The Initiates

Edition excerpt from The Initiates (2018): The sold out hardcover now in paperback. A nominee for the Slate Cartoonist Studio Award and winner of Gourmand magazine's best U.S. wine book translation, this graphic novel explores the nature of one's vocation and offers a look at the daily devotion to craft in two dissimilar professions. Étienne Davodeau is a comic artist—he doesn't know much about the world of winemaking. Richard Leroy is a winemaker—he's rarely even read comics. But filled with good will and curiosity, the two men exchange professions, and Étienne goes to work in Richard's vineyards and cellar, while Richard, in return, leaps into the world of comics. Providing a true-life representation of how both professions work, this insightful book investigates two fascinating fields, exploring each man's motivations and ultimately revealing that their endeavors and aspirations are not much different.