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"The Adventures of Hergé": Cartoon biography by Bocquet, Fromental & Stanislas

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jock123
Moderator
#1 · Posted: 23 Jun 2004 22:17
Has anyone else read this book? It is a biography of Hergé, done as a bande dessinée!
The authors are (José-Louis) Bocquet, (Jean-Louis) Fromental and Stanislas (Barthélémy), and they have taken him from age 10 until the news of his death in 1983.
It's nicely handled, and they've managed to balance the demands of being respectful without resorting to a white-wash, while also injecting a sense of fun and vivacity to the story.

Interestingly, they have not used a pastiche of his own style; instead it is in a loose, more cartoony vein that I would have associated with cartoonists of the 50s - sort of like Ludwig Bemelmans' line art. I wasn't certain if I liked it to begin with, but by the time I'd finished it I had grown to appreciate it a great deal.

There are little nods towards Hergé's own work in the pictures and text - little coloured stars to show someone knocked out, a curly line to show someone moving quickly, and even Hergé's startled attitude – when E.P. Jacobs demonstrates his singing! – is like Haddock.

It manages to convey some quite serious topics effectively, especially in terms of Hergé's relationship with his wife and his affair with Fanny, and in a chilling section dealing with Hergé's arrest by a committee of former resistance members after the liberation of Belgium.
He is only let go when Roger Leblanc speaks up for him, but the man with whom Hergé shared a cell is executed as Leblanc and Hergé talk about reviving his career.

Some pieces of information were totally new (at least I don't recall reading them elsewhere).
One that was very amusing is the arrival of a very agrieved actress on the set of Golden Fleece, in high dudgeon because her rôle as Castafiore has been cut from the script; as the scene is played out exactly as a real Castafiore moment, it is art imitating life, imitating art.

I am very glad I got it (I finally bought a copy in French, having seen it before in Dutch), and would recommend it to those wishing an accesible and rather charming version of the life of Hergé.
Harrock n roll
Moderator
#2 · Posted: 23 Jun 2004 23:55
Just to underline what Jock has said - it's a seminal work in my opinion and does convey a certain *something* that a documentary like say, Tintin et Moi never could.

And, although we've mentioned it before, it's worth seeking out the English version (if that's your prefered language) which was published in an edition of Drawn & Quarterly magazine. This is it at amazon.co.uk
jock123
Moderator
#3 · Posted: 24 Jun 2004 07:21
Thanks for that, Harrock n roll - I must get around to buying that translation: I wasn't aware of it, and I'm sure that there must be others in the same position.
I couldn't spot it listed anywhere in the sections on books in the List pages, so perhaps the title needs to be added?
MoonRocket
Member
#4 · Posted: 26 Mar 2005 02:56
I was at a local bookstore this evening and I picked up Drawn & Quarterly -- a book that showcases several comics.

I've never seen it before, but it's published in Canada and apparently it's released in volumes. I could be wrong though, because this is the first time I've seen it.

The one I bought is Volume Four, and the second feature in it is titled [i]The Adventures of Hergé/i].

It's written by Bocquet and Fromental and drawn by Stanislas.

Basically, it's a 56-page comic that is a biography of Hergé. It's funny and factual, and I was wondering if anyone else has seen this?
Moderator Note: It's come up before, so your post has been moved to this thread!
The Happy Tintinologist Team
jock123
Moderator
#5 · Posted: 26 Mar 2005 09:50
Stanislas also got a mention recently because of his By the Numbers getting an English translation.
Balthazar
Moderator
#6 · Posted: 9 Apr 2011 11:36
Having read it in Drawn and Quarterly, I agree with others that this is a great piece of work. I agree with Jock that it's beautifully drawn in its own non-Hergé, non-clear-line style.

The writer-artists use the comic-strip form brilliantly. Although, as far as I know, it's basically a factually correct biography, they play with the boundaries between Hergé's life and his work by making frequent visual and narrative references to the Tintin books (and in one case to a scene in E.P.Jacobs' The Yellow 'M').

In the Drawn and Quarterly version, the biography leaps forward in time between scenes, so that it's a series of episodes from key moments of Hergé's life, rather than a continuous full biography.
That works fine, and I've no reason to think that this forthcoming book version isn't the same as the Drawn & Quarterly version.
But I wouldn't complain if it turns out the creators have taken the opportunity to expand the work for this book and have written and drawn extra scenes from other parts of his life, just because their work's so good I'd like to have more of it! That's purely wishful speculation on my part though!
Balthazar
Moderator
#7 · Posted: 11 Apr 2011 18:35
Since posting my last post, I've had a look at some preview pages.

They show a scene from 1928 that doesn't actually feature in the version published in Drawn and Quarterly, so it looks like my wishful musings about this book being an expanded version may actually prove to be the case, which makes me look forward to its publication all the more!

I notice these two sample pages are in black and white, though, unlike the pages we've seen in Drawn and Quarterly which are all in colour.

I wonder whether these sample pages are yet to be coloured, or if they're using b/w for some of these new pages, or if the whole book version is to be in black and white?
mct16
Member
#8 · Posted: 11 Apr 2011 19:01
I seem to recall finding this book in Paris a few years ago and glancing through it. I believe that was in black-and-white back then.

Could be that Drawn and Quarterly asked for a colourised version because they thought that it would be more appealing.

Balthazar
Does you version dwell much on his relationship with Abbot Wallez who, on the second page of the preview, is examining Hergé's early drawings of Tintin and Snowy?
He was such a controversial figure that I would not be surprised if some editors felt it best to keep his role to a minimum.
george
Member
#9 · Posted: 11 Apr 2011 23:13
Balthazar:
I notice these two sample pages are in black and white, though, unlike the pages we've seen in Drawn and Quarterly which are all in colour. I wonder whether these sample pages are yet to be coloured, or if they're using b/w for some of these new pages, or if the whole book version is to be in black and white.

Well, moving away from FNAC to Bedetheque it appears that the 'original' was in colour, and there was then a B&W edition a few years later.

Going by the cover it looks like Drawn & Quarterly are going with the newest, full colour, and perhaps expanded (64pg vs 56pgs) this time around. Given their 'Art Comics' reputation, I'd be surprised if they requested a colourised version.

George
Tintinrulz
Member
#10 · Posted: 3 Nov 2011 01:52
Has anyone bought a copy of the book? It looks good, I might have to order a copy.

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