Bert et Bobbie #[nn]

Kamagurka's deceptively simple linework gets a handsome French showcase in this Les Cahiers Dessinés collection, with a preface by François Delvoye adding welcome context to the fun. The cover says it all in one gloriously absurd image: a stocky, gap-toothed man in a green sweater and blue jeans strikes a wide-legged stance, fists clenched and grimacing, while a flattened little dog peers out helplessly from beneath his feet. It's the kind of deadpan, physical comedy that makes Kamagurka's work so irresistibly entertaining, and 2013 is a fine year to discover — or revisit — Bert and Bobbie's charms.