2023-11-22 05:52:00
More than a quarter of a century following the death of its father and the legal disputes which delayed the release of this album, “The Return of Lagaffe” is finally in booksellers’ bins.
Remote meeting with the Quebec author who made his name with the successful series of gags Les nombrils, created with Maryse Dubuc (more than 2.5 million copies sold to date).
How did you experience these legal disputes surrounding the resumption of Gaston?
“It was really a surprise for me. I thought that everything was in order. There was a contract between the publisher and the Franquin family. Everything seemed in order to me. I told myself that he owed a point of justice which eluded me, so I stayed behind.”
Volume 22 of the adventures of Lagaffe by Delaf. ©Dupuis
Was the album finished at that time?
“Not at all. I still had a lot of work left. But hey, I told myself that I was going to continue. For me, for pleasure and to continue learning by rubbing shoulders with this universe that I knew by heart for ‘having been through so many times as a reader. I wanted to finish this album and do it to the best of my ability and too bad if it never came out. In fact, what was hardest was the waiting.”
Did you know this universe well?
“I was a huge fan. Franquin was my idol. I had the green sweater, the Gaston socks. For a Halloween party, I even dressed up as Gaston. I ate Gaston whenever I might. So, When I received the offer to take on the character, I took it with great humility, gratitude, and happiness.”
How did this takeover proposal come regarding?
“The Spirou magazine asked me to do a tribute page to Gaston with my style for the 60th anniversary of the character’s appearance. I did a Franquin-style page because that was what seemed best to me. more natural as a tribute. The publisher really liked it and offered to make an album.”
A dream for you?
“Obviously, but it took me a while to say yes. First, I was on a Navel adventure, then, you don’t make an album like you sign a tribute sheet. Even if I knew the universe at my fingertips, I had to take the time to understand this world even better. To understand how Franquin drew. I had to create my own graphic charter. Even with everything I knew, I was not certain of success and I especially did not want to betray the spirit of Franquin.”
Was it a long road?
“It took time. I knew that my first boards would be thrown away and they were. I had to find the right tone not only on the graphics but also on the stories. Gaston, it’s a very particular sense of humor . A critique of multi-layered society with a gentle and humorous approach. I created my specifications. I also took the elements that I wanted to find in this album such as Monsieur De Mesmaeker, the bowling ball or the Gaffophone. I wanted an album that was obviously in the spirit of Franquin but I didn’t want absolute mimicry. After a while, I understood that we shouldn’t just do Franquin. I I’m not Franquin. I will never have his drawing, his humor.”
Do you leave the character in the era where Franquin placed him?
“It was very complicated. Gaston is a timeless character but might I transpose him to our time? It was a real question. The more I thought regarding it, the more I told myself that doing something contemporary didn’t make sense. I should have positioned myself in relation to our world. I didn’t want to make Franquin speak through my Gaston. So I preferred to keep him in his golden age, the end of the 60s, beginning of the 1960s. 70.”
The more you encounter this universe, the more you have to find your place? Is a second album already in preparation?
“Not at all and I don’t know if there will be a second Gaston. I signed a contract for an album. Dupuis seems very happy but I’m going to take my time, I need to breathe. I just stopped by four difficult but exceptional years. I know that I am privileged, I was able to spend a lot of time with the people who accompanied me when I was a kid and a teenager, it’s fantastic. But today, really, It’s too early to make a decision on a future Gaston. I’ve always acted on instinct and that’s still what’s going to happen. We’ll see, but I think the decision will come fairly quickly. Which is true , is that over the course of the boards, the gags, I realized that I might not match Franquin with my drawing, but I put my guts into it to create the best gags, the best album. I left my ego aside, the important thing is to respect what Franquin did with Gaston. Throughout the pages, I still had the impression of having understood something more in Franquin’s graphics. I told myself that I might go further graphically.”
So you’re going to rest on your desk like Gaston?
“Not really, I’m going to do a Dungeon with Johan Sfar and Lewis Trondheim. The latter, like Franquin, was decisive in my career as a cartoonist. Franquin made me want to make comics. A few years later, Trondheim, with his Lapinot, reconciled me with comics. He made me understand that comics are first and foremost a matter of writing. A good drawing will never save a bad story. A good story can be settle for an average drawing.”
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