“ The World Work ? Well, the name already sucks. » There’s a real buzz in the ranks of the 5th G class at a college in Cognac. Théo and his friends are in Angoulême, for the comic book festival, and their history teacher wanted to show them around the exhibition dedicated to the president of this 51st edition, Riad Sattouf.
Between original plates, family photos, soundtrack and collectibles, the exhibition explores the creative and referential universe of Riad Sattouf, author of The Arab of the future And Esther’s Notebookswhich is also celebrating its twenty-year career. A plastic Grendizer in a window – an object of worship for the young Riad – makes Théo sigh: “All the time wasted here is time lost for the Manga District…”
An audience with all its quarters
Fortunately, there are not only unhappy people in the crowd of visitors. Fourteen years after his first Fauve d’or for best album, for Pascal Brutal (he had a second one in 2015 for The Arab of the future), Riad Sattouf is a popular and legitimate president. His work, both original, demanding and popular, appeals to a wide audience.
At the exhibition shop, the complete editions of The Arab of the future are torn away. Some complete their collection of Esther’s notebooks. We are wondering about the imminent release of the sequel to Young Actor. “I discovered in The New Obs and, since then, I have read everything, smiles Marianne, a young retiree. I find it very modern and very deep. He speaks of my children’s generation, rather, but I recognize myself in it. And then his family destiny is incredible…”
“Daron”, the word is dropped
The story of his young years in Syria as well as his observation of the lives of young people from his Rennes college in the 1990s to the Paris metro in the 2010s have given Riad Sattouf a fairly broad sociology of readers. But rather old all the same…
In the exhibition, we meet a “young” 40-year-old teacher, Matthieu. ” I read Return to college when I became a teacher. I was still somewhere between adolescence and the adult world, and it spoke to me. But I don’t know if my students appreciate his uncompromising vision. For them, it’s comics of darons…”
The young people put the poster on us
Multi-awarded, critically acclaimed and a darling of the Parisian media, Riad Sattouf has become, probably reluctantly, the author of bobo comics. The Paris City Hall thus chose it to illustrate the poster of its Happy New Year 2024 wishes. In Angoulême, moreover, the poster designed by the author was a huge success. A woman leaves an area of the festival with several posters – giant format – rolled up: “I’m a little ashamed, I got them thanks to a friend who works at the festival… But it will please my daughter and her friends so much. » Age of the girl? 14 years old. Oh? A young fan of Riad Sattouf? Let’s return to the exhibition.
Among the many young people who came there with their class, some – or rather, some – actually linger in front of the boards, photograph themselves in the exhibition, note the names of the works that Riad Sattouf cites as a reference… “I discovered with Esther’s Notebooks and now I’m totally addicted,” says 16-year-old Mae. “We bought all the comics at the CDI to convert all the girls in college! », laughs his partner Léa.
To TikTok and beyond
If Esther’s Notebooks, which follows the steps of a “real” teenager today, daughter of friends of friends met by Riad Sattouf, is an ideal gateway for young readers born after 2000, the work of The entire author seems to speak to this generation. “The looks in Pascal Brutal, I love it, Léa enthuses. There is violence and also a reflection on the end of the world, it’s super strong. »
Riad Sattouf was also able to count, recently, by an unexpected phenomenon. Very present on social networks, especially Instagram, the author was surprised to note that the animated version of the Esther’s notebooks had become the subject of TikTok challenges among young users. “I discovered this by chance,” Riad Sattouf explained to us recently. I got on TikTok to respond to these videos. And tell them how to buy my comics…” Enough to ensure the author-daron has a reservoir of readers for, at least, the next twenty years.