First published in 2008 under the title ArMen, this new edition (which takes the title of ArMen 43) pays a beautiful tribute to this superb comic strip and its author Briac. For this publication, all the texts have been rewritten and 6 new plates illustrating an epilogue, complete this tragic adventure.
We are in the middle of the war, in 1943. Nazi Germany has invaded France to its lighthouses. The lighthouse keepers had to share their habitat with soldiers. Not easy when it is a lighthouse at sea like the one of ArMen on the chaussée de Sein. There we find Paul-Marie Fanchec, a quiet keeper from Ouessant. Opposite him is a German lieutenant who questions his life just as much. This creates a tense in camera situation between the two characters who end up valuing each other without being able to say so.
This historically based scenario reminds us that it was not always easy to have the choice between rebelling and joining the resistance or capitulating and collaborating. Fortunately, our lighthouse keeper will not have to choose..
At first glance, the drawings of this comic strip are harsh, the characters with their very marked black eyes, the poorly detailed clothing, may surprise. But the reader is absorbed by the poisonous atmosphere that reigns between the German representatives and the lighthouse keepers. These drawings that show this lighthouse in the heart of the night, that describe Fanchec's silences, that explain the humid atmosphere in the heart of the storm, fit perfectly with this story. The reader is on the lighthouse, and can no longer leave it.
Lighthouses at sea are often places of huis clos, often tragic. In ArMen 43, the historical dimension of the story brings a plus to this comic book that all bdphile amateurs will appreciate to have in their library.
ArMen 43 - Briac
- Locus Solus Editions
- 24 x 32 cm
- 64 pages
- 17,00 euros
