Being a comic book reader as a child does not mean that we remain so as adults. Without pretending to offer any kind of sociological analysis, this is sometimes the observation I make when I talk to people about it.
How does one begin to get acquainted with comics in the first place? For our guest of the day, it was through his older brother and sister that comic books entered his life at a very early age. The family library was full of Tintin, Asterix & Obelix… and Buck Danny, which his older brother collected. As far as I’m concerned, comics have always circulated freely at home. They’re part of my landscape and have never left it. From my father’s American comics, through manga and, more recently, graphic novels, to comic strips with a clear line, everything’s there!
During our conversations, one thing caught my attention. Andreas reminded me that reading a comic book doesn’t necessarily require 1) knowing how to read 2) being a great reader or 3) mastering the language. In his family, German is the mother tongue and the language of use. But the comic books in the house were in French. So, the little boy, who wasn’t particularly interested in reading and didn’t yet know French very well, was nevertheless curious and keen to delve into this medium. A comic strip can be seen as a whole, in all its details and ellipses. You can also flip through the pages, then come back to them, linger on them…
If time wasn’t so short, we could have talked about it for hours! Thank you, Andreas, for giving me this space to talk about our shared passion for comics.
Andreas and Gazengel walk in the jungle and discuss their passion for comics.
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Gazengel – History in a cardboard box
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Gazengel – Homepage
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Gazengel – Dear Professor