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E
Between 1945 and 1954, René Goscinny lived in New York. Like any good emigrant, he tried his luck to live the American dream. Disembarked from Buenos Aires where he had spent his childhood, his family had settled in the Big Apple following the death of his father. After a few months of finding his bearings and realizing that he wasn’t cut out for the life of an office worker, René decided to take charge and knock on the local publishers with a “book ” under the arm. Success was relative, but allowed him to meet a band of beginners destined to become famous (Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Will Elder, etc.). Rabid Cow tastes better if shared with friends. In the absence of dollars, he will have a good laugh and, casually, begins to learn the craft of storytelling. Another essential event, he crossed paths with Jijé and Morris, then at the start of their legendary American adventure. Discussions, recommendations, exchanges of ideas and a certain weariness made Goscinny finally decide to cross the Atlantic again and go and knock on the door of Georges Troisfontaines, the boss of the World press where a certain Albert Uderzo was already working, but This is another story.
Biographical and analytical essay, Goscinny in New York looks back on these crucial years for the creator ofAsterix. You have to bear in mind that when he arrived in New York, Goscinny was only nineteen and, apart from a few dreams of becoming an artist, he still had everything in life to discover. The coming months will prove crucial for the young man. Trying to understand this situation, Clément Lemoine first becomes a historian and meticulously traces the comings and goings of the father of the Little Nicholas. This first part provides a better understanding of the reality and the daily difficulties of the newcomer. These are important, because they will mark him forever and will serve him, once derided, to feed future scenarios.
In the second part of the work, the biographer becomes a professor of literature and submits the bibliography of the editor-in-chief of Pilot to a fine reading grid to detect American influences. They are countless and diverse. In addition to the many stereotypes (Indians, gangsters, etc.), these are also found in the construction of gags (especially the rhythm). New York obviously did not make Goscinny, his immense talent draws its sources from a multitude of other origins. However, the meetings and the multiple projects dating from this period allowed the writer to pose and structure his thought and his working methods. These years are therefore fundamental for the genesis of a unique work in the world of comics.
Rich, detailed, intelligent and very well written, Goscinny in New York is an essential book for all bédéphiles curious to know the underside of one of the most outstanding careers of the Ninth Art, on any continent.
Through A. Perroud
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