Simon Mbumbo (Camerun)
Simon Pierre Mbumbo, born 1976 in Camerun, works as illustrator, scenarist, and comic-strip writer. After his studies in arts and comics in the Academy of Angoulême, he has worked as a caricaturist for the satiric newspaper Messager Popoli and has drawn the series Les K-libres for the French magazine Planète Jeunes. Mbumbo is also one of the creators of the magazine Mac Bd and New Kids. He has been invited by the festival of Angoulême in 2000.
On a script by Christophe N. Edimo, Simon Pierre Mbumbo has published Une enfance volée on the collective album À l'ombre du baobab, in 2001.
His comic strip : Hisham and Isolde
The story narrated in this comic has all the ingredients of the archetypical love story: two youths in love (the schoolmates Hisham and Isolde), her dad who opposes their relation, an evil opponent who threatens the hero (the violent and obtuse DJ Boss) and the classic figures of the helpers (the wise Sahraan and his son).
It respects therefore the literary cliché of the contrasted love, as it can be found in the most famous novel of courtly love, Tristan and Isolde. This cliché inspired the Belgian writer Carl Norac, and ensured the narrative tension.
Nonetheless, since Hisham is an African refugee and Isolde's parents define themselves "French from immemorial time", and since the story is set in the suburbs of a city inhabited by immigrants of different origins, the love story is enriched by much more hints: multiethnic society, youths' violence, racism, the clash between generations...
According to the spirit of the collection Common values that aims at conveying certain principles that are shared by different religions and secular thought, this love story revolves around two main values: the non-violence and the respect of the Other. The arrival of migrants in European cities with their liturgies, ethics and lifestyles, make us realize the fragility of our welfare, certainties and "culture". The path that Hisham and Isolde have to go through to live their love show that men can live united as men, beyond cultural differences, nationalities, social status and religions.
The technical skills of Mbumbo, who succeeds in rendering detailed movements and attitudes of the characters, the beauty of the colours and expressiveness of the glimpses, make the atmosphere of this story unforgettable, as it leaves the sweet taste of poetry.
Technical description
Work features: Sentimental
Pages : 28
Colour