Here is The white iris. The fortieth Asterix. Succeeding René Goscinny, madness. For Uderzo to try it was still okay. It was his too, the diehards, after all. But since then, the other fearless buyers? We had Jean-Yves Ferri for a few albums, and now we have Fabcaro. Without forgetting Didier Conrad, who plays the Uderzo for these guys. Everyone was crazy about the chives. Notice, if considered for succession, would you say no? Crazy dilemma. At the end of the transatlantic line, Fabrice Caro lets out a little laugh like letting go of ballast. “There is no good choice,” he readily concedes. When you take this up again, you don’t have the opportunity to fail. And if you don’t accept, you are the person who refused to make an Asterix, and it will haunt you until the end of your days. »
Fabcaro at Greg, Gotlib and Goscinny
“Despite everything,” he hastens to add, “the truth is that I really wanted to try. » That’s all Fabcaro, a cartoonist celebrated for almost twenty years for his insane handling of the absurd and his graphic daring. Go read his comics: Zai zai zai zai, that’s also genius. In addition, he writes astonishing novels and has an unusual career in singing. “It’s my nature, I think: I launch myself, and then come what may…”
In the not barred at forty kind, as they say in Quebec, he’s capable. With a notorious background. Consider that he also tested the Achilles Talon three times in place of the late Greg (The impetuous tribulations, from 2014 to 2016, with Serge Carrère for big noses and other beautiful curves). And remember that he dared to bring Gai-Luron up to date at Fluide Glacial from 2016 with the designer Pixel Vengeur! “Ah, it’s funny, I never noticed: all G’s, my three idols, my big three, Greg, Gotlib, Goscinny! »
An Asterix of the big family
The best part: Fabcaro is always good. Let’s say it: his Asterix looks at the miraculous. The white irisin the great tradition of Discordof Domain of the Gods and D’Obelix and company, reconnects with a simple and perfect idea: a clever Roman who arrives in Armorica with a terrifying assimilation plan. In this case, a man named Vicevertus developed a method that was already used in Rome to boost the morale of the troops: motivation through positive thinking.
Or the art of beguiling circumlocution, seductive aphorism and disarming charm. Basically, Vicevertus explains to Caesar, it is a matter of favoring the advantageous formulation by disguising the denigration to such an extent that everything takes a positive turn. The fact is that Vicevertus’ first contacts with the villagers are frightening because they set the tone. To Ordralfabétix, the seller of not-fresh fish: “Hello to you, noble merchant with the scent of kelp…” To Agecanonix, who grumbles against the foreigners who invade everything: “I like this robustness, a man whose superbly asserted wisdom does not equal to the lascivious body carved in marble…”
The anti-Zizanie
Everyone gets caught in this tone, except… Go read more. “ The white irisit’s a bit much the anti-Zizanie. Extreme positivism in place of exaggerated aggressiveness. It’s my favorite family of albums, when there is the village and a disruptive element that intervenes. As a screenwriter, it’s very rich: behaviors change and the characters are never as endearing as in their very human flaws. »
And as in the best Asterixes, our time takes its recipes for well-being. Didier Conrad, who joins the conversation, exclaims: “It’s true! It has collateral damage that we don’t think about, positive thinking. That and vegetables make me a complete idiot…” Fabcaro laughs. Holy Conrad! Everyone laughs.
The reader too: we don’t just smile while reading The white iris. We laugh. We laugh. We giggle. The scene of the Assurancetourix show, with its concert of kind comments from a softened audience (“It’s not my cup of goat, but I understand that we can like…”; “Yes, it is important to let audible minorities express themselves”), is funny as hell.
Laughing head and belly
Really laugh. The friends agree on this like thieves at a fair. Fabcaro: “As a reader of humor comics, I don’t just want to smile. This is my mission as an author: I try to seek out the laughter that comes from the belly. What springs forth. Laughter is still the bare minimum, right? »
This is even basic validation. The heirs – and beneficiaries – Anne Goscinny and Sylvie Uderzo are keeping an eye on things. Conrad: “They intervene, and that’s normal. We provide them with the album as close to the final result as possible, because they react like normal readers. Anne sometimes says: “My father wouldn’t have made such a person say that.” Sylvie, for her part, is mainly involved with Obélix, because it is her father’s invention, his addition, not included by Goscinny at the beginning. And we redid the cover at his request. » Fabcaro wishes them great bursts of joy, nothing less. “When they laugh, it’s all good, and we’re happy. » Conrad adds: “Well yes, what! »