today's reread was In the Claws of the Viper and i don't mean to be all "these comics should be pure escapism only no real life horrors allowed" because that's almost never been the case but i do feel like the satire is being done at the expense of characterization. everyone's either an asshole or jaded or both to the point they kinda don't seem like themselves anymore
still chewing this same cud but The Dark Side is so frustrating to me because Z really was the perfect fit for the kinda commentary Y&V wanted to do, but the way Vehlmann approached these characters is so unpleasant and doesn't feel quite right. i was browsing Spirou Reporter's old blog and in this article on Spirou in Cuba what T&J said about Z in particular really struck a chord with me in this context, it goes as follows:
"Zorglub, originally, is a mix between Greg’s thriller elements and Franquin’s whimsy. And so, since we wanted to emphasize the suspense in the adventures of Spirou and Fantasio, it was imperative to have a conflict with a very dangerous enemy."
in other words they basically wanted to get rid of the Franquin influence and that same attitude towards "whimsy" also echoes throughout Y&V's work. i feel like they couldn't quite commit to it like T&J would have though, or Vehlmann was simply too busy getting his point across to put in the care it would've needed to really work. so it's like it's teetering this awkward line between the old and... something. i dunno
Funnily enough my main issue with Y&V’s run of the comics is that I think they didn’t lean in hard enough with the social commentary.
Like i genuinely adore the groom of sniper alley and in the claws of the viper, they are both some of my fave stories in the entire series….
For the FIRST half of the stories. Y&V set up such interesting talking points in these stories and then just abandoned them half way through.
The groom of sniper alley for example: I am obsessed with the suspense surrounding the character Victor Veritas. How he keeps pushing the narrative that the army is fighting to bring democracy to the middle east and how he essentially uses every trick in the book to keep Fantasio and Spirou from talking to any of the locals and get their Point of View on the war. I was so damn intrigued by it
But then in the second half Y&V just abandon everything they have set up and just revert back to a simple indiana jones adventure story. Victor Veritas? Ni vue ni connue. The whole entire plot point of the war? Never mentioned again the second they enter that temple.
Same with the claws of the viper. When the first half of the story talked about how the natives of the marmalade islands were prized out of their own homes just so VIPER could turn their island into a libertarian’s wet dream? I was so intrigued by it. It’s something that genuinely happens to so many indigenous communities around the globe and barely anyone acknowledges it. And then the SECOND Spirou manages to escape the island it turns into a gigantic chase scene and all commentary on the issue of native people suffering at the hands of foreign investors just is never mentioned again.
In my opinion they wanted to get rid of the whinsey as you said it but then every dang time make a hard 180 turn at the half way point of the story as if they remembered: oh wait we are supposed to write an adventure story! Forget everything that happened just now!
So yeah i genuinely wished they’d lean in harder with the political commentary. Fully commit to the bit instead of literally blue balling me at the half way point by pointing out social issues but not adding any actual meaningful commentary to it by just ignoring it halfway through
(caveat: i have not read the sniper valley album)
ya we mainly agree, like i said in my op i was also left feeling like Y&V couldn't or wouldn't fully commit to the points they wanted to make so the end result was just kinda awkward and middling in that regard. trying to have their cake and eat it too. the crux of my op was more that Vehlmann's take on the pre-existing characters was overly cynical and reductive without really even adding much of anything to the intended message. like this comic has always had social commentary in it, Y&V didn't need to sacrifice established characterization for its sake. they did it just because and i think their albums are worse off for it
Yeaaahhh true
Personally i fear what happened to Spirou and Fantasio and the other characters in the Y&V run is a case study in action of this meme
Because like you said it already started with earlier comic runs, and in case of Fantasio’s mischaracterisation I blame the 2008 cartoon as ground zero. Y&V basically went from there and …. Yeah.
Again I genuinely adore the Y&V runs, but I am also very much aware and mostly agree with you on its flaws.
man i did not even consider the 00s cartoon could've legitimately served as an inspiration for anything in the comics, i haven't seen it in probably like 15 years but my very hazy memories are telling me that you might be onto something lol. it really wasn't very good at all was it
also i used to not be a big fan of Y&V but my most recent rereads of their albums really left me feeling surprised by how well their stories actually worked, i just have the usual fan gripe of wishing they were better as Spirou & Fantasio stories specifically. i think their faults as a Spirou team really come to a head when it comes to Zorglub because The Dark Side of Z is SO close to actually being pretty damn good even to someone like me who would've preferred to see more of him as an ally to the main duo, but Y&V's (iirc intentionally) reductive approach to the character ultimately just leaves me cold. i know he's a character they actually had somewhat strong opinions about as well, but those strong opinions basically amounted to that very image you posted - they just wanted him to return as a villain. it's a bit easier for me to accept fluctuations in how the other more prevalent characters are written since they've been in the hands of so many different authors, but Z was mostly gone from the series until Y&V got their hands on him so their disregard for chunks of characterization and development feels much more glaring
