Mildiou - Lewis Trondheim

Lewis Trondheim's fun Lapinot adventure from 1994 – one that remains unconnected to the main body of his Lapinot work for Dargaud – is perhaps his first fully accomplished solo work as writer and artist, after honing his craft over the course of the epic Lapinot et les carottes de Patagonie. And really, even though the narrative is rather straightforward – it's basically one long running chase scene over 140 pages, as the unnamed rabbit character in a medieval setting flees from Mildiou, an evil villain with pretensions to the throne – it is nonetheless a huge leap forward for Trondheim in terms of its pacing, its dynamic layouts, its sense of fun and adventure, and in some delightful quips and humour. The line drawing is also simply superb.

Mildiou then is a natural progression for Trondheim after the liberating creative experience of Lapinot et les carottes de Patagonie, one that leads the way for a character to be explored in a variety of ways (although apart from the horror-western Blacktown, the remainder of Lapinot's adventures are in a contemporary setting) – but in a way you can also see the roots of where Trondheim would go with his Dungeon series in collaboration with Joann Sfar.

This edition of Mildiou is French language only. There isn't a great deal of dialogue, so the simplicity of the story and the wonderful drawings ensures that it could easily be followed and enjoyed by non-French speakers – but you would be missing the additional pleasure that is to be gained from the very funny exchanges not only between Mildiou and Lapinot, but from the wonderful range of secondary characters – from the King's manservant and the inhabitants of the leper colony to the interjections and interventions of the Sorcerer and his assistant Boris, all of whom add to the confusion and hilarity that ensue over the course of this delightfully funny and entertaining little book.