In this job, we’re meant to keep our eyes and ears open in perpetuity. But then, every once in a while, something truly special falls into your lap (like a secret gift from the universe, or finding $5 in some old pair of jeans). That’s very much the case for Trumpets of Death, the debut graphic novel from French cartoonist Simon Bournel-Bosson.
In Trumpets of Death, we meet Antoine, a young boy who is dropped off at his grandparents’ rustic cabin as his father searches for his missing mother. Once in the home, Antoine must contend with both the warmth and love provided his grandmother alongside the stern discipline of his distant father. But while out one day foraging for mushrooms, Antoine’s life is forever changed with a fantastical turn that will “culminate in a fearsome hunt through the forest that will resolve their [Antoine and his grandfather’s] differences once and for all — but at what cost?”
Trumpets of Death is very much a couple of books stitched together; Bournel-Bosson even calls it a “two-part mirror story.” But there’s something truly powerful stitching these experiences together. The first and most obvious is Bournel-Bosson’s art — utterly charming and whimsical, it’s the visuals that ground us in Antoine’s rustic new life while opening the doors for pure magic. Then, there’s Trumpets of Death‘s thematic interests: Discussing ideas of intergenerational conflict, masculinity, and the function of family, the book is as rich narratively as it is simply a joy to drink in visually.
“Simon Bournel-Bosson has crafted one of the best examples of magical realism in comics, showing how nature (human and otherwise) shapes us all, for better or worse,” said Sean Tulien, the editorial director of Graphic Universe/Lerner. “The satisfying conclusion leaves space for interpretation and debate, urging the reader to give it a reread (or three) to further explore the beautiful, complicated world Bournel-Bosson has brought to life.”
Trumpets of Death is available everywhere beginning next week (August 5). In the lead-up, we were able to field Bournel-Bosson a few questions via email. That includes the story’s development, using his own background as inspiration, the book’s aforementioned fantastical turn, and the value of nostalgia.
Courtesy of Graphic Universe/Lerner.
AIPT: How much (if any) of your personal life informs the relationships here, especially between Antoine and his grandfather? Is that level/depth of sharing difficult at all?
Simon Bournel-Bosson: I was keen to talk about this silence between generations. A misunderstanding between urban and rural. This is truly the intimate aspect of the book, what I experienced with my grandparents.
This was the starting point of the process. Beyond that, I wanted to create a kind of fantasy thriller, something dynamic like a blockbuster. I told myself that it wouldn’t be incompatible to add a deep and personal reflection. This book is fiction, but small fragments of myself punctuate and guide Antoine’s perspective. I have both a distance and a closeness to the characters and the settings. This is what allowed me to create a story that could speak to as many people as possible.
Courtesy of Graphic Universe/Lerner.
AIPT: The book pretty heavily centers around intergenerational conflict. How much of this book (perhaps interconnected to the generational stuff?) is also about evolving ideas of manhood and/or positive masculinity?
SBB: Absolutely. The first thing is focused on the model of the man and the patriarch.
That of the grandfather, silent, dominant, imposing, who is distinguished by his strength and his obsession with control. Antoine is a blank slate. He’s trying to escape this model. To invent his own way of being a human being. To invent his own relationship with nature.
This whole story is a metaphor for a new world saying goodbye to the old one.
A kind of passing of the torch, where we question the legacy of the ancients.
That’s why I staged it like a confrontation in a hunting party. It could also have been a kind of Western.
Courtesy of Graphic Universe/Lerner.
AIPT: The book takes a rather fantastical turn about a third of the way through. How much do you want readers to simply believe in the magic, or are we meant to be skeptical about what’s real and what’s not?
SBB: Beyond the story’s central theme, I wanted a large amount of interpretation for the reader. I wanted them to be able to fill in the missing boxes on their own.
It’s a mirror story. The first part is real. The second, fantastical part resolves and completes the first. It provides a mystical answer. Sometimes reality isn’t enough to express things. Fantasy can poetically explain them.
There’s no right way to read this story. It resonates with each person depending on their life and journey.
Courtesy of Graphic Universe/Lerner.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite moment of this book, one that maybe speaks to the core of the story? I’m fond of, without revealing too much I hope, the kind of transformational moment experienced by Bullitt the dog.
SBB: My favorite moment is the scene with the scouts in the field. These three scouts live on the fringes of the morality and dynamics of their group. The moment when Jeannette has the deer in her sights is one of my favorite moments. I love Jeannette’s character. Even though she doesn’t speak much, she exudes charisma. She’s also the only character who can decide the story ends at any moment.
AIPT: Why the interest in and the use of mushrooms as a device? There’s a pretty obvious plot point involved, but what about them felt interesting and relevant to this larger story and its core themes?
SBB: I used to go mushroom picking with my grandfather and my little sister when I was little. It was a fascinating moment. You had to find them like a treasure. The Trumpets of Death were the Holy Grail. I think mushrooms are fascinating because their name suggests something quite fantastic, something imaginary. While they remain a food. Something tangible.
The title “The Trumpets of Death” was the first thing I found in my story. Because it sums up my concept of the mirror well. Real/fantastical.
Courtesy of Graphic Universe/Lerner.
AIPT: Do you also see this book as a kind of response to this sense of endless nostalgia that’s gripped much of our species? You approach the past with a keen and discerning eye, painting childhood with texture and grit and not just mere romanticism.
SBB: I think I’m a deeply nostalgic being. Quite simply because it’s reassuring, when the future can be anxiety-provoking.
I think nostalgia is the territory of commonplaces. Nostalgia brings us together through all the references it archives.
In pop culture, cinema, music, etc. It allows us to create a direct connection with the viewer. A common ground, a shared culture that allows us to know each other even without knowing each other directly.
Nostalgia is what we share and what connects us in a globalized world.
Courtesy of Graphic Universe/Lerner.
AIPT: Antoine’s mother is regarded in a very specific way across this book. Why treat her as this kind of phantom figure — what does that concept represent for you as the writer/creator?
SBB: Personally, I maintain a distance from this aspect, because my parents have been married for 35 years, and my mother has always been there for me.
I would say this ghostly presence is a narrative lever. Creating the absence of this character, then that of the father, allowed me to focus all the attention on Antoine and the grandparents.
I wanted to put the viewer in the same position as Antoine. I wanted him to not know what was happening, to have the same level of information. I wanted it to be immersive, to confront the same sensations.
The disappearance of his mother and then his father eliminates the structuring characters in his life. He gradually finds himself thrust into a solitude through which he will grow according to his own specter.
This is why Trumpets of Death is, above all, a story of family emancipation.
A story that speaks of that important moment in life when we choose a direction.
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