Vehlmann explains enough to keep a total newbie in the story, without lingering on the details to impress the old fans.īeyond that, though, Vehlmann does create a world where interesting things can happen. It’s been a couple years since I last read the Zorglub-centric books in the series, so I might as well have been going in blind. There are plenty of references to past Zorglub adventures in the book. The story, itself, is packed with small details to appeal to Spirou fans both new and old. Nobody’s going to be paying to have word balloons redrawn to fit text in better, unfortunately. There were a few times when it was clearly tricky to fit the translated text into the same balloons as the original French text, but I’m used to that by now. (Sadly, I did catch a couple of crossbar “I” shapes at the start of sentences. It’s not a perfect computer simulation of something else. It’s in all-caps except for the lowercase “I” letters, but it also has that organize feeling to it. I compared the two versions of the book, and they stuck to the original material very closely, often right down to the breaks in text in a single word balloon. Design Amorandi does an excellent job with their lettering/design work in this book in replicating the look and feel of the original French text. The font choice also feels more hand drawn than previous Spirou books from Cinebook. There are no perfect ovals or circles here. They’re just too imperfect to be a computer construction. I’d bet that they’re hand drawn on the page.
The word balloons often change shape to reflect that, too. There’s a lot of bold faced text to indicate stress or loudness. The font ranges in size according to how animated the speaker is. I love a good squirrel sidekick, and Spip is my favorite. I’m sure they just hear this squeaky voice when he talks, but we get to hear him talking out loud in language we understand. They’re not having a conversation with him or anything. He’s still not understood by the other characters.
In this book, he’s speaking out loud regularly, throwing in some punchlines of his own. It’s usually in the form of thought balloons, though, and is not something you see too much of. Spip is also a more active character than usual. It’s no wonder that his current work is with Supergroom - Spirou as a superhero. Particularly during the action scenes, he composes some of the panels in very dynamic ways. Repeatedly, when I see his work, I have to think that he has taken some influence from superhero comics. He also feathers his lines and adds lot of textures to the world around the characters. He uses a lot of solid black areas, partial silhouettes, and thicker black lines to separate his layers. Every action is dynamic.įrom a technical point of view, Yoann’s work feels very ink-heavy. Their every pose is pushed a little bit further than most artists would go. He gets in close on the action, where characters flail wildly in their action moments. Yoann maintains the classic storytelling style of the masters while working in an art style that adds so much energy to the page. There’s a lot of action and bold images in this book. It’s in the same ballpark, yet uniquely his own. At its core, you can clearly trace the lineage of Yoann’s line down from Franquin through Janry and José-Luis Munuera. There’s a lot to soak in with this book, which almost entirely takes place in what is essentially a fantasy world. Following Spirou and Fantasio on their journey into this strange world is what holds your attention.
#SPIROU AND FANTASIO SERIES#
This isn’t a book that relies on a deep story or a complicated series of plot twists to keep your attention. Spirou and Fantasio have to run to the rescue: find Champignac, discover what’s going on, and defeat Zorglub.īut you know what? It’s an awful lot of fun and a visual treat. The result is that the entire town has been transformed into an overgrown forest dominated by strange animals, giant mushrooms, and crazy overgrowth. Silly old mushroom-based scientist Champignac has been outwitted once again by Zorglub. Original Title: “Alerte aux Zorkons” Writer: Fabien Vehlmann Artist: Yoann Colors: Hubert Translator: Jerome Saincantin Letterers: Design Amorandi Published by: Cinebook/Dupuis Number of Pages: 56 Original Publication: 2010
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