Brüssli Le Conquérant (Brüssli the Conqueror) is the story of a young boy that doesn’t look like other boys. He was found in an egg by his adoptive father and brought back home. His parents swear to him that he is a normal little boy although all the bullies in the village, to which he stands to all the time say he is a from boy, that he is ugly and that he stinks. But Brüssli believes that he has a greater fate in life which includes finding the Taj Mahal, finding his real father, becoming a world conqueror and marrying then beautiful Dorette, the rich and bubble head orphan heiress.
Sometimes one asks how a simple mix of elements can create a comic book so grandiose out of basic and simple elements. This series is like Bone but much better, much funnier, and better looking. Étienne gives a Disney look to his work, by softracing all the ink line with colours and creating angular designs that would be at home in the Sleeping Beauty animated film released by Disney decades ago. Brüssli may not be the most beautiful boy but he is cute nonetheless and his innocence comes out in both the designs and the story.
As for the story, it’s a simple one, almost set up to be an animated cartoon. Colours are as rich as the story and the fully developed characters. For example, I liked how the parents played along with Brüssli’s lies about getting taunted by local bullies, They even help him correct his slip outs when he forgets. These little details make the story very enjoyable and it’s hard to not cheer for Brüssli when he is in trouble. This series has not been translated yet in English, but if there ever was something that I absolutely believe should be made available to readers of all languages, it is this story. It’s like reading Bones, but with some Titeuf* injected in the main character.
*Tifteuf is a popular comic book series for kids featuring a loud mouth boy that looks oddly enough like Brüssli .
