot. But rising above this notion, Elliot had the talent and gumption to succeed.
Bagieu's graphic novel bio - which, though the cover might suggest otherwise, is solely illustrated in sparse black & white - covers Elliot's (born Ellen Cohen) childhood in Baltimore and her school years, where she learned to hone her performing abilities to rise above mean or short-sighted comments about her appearance. She has her first taste of (mild) success in the early 60's folk music era as part of a trio, but soon after the JFK assassination and Beatlemania explosion things quickly change in the musical landscape. Pop / rock groups are now back in style - enter The Mamas & The Papas!
Although the sub-title states 'before,' the last third of the book details Mama Cass connecting with vocalist Denny Doherty, and in turn meeting John and Michelle Phillips. It's a rocky start at first - Papa John did not want to include Cass in the group, preferring to be a trio - but the quartet soon solidifies (golly, those harmonies!) and secure a record deal from now-legendary music producer / executive Lou Adler on the basis of an early song. The tune involved? See the other part of the title.
Dreamin' was a lively, funny and dramatic look at a unique and free-spirited young lady.
Bagieu's graphic novel bio - which, though the cover might suggest otherwise, is solely illustrated in sparse black & white - covers Elliot's (born Ellen Cohen) childhood in Baltimore and her school years, where she learned to hone her performing abilities to rise above mean or short-sighted comments about her appearance. She has her first taste of (mild) success in the early 60's folk music era as part of a trio, but soon after the JFK assassination and Beatlemania explosion things quickly change in the musical landscape. Pop / rock groups are now back in style - enter The Mamas & The Papas!
Although the sub-title states 'before,' the last third of the book details Mama Cass connecting with vocalist Denny Doherty, and in turn meeting John and Michelle Phillips. It's a rocky start at first - Papa John did not want to include Cass in the group, preferring to be a trio - but the quartet soon solidifies (golly, those harmonies!) and secure a record deal from now-legendary music producer / executive Lou Adler on the basis of an early song. The tune involved? See the other part of the title.
Dreamin' was a lively, funny and dramatic look at a unique and free-spirited young lady.
May 1, 2017
Penelope Bagieu has an engaging style, full of positive energy. I read Exquisite Corpse, her first English-translated book, and I thought it was good, but I gave it another star just for that quality she seems to bring to the work. I kind of feel the same way about this book. It’s an adoring story of Mama Cass of the Mamas and the Papas . . . but let me stop there for a minute. Bagieu is 35 and can write about anything she wants in the world, but she chooses to write the story of a sixties American pop group, featuring an unlikely star singer, but not the fame part, it’s the struggling and largely sad pre-Mamas and Papas time??! What kind of tiny niche are you going for here, Bagieu? How large can your readership be? And yet it works. For me in particular since I actually own original vinyl from this group, I lived through this period, but I think she also just knows how to tell a story. Maybe in part it is because Bagieu, a drummer as well as a comics artist, loves Cass as a musician so much.
Cass, born Ellen Cohen, is overweight (“and no one’s getting’ fat but Mama Cass, doot doot doot doot doot)”) but has an undeniably great voice and personality (irrepressible, like Bagieu). The other three in the group are conventional hippie folk singer types, all typically sixties scrawny, hairy (and gorgeous), but Cass doesn't have the kind of look producers want on stage or on album covers. Cass wants fame, and she wants to sing, but she mainly wants Denny, who loves to sing with her but doesn’t want her. This forms a central part of the story, her not being wanted by Denny, or anybody, but of her being wild and untamed and (apparently) happy, anyway. Living a life of acid and booze, which Bagieu sees as mainly fun (and it may have been, though I know of her untimely end, too).
In Bagieu’s story we get a glimpse into some of the internal conflicts we (who are of a certain age, or who are young like Bagieu and love the Mamas and Papas) know about in the group. John never wanted her image or style or strong voice in the group, he wanted her to sing his notes, but she was what made them distinctive and famous, finally, and he had to accept it. The boys wanted ethereal skinny blond Joni-type Michelle, even though Michelle wasn’t a great singer. The story is sort of sad in that she wasn’t ever wanted, people didn’t want her for various reasons. But Cass wasn’t to be held back, Bagieu makes clear, Cass was bound to be great and she became so. As Bagieu’s prologue makes clear, Cass IS the Mamas and the Papas, everyone’s favorite.
I usually like the somewhat informal drawing style of this, and I like the various angles from which we see Cass’s early years, mostly adapted from other biographies. The group didn’t last all that long, there isn’t a huge body of work, but here’s a sample of the good stuff, and as it turns out there is a lot of very good stuff.
California Dreamin’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-aK6...
Cass solo work, on Dream a Little Dram of Me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLkCz...
A less known one, but featuring Cass’s voice, Midnight Voyage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb5uL...
Cass, born Ellen Cohen, is overweight (“and no one’s getting’ fat but Mama Cass, doot doot doot doot doot)”) but has an undeniably great voice and personality (irrepressible, like Bagieu). The other three in the group are conventional hippie folk singer types, all typically sixties scrawny, hairy (and gorgeous), but Cass doesn't have the kind of look producers want on stage or on album covers. Cass wants fame, and she wants to sing, but she mainly wants Denny, who loves to sing with her but doesn’t want her. This forms a central part of the story, her not being wanted by Denny, or anybody, but of her being wild and untamed and (apparently) happy, anyway. Living a life of acid and booze, which Bagieu sees as mainly fun (and it may have been, though I know of her untimely end, too).
In Bagieu’s story we get a glimpse into some of the internal conflicts we (who are of a certain age, or who are young like Bagieu and love the Mamas and Papas) know about in the group. John never wanted her image or style or strong voice in the group, he wanted her to sing his notes, but she was what made them distinctive and famous, finally, and he had to accept it. The boys wanted ethereal skinny blond Joni-type Michelle, even though Michelle wasn’t a great singer. The story is sort of sad in that she wasn’t ever wanted, people didn’t want her for various reasons. But Cass wasn’t to be held back, Bagieu makes clear, Cass was bound to be great and she became so. As Bagieu’s prologue makes clear, Cass IS the Mamas and the Papas, everyone’s favorite.
I usually like the somewhat informal drawing style of this, and I like the various angles from which we see Cass’s early years, mostly adapted from other biographies. The group didn’t last all that long, there isn’t a huge body of work, but here’s a sample of the good stuff, and as it turns out there is a lot of very good stuff.
California Dreamin’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-aK6...
Cass solo work, on Dream a Little Dram of Me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLkCz...
A less known one, but featuring Cass’s voice, Midnight Voyage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb5uL...
November 5, 2017
Ellen Cohen (aka Cass Elliot) will always be a legend because of her confidence and glorious vocals. The girl could harmonize. But she was so insecure, and never really had a man in her life that loved her back the way she wanted. It was nice to see how she grew up and to learn about her Baltimore roots. Now I need to find something to read where this bio left off. I took the author's advice and listened to Midnight Voyage. Yup. She was right. Gulp.
"For me, this is the song that offers the best insight into Cass's simultaneously strong but vulnerable voice, with all its nuances. She broke off at one point when she was reproached for starting in on the the choruses too late, to which she replied that she was right, before asking mischievously, 'You like that, Lou?' (to Lou Adler). And the song is worth listening through to the end: It's the whole last part, which she sings with the most emotion that gives me a lump in my throat every time."—Penelope Bagieu
Shelved as 'first-second-publications'
March 7, 2017Dive into this beautifully drawn graphic novel about an unlikely candidate for stardom, the folk scene in NYC's village, and one of the most bizarre and dysfunctional groups of people to ever come together to make music. It's Mama Cass as you've never known her, in this touching biography of the 1960s New York folk scene from French comics sensation Pénélope Bagieu (Exquisite Corpse).
November 7, 2015
20/20
Un énorme coup de coeur, la plus belle BD que j’ai lue jusqu’à présent. Pénélope Bagieu se révèle avec un style totalement différent, avec des dessins si magnifiques qu’ils se découvrent avec des étoiles dans les yeux et avec un sujet original : nous raconter l’histoire des Mamas & Papas. J’ai découvert ce groupe qui ne fait pas partie de ma génération et Cass, leur chanteuse incroyable, avec un intérêt et une passion étonnante !
Ma chronique : https://myprettybooks.wordpress.com/2...
Un énorme coup de coeur, la plus belle BD que j’ai lue jusqu’à présent. Pénélope Bagieu se révèle avec un style totalement différent, avec des dessins si magnifiques qu’ils se découvrent avec des étoiles dans les yeux et avec un sujet original : nous raconter l’histoire des Mamas & Papas. J’ai découvert ce groupe qui ne fait pas partie de ma génération et Cass, leur chanteuse incroyable, avec un intérêt et une passion étonnante !
Ma chronique : https://myprettybooks.wordpress.com/2...
Read
January 31, 2017This graphic biography explores the life of Cass Elliot before she became the legendary Mama Cass of The Mamas & The Papas. Bagieu tells her history from her young age, as the oldest of three children, up through her mid-twenties, when the band’s first mega hit jolted them into the spotlight.
Cass’s life wasn’t a straight-line to success. It began humbly in Baltimore, following a series of failures of trying to make it in the big city of New York. Her voice was earning her a reputation, but the moment she and potential bandmates had an agent who offered to get them work, he informed her, as well as the rest of them, that in order for him to make them succeed, she needed to lose weight.
And to that, Cass said hell no. You take me as I am.
Her outright refusal to look a part is a theme throughout the book, and it’s what made this read far more than a biography of a legendary singer. It’s the story of any and every fat girl who has had a dream and who has been told that if she’d just look a little nicer, if she’d just lose a little weight, she’d be able to succeed. As if the shape of one’s body determines the size of her inherent, unquestionable talent.
Bagieu doesn’t shy away from rendering Cass’s fat body on the page, and she’s not afraid to pose Cass naked on the page, either. You will see a fat butt, fat rolls, and all of the things that are so often brushed over or ignored right on the page, without any shame or fear — just like Cass would have loved being presented.
Buy this one if you love The Mamas & The Papas, biographies of famous musicians, or want to give someone who never sees herself in the media an opportunity to see her whole, fat, proud self. Also one worth buying if you love graphic novels in translation (it’s so good on that angle, too!). Borrow this one if you don’t fit those categories, as it should be a staple in library collections, for sure. Note that there is a lot of drug use here, but it’s nothing that anyone who knows about the band or the time period would be shocked to see…and it certainly doesn’t advocate for drug use as a means of, well, anything.
from Buy Borrow Bypass: Fat Girls Have Stories, Too http://bookriot.com/2017/01/30/buy-bo...
Cass’s life wasn’t a straight-line to success. It began humbly in Baltimore, following a series of failures of trying to make it in the big city of New York. Her voice was earning her a reputation, but the moment she and potential bandmates had an agent who offered to get them work, he informed her, as well as the rest of them, that in order for him to make them succeed, she needed to lose weight.
And to that, Cass said hell no. You take me as I am.
Her outright refusal to look a part is a theme throughout the book, and it’s what made this read far more than a biography of a legendary singer. It’s the story of any and every fat girl who has had a dream and who has been told that if she’d just look a little nicer, if she’d just lose a little weight, she’d be able to succeed. As if the shape of one’s body determines the size of her inherent, unquestionable talent.
Bagieu doesn’t shy away from rendering Cass’s fat body on the page, and she’s not afraid to pose Cass naked on the page, either. You will see a fat butt, fat rolls, and all of the things that are so often brushed over or ignored right on the page, without any shame or fear — just like Cass would have loved being presented.
Buy this one if you love The Mamas & The Papas, biographies of famous musicians, or want to give someone who never sees herself in the media an opportunity to see her whole, fat, proud self. Also one worth buying if you love graphic novels in translation (it’s so good on that angle, too!). Borrow this one if you don’t fit those categories, as it should be a staple in library collections, for sure. Note that there is a lot of drug use here, but it’s nothing that anyone who knows about the band or the time period would be shocked to see…and it certainly doesn’t advocate for drug use as a means of, well, anything.
from Buy Borrow Bypass: Fat Girls Have Stories, Too http://bookriot.com/2017/01/30/buy-bo...
February 17, 2021
Me ha maravillado cómo este cómic cuenta la historia de Mama Cass a través de los ojos de las personas que le rodearon y que toman la palabra en cada capítulo. Me ha maravillado la expresividad de los dibujos y el nivel de detalle de los personajes y las situaciones. Pero no he entendido una estructura que es extremadamente exhaustiva en los años juventud de la protagonista y en sus inicios en la música y que, justo cuando esta empieza a alcanzar la fama, termina la historia con un par de gigantescas elipsis. Es como si este fuera el primer volumen de la biografía y, al terminarlo, tuviésemos la oportunidad de leer un segundo libro en el que se hablase de sus años de gloria, su fulgurante carrera en solitario, su maternidad y su muerte. Para mí ha sido un libro de cinco estrellas hasta que veía cómo cada vez quedaban menos páginas e intuía que la historia se zanjaría a medias. Podría haber sido un cómic que saciase todo el interés que cualquier lector pudiese tener en Cass Elliot pero, al final, se queda solo en un apetitoso aperitivo.
March 16, 2018
This was so good!
I knew almost nothing about Mama Cass. I literally didn't hear California Dreamin' in my head until the very last page of this GN (which is remarkable because that song is referenced a tonne in this book). I picked this book up because it was an acclaimed GN, about a popular music figure, who was a fat woman.
And it was awesome. She was a fascinating figure, and the way this story is told is really smart. Different vignettes, each from the perspective of a different person in her life.
I wish the illustrations themselves had been inked a little darker - it feels like scrawly pencil - but the panel/composition placement was really clear and engaging.
Great stuff.
I knew almost nothing about Mama Cass. I literally didn't hear California Dreamin' in my head until the very last page of this GN (which is remarkable because that song is referenced a tonne in this book). I picked this book up because it was an acclaimed GN, about a popular music figure, who was a fat woman.
And it was awesome. She was a fascinating figure, and the way this story is told is really smart. Different vignettes, each from the perspective of a different person in her life.
I wish the illustrations themselves had been inked a little darker - it feels like scrawly pencil - but the panel/composition placement was really clear and engaging.
Great stuff.
February 18, 2016
Une chouette BD sur Cass Eliott, voix de caractère du groupe The Mamas and the Papas - et ça donne envie de mieux connaître le groupe (pour peu qu'on soit une novice comme moi !)
Le trait de Pénélope est toujours parfaitement expressif, même dans un style crayonné comme ici, qui, de prime abord, donne un air plus brut que les cases bien soignées de ses précédentes BDs.
Enfin, le personnage de Cass est habilement observé à travers les personnes qui la côtoient, même si du coup, je trouve qu'il manque un peu de la voix de Cass elle même... Mais c'est passionnant tout de même et se lit avec grand plaisir (et en écoutant des chansons du groupe évidement !)
Le trait de Pénélope est toujours parfaitement expressif, même dans un style crayonné comme ici, qui, de prime abord, donne un air plus brut que les cases bien soignées de ses précédentes BDs.
Enfin, le personnage de Cass est habilement observé à travers les personnes qui la côtoient, même si du coup, je trouve qu'il manque un peu de la voix de Cass elle même... Mais c'est passionnant tout de même et se lit avec grand plaisir (et en écoutant des chansons du groupe évidement !)
December 27, 2015
J'ai beaucoup aimé les dessins de Pénélope Bagieu qui suggère simplement et laisse notre imagination faire le reste. Jolie découverte de la vie de Cass Eliott membre du groupe des Mamas and Papas. C'est abordé de manière originale, à chaque chapitre on a une vision de Cass par l'un de ses proches. En revanche, avec toutes ses différentes visons le lecteur à un peu de mal à se faire un point de vu sur Cass Eliott mais en même temps on s'en fiche parce qu'on referme cette BD avec le grand sourire!!! coeur coeur
Read
February 4, 2017I knew little about "Mama Cass" from The Mamas & The Papas and this graphic biography was an excellent look into the life of one badass, fat-positive, Jewish lady who found success despite what the world wanted her to be. Bagieu's style really lent itself to portraying her in an appealing, accessible light. Perfect for fans of the band, of music history, and of girls who don't look the norm succeeding because they choose to do so for their damn selves.
February 27, 2017
L'histoire rocambolesque et touchante de Cass, chanteuse de The Mamas & The Papas. J'ai été conquise par cette nana pêchue, talentueuse, forte et féminine ! Je trouve que son parcours est un bel exemple pour les jeunes filles : s'accrocher à ses rêves, garder la banane et ne pas se laisser influencer par les diktats physique. Bien sûr, tout n'est pas rose mais l'essentiel est là ! Je recommande !
February 24, 2016
J'ai tout simplement dévoré et adoré cette BD ! Les dessins sont magnifiques, les personnages attachants, et l'histoire de Cass Elliot passionnante. Un énorme coup de cœur pour California Dreamin' qui m'a fait découvrir les prémisses du groupe mythique The Mamas & The Papas ❤️
May 5, 2017
I've read dozens* of graphic novel biographies and have come to dread the experience as they are so often dry and dull as dirt. But I keep trying because once in a while you get an amazing little gem like this. I've never been a huge Mamas and Papas fan - I have a greatest hits album - but through Bagieu's pen, Mama Cass comes alive as a riveting if tragic figure. I'd really love to see a second volume.
* Okay, I just checked my personal book database, and the number is actually 90. And only nine of those would rate three-stars or above. (Hey! Sturgeon's Law in action!)
* Okay, I just checked my personal book database, and the number is actually 90. And only nine of those would rate three-stars or above. (Hey! Sturgeon's Law in action!)
May 23, 2020
Loved the artwork.... just lovely....
I’m definitely going to hunt down more by this illustrator.... I’m now a total fan! 💕
I’m definitely going to hunt down more by this illustrator.... I’m now a total fan! 💕
January 10, 2016
"I år borde jag verkligen läsa mina hyllvärmare"-intentionen", what's the bloody point? Nej, jag älskar när ett gott, nytt, fritt läsår rullar ut sig framför mig. Alla dessa möten med ny litteratur. Ny för mig, alltså. Besök i bokhandeln, i det här fallet nyligen expanderade La Page i South Ken.
Börjar som en uppväxtskildring, lite i Alice Bechdel-anda. Olika perspektiv i varje kapitel. Så småningom inser jag att de olika karaktärerna är bandmedlemmarna i The Mamas & The Papas och att Cass Elliot är själva huvudpersonen. Sista tredjedelen handlar om tillkomsten av sången 'California Dreaming'. En delvis fiktiv biografi.
Fantastisk!
Här, i Läsdagboken, skrev jag om mitt första möte med Bagieu i Brest. http://lasdagboken.blogdns.com/2011/i...
Börjar som en uppväxtskildring, lite i Alice Bechdel-anda. Olika perspektiv i varje kapitel. Så småningom inser jag att de olika karaktärerna är bandmedlemmarna i The Mamas & The Papas och att Cass Elliot är själva huvudpersonen. Sista tredjedelen handlar om tillkomsten av sången 'California Dreaming'. En delvis fiktiv biografi.
Fantastisk!
Här, i Läsdagboken, skrev jag om mitt första möte med Bagieu i Brest. http://lasdagboken.blogdns.com/2011/i...
April 5, 2018
This is a well written and illustrated graphic novel about the early life of Ellen Cohen, better known as Cass Elliot. She was the beautiful voice of the 60's folk group, The Mamas & The Papas. I've always loved their music and I think Cass is the reason why the group was such a success.
Read
September 12, 2021▫️CALIFORNIA DREAMIN': Cass Elliot Before The Mamas and The Papas, translated by Nanette McGuinness, 2017.
Long-form graphic biography of Ellen Cohen "Mama Cass", beloved singer and songwriter from the 1960s folk rock band The Mamas and the Papas. Bagieu introduces Cass's childhood and early life and her background in vocal music to the drama-filled days and struggles with her band, and the song writing experience for their mega-hit "California Dreaming" in 1965.
It's a passion project devoted to an incredible musician and her life's work.
Long-form graphic biography of Ellen Cohen "Mama Cass", beloved singer and songwriter from the 1960s folk rock band The Mamas and the Papas. Bagieu introduces Cass's childhood and early life and her background in vocal music to the drama-filled days and struggles with her band, and the song writing experience for their mega-hit "California Dreaming" in 1965.
It's a passion project devoted to an incredible musician and her life's work.
February 1, 2018
Avec un titre pareil, évidemment, il est impossible de ne pas penser à la chanson culte du groupe « The mamas and the papas », ce que je ne savais pas, en prenant ce livre à ma bibliothèque municipale c’est que c’était une biographie de l’une des chansons du groupe, celle qui avait la merveilleuse voix : Mama Cass. L’auteure Pénélope Bagieu nous a maintenant habituée à retranscrire les destins de femmes célèbres (grâce à ses deux tomes de « Culotées » qui sont une pure merveille et que je conseille à tous !) et du coup, évidemment, encore une fois, je suis tombée sous le charme de cette histoire. D’abord parce que cela parle de musique, à une époque qui fait rêver (les années 60) et aussi parce que cela met en lumière le talent et la personnalité d’une femme hors-norme dans tous les sens du terme. Mama Cass est décédée en 1974 mais Pénélope a choisi de ne pas aller jusqu’à son décès dans cette histoire, c’est plutôt ses années de galère, de découvertes musicales (le Folk puis le Rock). Il y a un passage qui m’a particulièrement émue c’est le moment de l’assassinat de JF Kennedy. Voir Ellen/Cass s’effondrer en pleurs, avec au-dessus d’elle l’esprit de Kennedy et de son père (décédé lui aussi) qui essayent de la consoler. Pénélope Bagieu ne nous cache rien des travers de l’univers des groupes musicaux de l’époque avec, notamment, la drogue à gogo…..L’auteure a choisi d’illustrer son histoire avec un style épuré en noir et blanc, au crayon à papier. Personnellement, j’aurai préféré de la couleur et des contours plus nets « à l’encre » mais bon, cela n’enlève rien à la qualité du récit, c’est juste une histoire de goût personnels. Je vous recommande évidemment totalement cette BD et pour ma part, cela m’a donné envie de me replonger dans la discographie de ce groupe qui nous a quand pondu de sacrées chansons cultes que tout le monde connaît encore maintenant, plus de quarante ans après la disparition de Mama Cass !
Ma note : 18/20
Ma note : 18/20
May 19, 2016
Conquise par le trait qui diffère de ce qu'on connaît de Pénélope Bagieu, conquise par l'histoire de Cass, que j'ai entièrement découverte. Evidemment le titre m'évoquait la chanson... mais je suis entrée dans l'histoire sans savoir de quoi ça parlait précisément. Et j'ai adoré ! Vraiment une belle BD.
December 13, 2017
The cover of this book shows a super sassy ready to take on the world young adult Cass Elliot and I was just reading gr reviews of the book and one reviewer starts off by saying how confident Elliot was. And in the very next sentence (without realizing, I think), the same reviewer says how insecure Elliot was. These are the many faces of Cass Elliot. Someone who wants to hide by being larger than life--hide in her own shadow? Or who wants simply to perform and be appreciated and loved for her talents? Or whose talents are at least partially born in an effort to protect herself from scrutiny and rejection, to draw attention toward and away from herself? It seems she is always dealing with the scrutiny of people who think and also say, basically, that her talents are overshadowed by her weight, but I think they are inextricably linked somehow. And yet...I just watched a video of CE and John Denver singing Leaving On a Jetplane and the Cass Elliot here is quiet, subdued, considerate. She encourages listeners to vote in a very undramatic, thoughtful speech. And then she withdraws into the background while Denver sings the verses of the song and she comes in untheatrically for the chorus. Not at all the dramatic and attention seeking kid represented in this graphic bio. And maybe this is because she's older, and maybe it is because her complexity and capacity for being down to earth and unperformative isn't fully captured here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKdkn...
This bio is far from perfect, but I like it. It paints a picture of someone who wants to hold people close and wants to keep them at a distance. Who wants to be appreciated for who she is and who is often appreciated despite who she is. What becomes clear to me is that Elliot is complex, driven, and talented, and drawn both toward and away from the proverbial spotlight. In none of the videos I've been watching do I see someone as ebullient and perhaps manic as the young Elliot in Bagieu's California Dreamin'. But there's a tip of the hat to the mythologizing of Elliot and this book doesn't shy away from that. In moments it feels like a kind of superhero origin story. In others like a comedy Elliot would have appreciated. In others moments, it's more like a sad love song for someone who left us too soon.
Structurally, Bagieu does something I haven't seen much in graphic bios (perhaps not at all?) She creates fictionalized oral histories--offers a different narrator for each section of the book, as if interviewing the people in Elliot's life and illustrating their musings. Narrators include Cass's sister, brother, high school friends, music teacher, father, mother, bandmates, etc. I didn't always love the shifting voices and sometimes jumpy movement and I do think the book was a bit short (we get glimpses more than we get a full, satisfying narrative.) But with all its flaws, I do recommend this book. It's smart, interesting, affectionate, awkward, ebullient, forthright, and evasive. Perhaps a bit like Elliot herself (the one drawn in these pages.)
CA Dreamin' opens in 1965 with a prologue in which Elliot fans are front and center. A framing device meant, I think, to show how beloved CE was as a performer and a role model--a maternal figure with the courage to show up as herself in the face of social pressure and media pressure to be waif-like and 'ethereal'. (skinnier and less Jewish?)
After the prologue, the book heads back to Cass's early childhood and moves chronologically, broken into short chapters each narrated by different people in Cass's life. In this way, it takes us through time all the way back to 1965, and the beginning of the book (comes full circle with the framing).
Bagieu reflects on CE's complicated relationships with family, friends, band members, etc. And we get to see in action what a fist rate creep John Phillips is (at least that's my impression) and what a confused and confusing relationship Cass has with Denny and Michelle.
Michelle's section struck me as the strangest--this skinny blond waifish waspy woman who both John and Denny are in love with not really getting why Cass feels resentment toward her. I imagine their feelings toward each other must have been complicated and confused. In a way, neither could have existed without the other, at least as far as the Mammas and Pappas goes. Cass, a big, Jewish, non-conventionally attractive woman with an indomitable voice. Michelle, a pale, shaky-voiced, conventionally attractive '70s waif. Their voices and personas complemented each other and made the band accessible and consumable to the culture at the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKdkn...
This bio is far from perfect, but I like it. It paints a picture of someone who wants to hold people close and wants to keep them at a distance. Who wants to be appreciated for who she is and who is often appreciated despite who she is. What becomes clear to me is that Elliot is complex, driven, and talented, and drawn both toward and away from the proverbial spotlight. In none of the videos I've been watching do I see someone as ebullient and perhaps manic as the young Elliot in Bagieu's California Dreamin'. But there's a tip of the hat to the mythologizing of Elliot and this book doesn't shy away from that. In moments it feels like a kind of superhero origin story. In others like a comedy Elliot would have appreciated. In others moments, it's more like a sad love song for someone who left us too soon.
Structurally, Bagieu does something I haven't seen much in graphic bios (perhaps not at all?) She creates fictionalized oral histories--offers a different narrator for each section of the book, as if interviewing the people in Elliot's life and illustrating their musings. Narrators include Cass's sister, brother, high school friends, music teacher, father, mother, bandmates, etc. I didn't always love the shifting voices and sometimes jumpy movement and I do think the book was a bit short (we get glimpses more than we get a full, satisfying narrative.) But with all its flaws, I do recommend this book. It's smart, interesting, affectionate, awkward, ebullient, forthright, and evasive. Perhaps a bit like Elliot herself (the one drawn in these pages.)
CA Dreamin' opens in 1965 with a prologue in which Elliot fans are front and center. A framing device meant, I think, to show how beloved CE was as a performer and a role model--a maternal figure with the courage to show up as herself in the face of social pressure and media pressure to be waif-like and 'ethereal'. (skinnier and less Jewish?)
After the prologue, the book heads back to Cass's early childhood and moves chronologically, broken into short chapters each narrated by different people in Cass's life. In this way, it takes us through time all the way back to 1965, and the beginning of the book (comes full circle with the framing).
Bagieu reflects on CE's complicated relationships with family, friends, band members, etc. And we get to see in action what a fist rate creep John Phillips is (at least that's my impression) and what a confused and confusing relationship Cass has with Denny and Michelle.
Michelle's section struck me as the strangest--this skinny blond waifish waspy woman who both John and Denny are in love with not really getting why Cass feels resentment toward her. I imagine their feelings toward each other must have been complicated and confused. In a way, neither could have existed without the other, at least as far as the Mammas and Pappas goes. Cass, a big, Jewish, non-conventionally attractive woman with an indomitable voice. Michelle, a pale, shaky-voiced, conventionally attractive '70s waif. Their voices and personas complemented each other and made the band accessible and consumable to the culture at the time.
November 9, 2018
I picked this up because I am a huge sucker for Pénélope Bagieu's style. I've never had much interest in the Mamas & the Papas and don't know anything about the band, really, apart from the fact that Mama Cass was the main attraction. It's beautifully drawn and colored, but the story leaves a little something to be desired. I'll likely revisit it in a year or two and see how I feel then.
March 23, 2017
When I started hearing buzz about this, I knew I definitely had to read it being the 60s music kid I am. I enjoy The Mamas and the Papas, but I've never been in lovvvve with them or anything, so I wasn't holding the bar too high. But dang! I ended up really loving this!!! I don't think I looked into the dramarama of the M&Ps since watching their VH1 Behind the Music or something in the 90s, so I forget just how *much* dramarama there was. So apart from this being super juicy, it was also an excellent presentation of a talented, complicated woman fighting the haters over her weight, her attitude, and her persistence. I was hooked by the story early enough, but wasn't sold on the amateurish art until about halfway through when it started growing on me--it has that sort of crude feel that Lynda Barry has (the era being similar, too, to much of her work), and you know Lynda Barry is my everything. So win-win all around! Pardon me as I go listen to everything Cass Elliot...
December 20, 2015
BD très réussie sur un personnage ultra charismatique, dont je ne connaissais que très peu de choses avant de lire ce livre. J'ai beaucoup aimé le dessin et le parti pris de Pénélope Bagieu de tout faire au crayon de bois. L'alternance des différents points de vue est également une grande réussite et apporte beaucoup d'humanité aux personnages. Seul bémol, autant l'enfance et l'adolescence de Cass sont émouvantes et pleine d'humour, autant sa love story à sens unique avec Denny Doherty m'a moins intéressée. Malgré tout, une BD que je recommande chaudement.
November 14, 2020
Mi piace molto lo stile di questa autrice, che è accurato e originale, ma ciò che mi ha colpito particolarmente in questo lavoro è lo script. La sceneggiatura di questa graphic novel è davvero ben scritta, con tempi narrativi perfetti. E poi c'è la storia pazzesca di Cass Elliot: inarrestabile, determinata anche con tutte le sue insicurezze, completamente fuori dall'ordinario. Semplicemente fantastica!
October 4, 2016
Tout simplement GENIAL ! J'ai tout aimé !!! ♡
My Review :)
My Review :)
April 18, 2017
My first exposure to Bagieu was a couple of years ago and another of her First Second books, Exquisite Corpse. I enjoyed that book, I remember, at least the first three quarters of it. This biography of Cass Elliot, though, works well throughout. I particularly appreciate Bagieu's mode of storytelling and her use of narrators/focalizers in telling Elliot's tale.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 500 reviews