Fierce combat against the conventions of the story

A mythographer is a person who describes, explains, or composes myths. This is the profession of the protagonist of The Curse of Castelmaure, a writer who has been collecting stories for years while searching for the trail of the deceased King Eric, sovereign of the kingdom of Castelmaure. A good starting point for the latest work to arrive at our house from the formidable Lewis Trondheim (Fontainebleau, 1964), an author who is never where he is expected, accompanied by the pencil of another older one, Alfred (Grenoble, 1976).

After 40 years of career, Trondheim still dazzles with a unique imagination and humor. He has practiced all genres, from autobiography to adventure, passing through western, he noir, fantasy, children's comics, and experimental graphic essays. He has won it all and more; he has been an author, editor, animator, trade unionist, founder of the OuBaPo movement, and even a trophy designer—his is the Fauve at the Angoulême Festival. To give you an idea of his hectic pace, in 2020 alone, Castelmauro In France, Trondheim scripts five albums in the series The dungeon, draw and write a couple of installments of Lapinot and the first script for the crime series Karmela KrimmAlfred, for his part, comes from a family of artists where his creative juices were already being nurtured at a young age. He debuted in the world of comics at just 21 and won his first prize in Angoulême with Why I killed Pierre (Speaker Mon, 2007). In 2013 he was awarded the Fauve d'Or for the album Come Prima (Salamandra Graphic, 2014).

The Curse of Castelmaure It's a medieval tale that hides a thrilling adventure story. In the script, Trondheim constructs an intricate plot, filled with plot twists, with the basic elements of short stories and mystery novels. Alfred's fluid, Rabelais-esque drawings greatly contribute to immersing one in the story. He abandons his elegant, fine lines to adopt a cartoonish style, suited to the universe of innkeepers, uprooted people, pantinganas, witches, and medicine women who wander through the pages. Alfred shines with the help of the color palette inspired by medieval codices.

One of the discoveries in the album is the mythographic narrator, who allows the authors to introduce the sarcastic tone necessary to generate laughter and break with the conventions of the classics that inspire them. If there's no heroic duel at the end of the story, the protagonist already makes it happen, because endings require an epic life-or-death struggle. Like other members of his generation, Trondheim has dedicated himself to amalgamating genres, reinterpreting them and bringing them to his own territory: that of irreverent and innovative humor. This is the case with Castelmauro, a title that appeared in the collection Shampooing From Edicions Delcourt, created and directed by Trondheim in 2005, it has a pretty straightforward slogan: "It washes your hair and makes bubbles. Shampoo for older people who still know how to be little, and for little people who want to grow up." Here's who will enjoy these cartoons.