The precursors

Here are a number of books that also feature Lapinot, but were not published as part of the formidables aventures, either because they were not formidable enough, or too short, or too long. With the exception of Galopinot and Désœuvré, all of them were published before the formidables aventures series was started.


Un intérieur d'artiste

Un intérieur d'artiste

Paris: L'Association, 1991

English: "Inside an artist" (no English edition available)
German: "Das Innenleben eines Künstlers". (no German edition available)

Summary:
A mysterious visitor comes to the painter Antonio Lapin to buy his artistic inspiration.

Review:
I haven't read this book yet, but you can check out the reviews of Gaïs and François (in French). According to them, Lewis was not happy with the story and never returned to it, so when it went out of print, there was never a new edition.

Order: n/a (out of print)


Lapinot et les carottes de Patagonie

Lapinot et les carottes de Patagonie

Paris: L'Association, 1992
(Collection Ciboulette ; 7)

English: "Lapinot and the Carrots from Patagonia" (no English edition available)
German: "Lapinot und die Karotten aus Patagonien". (no German edition available)

Summary:
On his quest to uncover the mystery of the Patagonian carrots, Lapinot is caught in an adventure of Odysseyan proportions that involves fighting monsters and demons, and ultimately having to save the world.

Review:
A bizarre 500-page epic that some call the Ulysses of comics. It's hard to say just what exactly is going on — but then even Lapinot doesn't know. Lewis claimed he drew the Carrots from Patagonia to practice drawing, and you can see his style change significantly throughout the book. The plot moves on by sheer free association; yet it's never boring. It's already a cult book and it will surely make its way into the comics annals as a true classic.

Order: French edition


Slaloms

Slaloms

Paris: L'Association, 1993
(Collection Ciboulette ; 3)
[This volume was later completely redrawn in colour, with some of the dialogues rewritten. The revised version was published by Dargaud in 1997 as volume 0 of the series.]

English: "Slaloms" (no English edition available)
German: "Slaloms" (no German edition available)

Summary:
Lapinot, Richard, Titi and Pierrot take a week off to go skiing.

Review:
See regular album.

Order: n/a (out of print)


Mildiou

Mildiou

Paris: Le Seuil, 1994
(Collection Seuil ; 1)

English: "Mildew" (no English edition available)
German: "Mehltau". - Berlin: Reprodukt, 2000.

Summary:
The Middle Ages: Prince Mildiou, who is trying to usurp the throne of a small kingdom, takes exception to something that Lapinot said and spends the following 140 pages trying to kill him.

Memorable quote:
Lapinot (to Mildiou, who is attacking him with a huge wooden log): "Maybe you are acting like this now because you had a traumatic experience during childhood. Tell me all about it."

Review:
This prolonged game of catch is certainly funny for a while, especially as it does have a number of great moments, but at some point I still lost interest simply because I got tired of the chase and wanted something else to happen. Blacktown, which builds on a similar premise, is much more successful.

Order: French edition | German edition


Galopinot

Galopinot

(in collaboration with Mattt Konture)
Paris: L'Association, 1998
(Collection Pattes de Mouche ; 41)


English: "Galopinot" (no English edition available)
German: "Galopinot" (no German edition available)

Summary:
A meta-comic, in which Lewis Trondheim and Mattt Konture team up their heroes Lapinot and Galopu (hence the title "Galopinot") to have some interesting adventures. Constant interference from the two artists leads, however, to rather erratic situations.

Memorable quote:
Lapinot: "I will demand a bed and sleep for 16 pages. I have never been allowed to sleep for 16 pages."

Review:
A nice divertissement, funny enough if you're a fan and/or like meta-comics where authors and their characters interact. At a mere 22 pages, this is nothing too substantial, though.

Order: French edition


Galopinot

Désœuvré

Paris: L'Association, 2005
(Collection Eprouvette ; 1)


English: "Procrastinated" (no English edition available)
German: "Untätig" (no German edition available)

Summary:
Lewis Trondheim reflects on his creative crisis, which made him stop drawing comics during most of 2004. The Lapinot series is mentioned as an example of a successful series that he felt had to be stopped before it became boring. Lapinot's ghost appears and begs to differ.

Memorable quote:
Lewis: "It was getting predictable: Lapinot gets married... Lapinot becomes a granddad... Lapinot has a prostate operation..."
Lapinot: "So what if I wanted a prostate operation?"

Review:
Similar to Trondheim's other autobiographical comics, this provides an interesting insight into the artist's mind. It's an excellent exploration of the way he works, his aims, expectations and reflections on the creative process.

Order: French edition

© Copyright 2004-2005 Horst Prillinger, 

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