Review: Palaces, Simon Hureau
From Editions Cargo de La Nuit – by Pierre Andricq.
Read the original in French at:
Machine translation:
At the time of a meeting around the Comic strip organized at the end of October 2004 in the French Arts centre of Cambodia, Alain Daniel, guest to draw up a panorama of this kind in Kampuchea, very precisely recalled it: the French-speaking comic strips treating or evoking this country are not legions.
The list of works whose screen is located at the Khmer country reduces indeed – and while seeking well – to maximum ten references among which one will find best like the worst since the album of Jacques Martin: The Column in the series of Lefranc (undoubtedly the worst) to splendid water and the ground of the French-Cambodian author Séra (Phouséra Ing) recently published by Delcourt; while passing by one of the episodes of the adventures of Sleeve-board pointed drawn by Marc Wasterlain: The green Dragon, or even the appointment of Angkor de Fromental…
At least succeeded of this production, the French-speaking reader residing in Cambodia will be able legitimately to reproach certain historical improbabilities, even in certain cases a too great distance with his reality social and economic, passed or present.
In any event, these weaknesses could not be charged to this beautiful album of Simon Hureau entitled Palaces published by Ego like X, publisher born here are ten years in Angouleme, in the “Holy of Holies” of the French comic strip. De luxe hotels is a true “paving stone” of comic strips (150 pages!) who wants to be an account of voyage in which the author puts in scene itself at the time of a visit that it returns working to European friends for a Cambodian foundation of assistance to underprivileged childhood. It “offers” an immersion in this country – out of the beaten paths – of which it returns account to the wire of seven small stories which walk the reader since the impossible to circumvent temples of Angkor until Bokor, while passing by Kompong Cham, Kompong Thom, and Phnom Penh…
A genuine guide of Cambodia ultimately, at the same time poetic and very realistic, where nothing seems to escape from the glance sharp-edged from Simon Hureau: fauna, flora, the beauty of the temples, but also, the misery and distress of people still traumatized by the wounds of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Admittedly, the graphic style of this young author born in Caen in 1977 and graduate of the Higher School of Arts-déco of Strasbourg will be able désarçonner holding them of a comic strip “traditional” directly inspired by the school of the “clear line”, Palaces is essential nevertheless like excellent “a precipitate” of Cambodia of today at the same time tender, tragic and full with humour.
Editeur
Ego comme X
5, rue Massillon
16000 – Angoulême – France
Date d’édition
2003
Pagination
152 pages
I.S.B.N
2-910946-35-5
Prix
28 €
Pierre Andricq
Chronique “ Que lire cette semaine? ”
publiée par Cambodge Soir
Ego comme X
5, rue Massillon
16000 – Angoulême – France
Date d’édition
2003
Pagination
152 pages
I.S.B.N
2-910946-35-5
Prix
28 €
Pierre Andricq
Chronique “ Que lire cette semaine? ”
publiée par Cambodge Soir
