Lewis Trondheim is hardly a name that is unknown outside of his native France but it’s still one that should be far more celebrated in the English-speaking world. Of course much of this is tied to the availability of translated work, both in terms of the percentage of his output to date and how long it has remained in print. Some familiar names in terms of comics translation have brought Trondheim’s material to wider audiences including Fantagraphics, NBM Publishing and, most recently, Sloth Comics. The latter of whom have repackaged Trondheim’s Bludzee as a handsome, compact, landscape-sized hardback.
This collection of one-page strips, mostly building up to a punchline of sorts but with ongoing storylines and subplots scattered throughout, feature the misadventures of the titular character, a 6-month-old cat with frighteningly long claws who was originally bred to be an assassin. Our observations of this animal enigma begin shortly after his owner Mr. Flowery has gone missing, leaving Bludzee alone in his apartment and having to fend for himself. The early results (image below) are a mix of feline slapstick and cat’s eye view of the world; the perceptions of a detached outsider as he interprets his environment and gives his perspective on his limited understanding of it.
This is a world of anthropomorphised animals but not the cutesy, endearing kind. The characters Bludzee interacts with as he slowly emerges from the confines of his owner’s apartment are largely belligerent, aggressive or unpleasant, with the exception of the unseen Doodai who, in absurdist interludes, he chats with on the internet. As events progress Bludzee’s exploits see him making friends with goldfish Tomi in a neighbouring flat, encountering bounty hunters and the authorities, meeting fellow cat hitman Markus, and discovering more about his past from the villainous Flowery. It all ends in violent cartoonish excess as multiple storylines finally converge in wild, anarchic abandon.
Trondheim jumps between discrete, self-contained one-page comics and those that build up the wider story arcs with sublime comedy pacing, particularly in the build-up to each six-panel strip’s denouement. Previous storylines have a way of suddenly weaving back into the main narrative when you least expect them and the whole thing has a feeling of wonderful, excessive, over-the-top farce.
Trondheim’s cartooning has that rare quality of looking effortlessly flowing while, for all its frenetic glory, remaining quietly sophisticated. The level of panel-to-panel animated motion borders at points on comedy genius while character designs emphasise the delightfully off-kilter nature of this strangely hybrid world. What a fabulous introduction to the work of Lewis Trondheim Sloth Comics have provided for the uninitiated with this bumper, near 400-page collection of high-energy silliness.
Lewis Trondheim (W/A) Sloth Comics, £21.99
Review by Andy Oliver
