France excels in fashion, but in comics as well. There are obviously significant comics book industries and enthusiastic fan bases all over the world - from the United States to Japan, from Belgium to Italy. Yet France has definitely got an especially rich and longstanding tradition when it comes to comics, with a wide range of genres and styles available, and the country seems to have a reverence towards graphic novels that are usually (and very aptly) elevated to art.
Today and tomorrow Irenebrination will celebrate France's bande dessinée tradition discovering (and rooting for) an intriguing comic book project, currently in the crowdfunding stage.
Paris-based comic book author and artist Maxime Garbarini has launched an ambitious project, entitled "Fragments". Garbarini hopes that the crowdfunding project (closing on July 12th) will allow his independent publishing venture, Close Call Comics, to release Fragments # 1 (160 fully colored pages, in a 17x24 cm format) and develop the following three issues.
Already known for his comic book "Heroics", recently showcased at the Japan Tours Festival, and known to the readers of Irenebrination for his fashion and comics collaboration with French knitwear designer and textile artist Xavier Brisoux, Garbarini worked on four different scripts with a shared plot for "Fragments" and had three of them illustrated by Sébastien "Sebba" Barré, Sebastian Carrilo Cortez and Lucia Saldutti.
Leafing through "Fragments" readers will discover 'Heroics', a saga that delves into the complexities of family dynamics on an epic scale; 'Vengeance of the Whisper', a socio-economic thriller genre with a young worker, Leonard, as its protagonist, shedding light on how capitalism devalues workers as mere tools rather than individuals, pushing them to lose their sanity (the words of Elio Petri's protagonist in the film "Lulu the Tool" come to mind - "I am a pulley. I am a bolt. I am a screw. I am a transmission belt. I am a pump... and now the pump has broken").
'Nights of the Blood Rose' looks instead like a romance, but appearances are deceiving and soon the story of Susan, an ingénue with a fiercely independent temperament, and Warren, heir to a prestigious dynasty, transforms into a feminist and action-packed tale of vengeance, while 'Ballad of the Dreambrother' follows detective Wright and his sidekick Kelly into a new investigation that will lead them to confront profound emotions of loss and grief.
We are all very much drawn to the trendy concept of multi-verses, but Garbarini's stories combine multiple characters, heroes and anti-heroes, driven by archetypal themes and multi-plots, and confronting (like all of us...) triumph and failure. His protagonists live indeed thrilling adventures characterized by introspective moments, while balancing the heroic and the human dichotomy and revealing us that the most extraordinary superpower in life is managing to stay human.
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers: when did you discover your passion for comics and which comic illustrators / writers inspire you?
Maxime Garbarini: I am a French comic book author and artist (on my spare time). I have Italian and Caribbean origins, but I grew up in the North region of France, reading comic books. I live in Paris now, trying to make my dream come true - creating stories with cool artists and publishing them. My favorite artists when I was growing up were probably Paul Smith, Arthur Adams, Brett Blevins, Rick Leonardi, Alan Davis, Mark Silvestri and George Perez, basically all artists that worked on my favorite comic books, mainly X-Men, Teen Titans or Legion of Super-Heroes. I think I was heavily inspired by the writing of Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-men, New Mutants), mainly because he was not afraid to involve a lot of different characters and plots and he dared to make their role and personality evolve organically through the stories.
Can you tell us more about "Heroics"?
MG: It started as a weekly free webcomic where I would publish one page each Wednesday. Then I got the opportunity to turn those pages into a real book, so I extended the story to make a full, more cohesive, first season. The story is set during WWII and deals with a strange new energy that grants people some unusual powers. The theme of the story is how your abilities make you a hero - would you still be virtuous and benevolent if you had your own agenda and used your powers to set things right your way? The story showcases characters coming from various backgrounds, each with their own path: a young German camp survivor, a British scientist and his family, a secluded Irish orphan, a young French thief expert, an American goodie-goodie boy, a Polish stubborn father, and more to come.
You recently went to the Japan Tours Festival, how did it go? What kind of feedback did you get there about "Heroics"?
MG: The Japan Tours Festival was a blast, truly a big celebration of all kinds of passions, mostly involving Japanese culture, but not exclusively. I was part of the Artists Alley set up by the super cool ComicVerse association. They gather artists and authors in one place and help us meet the public in the best way possible. I was there for 3 days, and brought only 15 copies of "Heroics - Season 1", which sold out pretty quickly. The response from the public was very good. Once you connect with them and you explain that you write and draw these stories, you care about your characters and you do your best to promote your work as an independent creator, people feel compelled to get involved and want to know more about your creative process. They usually flip through the book or the original art that you bring and they see “the work” behind the book. And, I think, they are happy to support the book, because they see someone committed to make his dream come true. That can be inspiring!
Can you introduce us to the "Fragments" project?
MG: Back when "Heroics - Season 1" was released I felt the need to expand its universe a bit more. It was just before Covid-19 hit, so for a small indie creator, seeing all the bookstores closing, and comic book fairs and events being canceled, it was hard. It was frustrating as I felt my work was not going to properly meet its audience. And then I wanted to do it more seriously, or in a more professional way maybe. Anyway, I enrolled in a training program about publishing and worked for a year on getting the basics about creating, producing and promoting books, about finding partnerships, navigating legal stuff and so on. In the meantime, I wrote several scripts, sometimes just synopsis, of stories that would fit in the "Heroics" universe. For each story, I established a tone, a soundtrack, a specific genre, moodboards and even a casting! That way, when I decided to go looking for potential artists, I already had a fully formed idea of what "taste" each story would have. The idea was to look for artists with a unique and different style from my own, and who valued storytelling as much, if not more, than mere drawing or aesthetics. I was already a friend and big fan of Sébastien "Sebba" Barré, and I found and contacted both Sebastian Carrilo Cortez and Lucia Saldutti via their profile page on Artstation. Their art, their passion and versatility really drew me in. I found out we had some cool references in common and that was a good starting point to shape my stories to their specific talents. It all went smoothly from that point. And I chose the name "Fragments" to illustrate how each story and all characters are pieces of a larger puzzle.
What challenges did the artists included in "Fragments" face so far during the crowdfunding campaign, that is closing this week?
MG: The challenge of the campaign has been to stay focused and motivated throughout the whole month, regardless of the backers engagement or lack of engagement. It is really a marathon and not a sprint run. As this small newly born label founder and editor, I did not want the artists to work for nothing so I bought sample pages and sketches from them in advance, to have material to show during the campaign. I made the mistake not to include the English digital version of the graphic novel from the start. I should have thought that 2 of the 3 artists were non-French speaking and for them to get involved or engage their own community, they needed something they could actually read and talk about. As we are just starting as a label, we can't afford to make copies in each language, and English was the most logical one, as in France and a lot of other countries, fans of American super-heroes comic books actually read them in the original language anyway. So, I would say that, if there was a challenge encountered during the campaign, it was the concern of ensuring that the project would be readable to our own followers.Could you describe your collaboration with the other artists and contributors involved in "Fragments"?
MG: So far things have been running smoothly: I used to write monthly updates for the whole team in both French and English, but now I write them on a weekly basis. I am transparent about the challenges, difficulties, needs and goals, so that everyone has the same infos and knows where we're at. The creative part is my domain but I have help from Alexandra Ramos for everything related to communication and partnership, and from Aurore Schmid for the editorial aspect of this project. I think it is safe to say that we value each other's work and there is a friend-quality to our collaboration that eases things. I really have become a huge fan of all 3 artists involved in "Fragments" so my goal is to push them to give their best while making sure they are in a comfortable position to do so and that they are heard and considered not just as artists but as people.
What sets "Fragments" apart from other comic book projects currently on the market? What makes it unique and appealing to readers?
MG: In my opinion, and I speak from a French perspective, it's hard to create a sci-fi / super-heroes universe today. The market has been saturated by movies, TV shows and American classic comic books getting rebooted, revamped and resold again and again. To launch an anthology, usually means the stories are linked by a common theme, in "Fragments" it is the background, the universe behind the stories, yet each one of them has its own flavor, and explores a different genre and archetype. 'Heroics' is an epic family drama; 'Vengeance of the Whisper' is a social thriller that addresses how capitalism views workers as tools and not people, 'Nights of the Blood Rose' starts as an old Hollywood romance but quickly turns into a Kill Bill-esque feminist and bloody vendetta, while 'Ballad of the Dreambrother' could be a classic cop investigation but actually dives into what the feelings of loss and grief really mean and what they trigger. So, in a sense, there are heroes, powers, codenames, nemesis and fights, but like all good comic books what's relevant is the underlying universal themes that move the characters. I really hope to achieve a good mix of adventures and introspection, to make the super-human really human!You are a comic book artist, but also work for branding and communication agencies in digital design and animation: how do you feel about the Artificial Intelligence discourse – are you worried about copyright issues or about the jobs that may get lost among creative minds with the advent of this new technology?
MG: I am worried not just about the tools but also about how companies will use them to discard real artists. I do know many creatives feeling gutted by how "good" the AI generated drawings are getting, and how (illegally) close to their own style they look, a style they worked on for years. It's discouraging and worrying, of course. But I also have other friends who work in fashion and photography that do have specific aesthetics and who have mastered AI to the point they can produce super creative photoshoots that actually never happened. This is quite fascinating, as they apply their own aesthetics to a new medium with really interesting results. In my case, AI and especially ChatGPT have been a great help in being a no-nonsense assistant, helping me translate mails, find ideas or steps to get better at online marketing and such. Being a writer, artist, label publisher, communication and online content creator, I have many hats I put on every day, so AI has helped me here and there to stay focused, to plan better and gather specific infos. It can be a good assistant if you can't afford a real one, if you train it well and know exactly what you need from it. What future plans do you have for "Fragments", would you like to launch it at a famous event such as Lucca Comics & Games?
MG: My ideal plan is for "Fragments" to find its readership. I would like to be able to release 3 issues in a row so people would have 4 whole stories the 4 series composing "Fragments". We would like readers to have actual subscriptions to it, like a magazine, so we would not have to set a whole funding campaign for each issue. I would also like to plan another set of 3 issues, with 'Heroics' as the ongoing series, along with 3 new series, 3 new genres to explore and 3 new artists to discover (hint: there are several series in the work with amazing artists attached already). And being able to promote "Fragments" outside of France and in Lucca in particular would be a dream! I know it's a crazy event for comic book lovers and our project is a bit crazy as well, so it would be a good match!
With the success of graphic novels being turned into intriguing series or films on popular streaming services like Netflix, "Fragments" may be adapted for similar transformations. Have you considered any potential directors, actors, or costume/set designers who you believe would bring the world of "Fragments" to life in a series?
MG: That's a very interesting question! "Fragments" is indeed divided into series, each running through several episodes so I would say yes, they would make for a nice material for a TV show format! But if we are talking "dream project"… well, for 'Vengeance of the Whisper' I would love a David Fincher aesthetic. So, lots of texture, moody lights, blue hues tinted shots, a bit of a throwback from when he started doing music video, especially Madonna's "Express Yourself" and George Michael's "Freedom!". For 'Nights of the Blood Rose', I would love to have someone like Tom Ford design and direct all of it. I love how warm and meticulous his shots are, and how he paces his scenes to let the feelings breathe. I am a big fan of his fashion work, but both his movies really blew me away. It would fit with the "love and violence" theme of the story and I happen to actually listen to their soundtrack by Abel Korzeniowski a lot. They are very inspiring when you are writing dramas! For 'Ballad of the Dreambrother', I believe Baz Luhrmann would have a blast with this story of a gentle soul trapped in serious matters and gloomy dark neon ambiances. His free-spirit and creativity would fit with the psychedelic aspect of the story. Lastly for 'Heroics', someone between James Gray who really knows how to get inside the mysteries of the human mind and soul, and someone like Steven Spielberg, who can do grand-scale spectacle without ever losing the wonder and almost child-like excitement!
You can support the "Fragments" crowdfunding here (closing on July 12th 2023).
Image credits for this post
The images in this post are work-in-progress from Fragments. All images courtesy Maxime Garbarini.
Comments