The Hoodoodad

Les Formidables Aventures de Lapinot #2

by Lewis Trondheim, Kim Thompson

Lewis Trondheim McConey's excitable pal Richie suffers a string of bad luck and believes he's been cursed by an ancient artifact ― but is it all in his head? Or is the lack of concrete evidence all part of the curse? "Better to have doggy-doo on the sole of my foot than pigeon poop on the top of my head." Not the most high-flying philosophy ever minted, but it's the best McConey's pal Richie can come up with after a string of bad luck that the excitable cat insists on attributing to the malefic power of a skull-festooned rock ― allegedly the final legacy of the long-forgotten "Mi'shgo'sh" dynasty. But is he really cursed? Richie's attempts to prove to his disbelieving friends ― including the perennially skeptical McConey ― that fate has it out for him are all thwarted, leading him to the inevitable conclusion that the lack of any concrete evidence is simply the most insidious part of the curse. The Hoodoodad is a story about misfortune, dirty-words Scrabble, too-secret art, too-public photography, miniature car racing, exorcism, answering machines, nauseating desserts, pinball, parents and godparents, yappy little dogs, and the intricacies of fate and destiny. Full-color comics throughout

Genres: Comics, Bande Dessinée, France, Graphic Novels, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 1996

About the author

The phenomenal Lewis Trondheim is never where you next expect him. As an artist and writer, Trondheim has earned an international following as one of the most inventive, versatile, and prolific graphic authors. From autobiography to adventure, from bestselling fantasy and children's books to visual essays, Trondheim's unique, seminal imagination consistently dazzles. His work has won numerous awards, including the Angoulême prize for best series with McConey and he also co-created the titanic fantasy epic Dungeon with Joann Sfar.

He is one of the founding members of the alternative publishing house L'Association, a proving ground for many of the greatest talents in European comics working today. He is also the editorial director of a new imprint called Shampooing, dedicated to comics for all ages.

Lewis lives in the South of France with his wife, Brigitte Findakly, and two children.

Reviews

[Rodolfo Santullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Último de los álbums de Lapinot en mi poder y última de mis relecturas -curiosamente, del libro que leí primero de todos- de esta magnífica serie de unitarios donde Trondheim repite personajes pero les cambia el contexto histórico, el género o incluso (de manera más moderada) las personalidades. Estamos en la línea "principal", por así decir -el París de la actualidad, con Lapinot y sus amigos viviendo aventuras costumbristas- pero aquí, aunque en tren de comedia de enredos, Trondheim involucra un elemento sobrenatural -una piedra que trae una maldición a su propietario- que disparará las situaciones más descacharrantes. Con un timing absoluto para la comedia, personajes hermosos -nunca el gato Richard brilló como ahora- y una trama orquestada a la perfección, donde todo está medido hasta el más mínimo detalle, Trondheim habla de las relaciones humanas -o animales- la amistad y conceptos más herméticos como pueden ser la suerte o la superstición. Para cuando Lapinot, Richard y el resto de la barra entiende que hacer con la maldita piedra, hay incluso un giro más y será uno que no develaremos aquí pero sí asegurar que es un disparador de la carcajada más ruidosa. El mejor de los cuatro libros de Lapinot en mi poder, creo, el más redondo de todos. Un placer leerlo.

[Ethan Aegon · Rating 2 out of 5]

L'auteur nous offre une nouvelle agréable lecture de 30min mais rien de transcendant dans le dessin, l'humour ou le scénario.

Trondheim flatte la nostalgie de ses lecteurs trentenaires en organisant une course de billes et en jouant au flipper, invente des scènes invraisemblables seulement drôles pour leurs enfants (l'exorcisme), crée des seconds rôles monolithiques facile à moquer (la souris c'est un intello chiant haha ! Il adore le trivial poursuit et le scrabble bouuuuhhhh), moque son petit milieu d'artiste (le vernissage) tout en reproduisant ses incontournables (toujours se foutre de la gueule des keufs, c'est des cibles faciles et en plus c'est pas le genre à acheter des bd).

A nouveau quelques bulles restent :
"- Ta vocation, c'est quoi ? C'est de devenir un saint ?
- Et toi ? C'est de mourir avec de l'argent que tu n'aurais pas dépensé ?"
mais je continue de ne pas m'expliquer le succès et "l'humour fin" que déniche des lecteurs dans ces planches.

Vite lu, encore plus vite oublié

[Gabriela · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup aime ce BD. Je veux lire toute la serie.

[Jeff Lewonczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent a good half of this feeling like I'd be underwhelmed, until the pace and simplicity kind of clicked, and I realized that this wasn't a grand supernatural adventure, but a supernatural adventure about everyday life - and then I was able to see that it was something fairly unique, in addition to being fun and good-natured.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historias de una página muy divertidas sobre la relación de la gente con los ordenadores.

[Christoph Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uuund wir sind zurück in der Gegenwart mit Herrn Hase und seinen Freunden und es wird wunderbar seltsam. Gefällt mir sehr gut.

[Jonas Mustonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tähän asti lukemistani Jussi Jäniksistä ehkä kirkkaasti paras.

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.2

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, quick read. Although the style is cartoon-ish, I think it's really targeted more towards people in their late-20s to early 30s. It's about a group of friends getting back together--I found myself thinking of my college friends and myself--and the adventures that they stumble over on a few days in the city. Many of the adventures revolve around a curse one of them picks up along the way. Pretty funny, but I always like Trondheim's humor, anyway.

[Mer Vi]

Hiton hauska! "Olen niin kirottu etten pysty edes tarkistamaan olenko kirottu..." Jussi Jänis rules ok.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmm. Guess I prefer Trondheim's more autobiographical works. . .

[Tazitazitazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ove zekanove pustolovine su najzabavnije do sada. Skoro na svakoj stranic se nalazi neki biser.