A short life of the author
Manu Larcenet (born 1969) is a French cartoonist of extraordinary range — a creator capable of gentle, humorous slice-of-life comics and some of the most emotionally devastating graphic novels produced anywhere. His four-volume series Blast (2009–2014) is a masterwork of psychological horror, while Ordinary Combat (2003–2004) is a tender, funny account of depression and rural life.
Life and Career
Larcenet began in humor comics, working on the series Bill Baroud and various comedic projects before revealing a capacity for serious, psychologically complex graphic fiction that surprised the Franco-Belgian comics world.
Le Combat ordinaire (Ordinary Combat, 2003–2004, four volumes) followed Marco, a war photographer suffering from depression and anxiety who retreats to the countryside. The series was drawn in a warm, sketchy style and depicted the small victories and setbacks of daily life — getting a cat, starting a relationship, dealing with a father’s Alzheimer’s — with humor and emotional honesty. It won the Angoulême Prize for Best Album in 2004.
Blast (2009–2014, four volumes) was a radical departure — a noir graphic novel following Polza Mancini, an obese, troubled writer who is being interrogated by police about a murder. Through flashbacks, the reader discovers Mancini’s descent from conventional society into a feral existence on the margins, driven by episodes of “blast” — moments of overwhelming, almost psychedelic clarity. The drawing was visceral, dense, and often terrifying. Blast was compared to Dostoevsky for its psychological depth and its unflinching engagement with violence and self-destruction.
Le Rapport de Brodeck (The Report, adapted from Philippe Claudel’s novel, 2015–2016) was a graphic adaptation set in a postwar European village harboring a terrible secret — another demonstration of Larcenet’s range and his ability to render moral complexity in visual form.
Key Works
- Ordinary Combat (2003–2004)
- Blast (2009–2014)
- The Report (2015–2016)
Collecting Larcenet
French first editions (Dargaud) are readily available. The Blast series brings $15–$30 per volume. Ordinary Combat signed editions and the Angoulême Prize-winning first volume are the most collected items. English translations are limited — most of his work remains untranslated, making French editions the primary collector market.