(Carleton-sur-Mer) Through the window, Chaleur Bay sparkles in the sun. We’re not on vacation, but it almost feels like it. Talking about work by the sea already sounds less serious than in an office in the city…
It’s like comics, we point out to the author Martin Patenaude-Monette (Martin PM to his readers), invited like us to the International Journalism Festival at the end of May – documentary comics for him, comic reportage for me. Comics are often considered a literary genre that’s not really serious. Here, a little comic! Colorful drawings, not too much text, perfect for not racking your brains!
Except that in fact… it’s a decoy.
Martin PM’s most recent work is proof of this: the line is very simple, but the message is powerful. Throughout the pages ofA completely natural sacrifice (editions Atelier 10 + La Pastèque)his documentary comic book released at the beginning of the year, we dive deep into the world of Quebec legislation on the protection of biodiversity. A subject that is not particularly sexy, but which Martin PM skillfully popularizes with a lot of humor.
So, he is asked, why did you choose drawing to deal with such a complex subject?
“That’s a good question. Yesterday, historian Vincent Lemire [coauteur du roman graphique L’histoire de Jérusalem] mentioned that a comic book is probably less intimidating to read for the general public than a dense tome on the subject,” he says. He’s read a ton of essays on biodiversity protection. “But it’s not easy to access, even for someone who’s interested in the subject,” he admits.
The comic book catches the reader’s eye and attention, but it is also, quite simply, the favorite tool of this docu-comic artist. “It is with this medium that I am comfortable expressing my ideas, getting a message across.”
In comics, you can do a lot with very little means. A sheet of paper, a pen, and you can take the readers into the field, into the past, into the future. The readers understand that it didn’t happen exactly as in the staging, but that it makes reading easier.
Martin PM, cartoonist
A biologist by training and a cartoonist by passion, Martin PM decided 10 years ago to make comics his profession. Little by little, by publishing on his blog and producing his first fanzines – these small self-published albums that serve as promotional material for comic artists – he made a name for himself in the industry. “For a long time, I didn’t think I was going to make a living from it.”
ILLUSTRATION JUDITH LACHAPELLE LA PRESSE
Comic book author Martin Patenaude-Monette (Martin PM)
He finally concluded his last contract as a biologist in 2021. The realization ofA completely natural sacrifice took him three years. To illustrate the failures of biodiversity protection, he looked at citizen mobilization against three real estate projects in the greater Montreal area: the first in a forest in Saint-Jérôme, the second in Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot and the third in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville.
“A lot of people have told me they were angry when they read my book,” he says. And there’s good reason to be. The contradictions between the official discourse and what’s happening on the ground, the sometimes “creative” interpretation of regulations, the ineffectiveness of measures supposed to protect endangered species… And the dismay of citizens trying to find their way through this gibberish.
But the book also brings something else: hope.
With the pandemic, people have rediscovered the importance of being close to nature. Even here in Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent, where nature is very present, people are realizing that their small town, their small village is expanding more and more.
Martin PM
Citizens are not powerless against the “machine”. In some cases, their mobilization has been successful. “It was important to me that there be an opening on the avenues of solution”, says Martin PM. Give the tools to citizens, help them ask the right questions to elected officials. “The idea was not to overwhelm people and to give them a little hope.”
And to be able to dream in color, why not?
A completely natural sacrifice
Workshop 10 + Watermelon
176 pages
Summer questionnaire
What does your ideal summer look like?
“Camping or a long hike lasting several days, lost in the forest without cell service! Completely cut off from the news. I always appreciated this break when I went camping in the Laurentians with my parents every summer. We no longer had the newspaper and we couldn’t get the radio.”
If you could have a drink with any celebrity, it would be…
“I would love to have a drink with independent journalist Inès Laraud, who investigated the pork industry in Brittany and the phenomenon of green algae tides. She wrote one of the biggest best-selling comic strips in recent years in the French-speaking world. Her work is a great source of inspiration for me.”
Any suggestions for comics for the holidays?
I’m going, but I’m afraid. We discover the journey of the navigator Clarisse Crémer. I like the slightly messy, but very lively, style of Maud Bénézit who takes us out to sea. It is a reading that allows us to take a step back from our hectic pace of life.
Sarah’s movie. Here we stay in Quebec, but we are no less disoriented. Caroline Lavergne takes us to Schefferville. She makes us discover this little-known corner of our territory, where we go to meet the Innu people and also the behind the scenes of the filming of a feature film.
In Thomas Pesquet’s jumpsuit. I am surprised to see that Marion Montaigne, popularizer and star comic book author, with a sometimes slightly trashy humor, is still little read in Quebec beyond comic book-loving scientists or the French diaspora. Follow here the training of French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, over several years, in Europe, Russia and the United States. It is very funny and instructive at the same time.
Who is Martin PM?
- A biologist by training, he worked for several years on research projects in ecology and wildlife management, notably for the Ministry of the Environment.
- An author and illustrator for a decade, he now devotes himself to popular science and documentary comics.
- Last winter he published A completely natural sacrifice published by Atelier 10 + La Pastèque, a major illustrated investigation into the failures of biodiversity in Quebec