One of the very first autobiographical graphic novels to come from France, Lewis Trondheim’s APPROXIMATE CONTINUUM COMICS set the standard for the honest, often hilarious chronicling of a cartoonist’s life. Trondheim’s typically graceful, confident cartooning shows him wrestling with his own demons (sometimes, in dream sequences, literally) and an often malevolent world, while trying to maintain his rising career as one of Europe’s most beloved cartoonists.

APPROXIMATE CONTINUUM finally brings American readers the first portion of the “Trondheim autobio trilogy” that also comprises the Eisner nominated “At Loose Ends” meditation serialized in Mome (which will be released as a graphic novel in 2012) and the ongoing “Little Nothings” series of short slice-of-life stories (three to date from NBM Publishing).

This volume contains the first three chapters serialized in the Nimrod comic book, the last three (never-before-translated) chapters, and a hilarious “rebuttal” section in which Trondheim’s family and cartoonist friends (including Epileptic creator David B. and Trondheim’s mom) dispute (or ruefully agree with) Trondheim’s depictions. 160 pages of black-and-white and color comics