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Lewis Trondheim’s Little Nothings: The Curse of the Umbrella

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Keep an eye out for Lewis Trondheim’s Little Nothings: The Curse of the Umbrella in comic and book shops this week. The French edition was released last year, but the English translation is hitting North America this week.

English readers are generally underexposed to Trondheim’s comics but this book provides a wonderful introduction to his work for the uninitiated. The book is a series of disarming and beautifully drawn journal comics (sample at First Second blog). Though Trondheim is a national icon in France (he even wins the Grand Prize at Angoulême in one of the comics), he is charming and self-effacing throughout.

Highly recommended – but what’s up with that font? The cover for the French edition is hand-lettered – while the English edition looks like it’s one font removed from Comic Sans. Yech.

Also, you can keep up to date with Trondheim’s journal comics on his blog.

Also of interest:
Trondheim interview at The Comics Journal

  • http://jedalexander.blogspot.com/ Jed Alexander

    I’m a fan of Trondheim (his recent Alieen sp? was awesome) but are these the same journal comics that appeared in Mome? Because I found them a little tedious. He went on and on about cartoonists who had reached their creative peak, and how he felt he might be reaching his, and it just wasn’t all that compelling. The drawings were, as usual, gorgeous, but for journal comics they weren’t all that revealitory.

  • http://jedalexander.blogspot.com Jed Alexander

    I’m a fan of Trondheim (his recent Alieen sp? was awesome) but are these the same journal comics that appeared in Mome? Because I found them a little tedious. He went on and on about cartoonists who had reached their creative peak, and how he felt he might be reaching his, and it just wasn’t all that compelling. The drawings were, as usual, gorgeous, but for journal comics they weren’t all that revealitory.

  • http://www.thistoowillpass.com/bradydale/ BradyDale

    I love, love, love Trondheim. I agree with Jed about A.L.I.E.E.N. So awesome. If I read something of Trondheim’s that didn’t rock it would be okay with me. It’s like a lame Stones song, you know. How can anyone ALWAYS be totally awesome?

  • http://www.thistoowillpass.com/bradydale/ BradyDale

    I love, love, love Trondheim. I agree with Jed about A.L.I.E.E.N. So awesome. If I read something of Trondheim’s that didn’t rock it would be okay with me. It’s like a lame Stones song, you know. How can anyone ALWAYS be totally awesome?

  • http://minimaldesign.net/ yann

    Funny… I discovered LT about 15 years ago, when he was completely unknown (I sent him a letter asking him to draw me his main character “Lapinot” playing saxophone, and he sent me back a full drawing, pencil + ink of Lapinot playing the triangle and the word “approximately” next to his signature :)

    I pride myself to have “discovered” him… I remember telling the owner of the comic book store I used to go to that he’d be famous in the future…

    If you can read French (I don’t know of an English translation although it might exist)

    Definitely check out his early masterpiece: “Lapinot et Les Carottes de Patagonie” He didn’t know how to draw at the time and decided he’s do 500 pages and stop. And he did… You can literally witness the emergence of his sty;e on paper, pretty cool.

    I got the limited edition (50 copies, signed…) :P

  • http://minimaldesign.net/ yann

    Funny… I discovered LT about 15 years ago, when he was completely unknown (I sent him a letter asking him to draw me his main character “Lapinot” playing saxophone, and he sent me back a full drawing, pencil + ink of Lapinot playing the triangle and the word “approximately” next to his signature :)

    I pride myself to have “discovered” him… I remember telling the owner of the comic book store I used to go to that he’d be famous in the future…

    If you can read French (I don’t know of an English translation although it might exist)

    Definitely check out his early masterpiece: “Lapinot et Les Carottes de Patagonie” He didn’t know how to draw at the time and decided he’s do 500 pages and stop. And he did… You can literally witness the emergence of his sty;e on paper, pretty cool.

    I got the limited edition (50 copies, signed…) :P