Frantico

Frantico is the pseudonym of an illustrator, author of Cartoons having launched a Cartoon in line on January 1st 2005. According to its dires, born in 1972 it prepared the contests of schools of Art to Châlon-sur-saône then integrated the Art schools of Dijon during three years.

“Birth” of Frantico

The first January 2005 appears on Internet the “blog of Frantico”. Each day until May 31st, the readers discover the life of one sex maniac single person. The May 27th, an article of Libération announces that Frantico, known hitherto from only the blogosphère, came to sign at Albin Michel an adaptation of sound blog having to leave to the autumn. In same time, the Psikopat publishes extracts of them.

The May 31st, the publication of the blog stops. Seven other pages appear until October 15th then, to accompany the exit by the book Blog de Frantico . December 15th, 2005, Frantico posts a last image (a photograph of slipper to apples) and announces the final adoption of the blog.

Many speculations was done as for the real identity Frantico.

Rumors around the phenomenon

At its beginnings, being given the professionalism of this author, a noise ran on various forums devoted to the cartoon: Frantico was already to be famous and act under cover of anonymity. To incarnate the Romain Gary/Émile Ajar of the cartoon, the names of Lewis Trondheim (Co-scénarisé by Appollo, for some) and of Joann Sfar were often quoted, a certain filiation Stylistique or set of themes helping.

The last pages of the blog of Frantico are devoted to the account of a Voyage in Korea at the time of a festival devoted to the blogs (Korea is in addition pionnière as regards electronic cartoon, since this market weighed there already several tens of thousands of dollars in 2005). This voyage, supposed to be carried out with Ball, Libon, Melaka, Nasturtium and Reno, proves to be a Canular. However, Lewis Trondheim is him come well with Seoul for the 3rd living room from the book free-Korean at the end of March 2005. Moreover, the description (summary) of the decorations recalls Sejong Art Center where the living room took place. That could reinforce the thesis according to which Frantico would be Lewis Trondheim.
In spite of the publication of Photo S and Interview S of the author, some suggest that the complicity of this small group of “ Web Blog ueurs ” (interdependent in the Hoax) as well as the changes of style of Frantico would attest that under this name is compiled a collective work.

A new bounce took place at the time of the Festival of Angouleme which was held of the 26 with the January 29th 2006. To believe of it the newspaper '' Le Monde '' of this date, Frantico would not be other than Lewis Trondheim, in addition prize winner of the Grand Prix of the city this same year. Blog de Frantico was nominated for the price of the first album. Its fans waited vainly most famous of the “ Data base Blog ueurs ” with the stand of the editions Albin Michel, where he was announced.

The daily newspaper 20 Minutes publishes the January 30th 2006 an interview of Lewis Trondheim in whom this last denied to be Frantico, while acknowledging to adhere to its apology for the Masturbation (which would avoid according to him excitations machists and the War S ), before declaring that, among its albums, it is Blog de Frantico which he would advise to read with somebody who would never have read anything of him.

The February 9th 2006, an interview of introduced somebody as Frantico is published on the blog Nis. This time, it is the name of Sebastien Lesage, an independent graphic designer, who is announced. With the question Don't you have enough of Lewis Trondheim who makes pretense be Frantico? , this last answers: It had the kindness to lend itself to the play, and I believe that it has fun as much as me. Information available on the Internet site of Sebastien Lesage makes of it the official egery male of Frantico (that of the Photo S and the Vidéo S), failing to prove its implication in the creation of the Planche S of the Blog.

The boards indeed at the time are always allotted for the majority to Lewis Trondheim. This assumption was consolidated by a article published in the weekly magazine '' Télérama '' of the February 8th 2006; article whose contents were contradicted by Frantico through a comment posted the February 4th 2006, in prolongation of the last publication of sound blog. Denial repeated by Lewis Trondheim in a page of its new site (moreover realized by Kek, just like the site of the blog of Frantico ); the author made there appear the blog of Frantico in its bibliography while protesting According to the rumor, I would have made this book but it is not true.

In an interview with the magazine devoted to the blogs Netizen (number 3 - April-May 2006), Lewis Trondheim contradicts again. With the question: A persistent rumor, started again by newspapers like Le Monde and Télérama , wanted that you are the author (or one of the authors, for others) which hid behind the blog of Frantico . That has seems to you it rather amused, sometimes a little aggravated. What do you think of all this history today? , he answers this: That makes me laugh. Sebastien asked to me whether that did not obstruct me to endorse this role. And I finally accepted. I always liked the stories of mystification. Internet is perfect for that. It is one of the greatest information sources and misinformation.

And to scramble the whole, Frantico took part in 2005 in the fanzine Bob like in Alphabetical the published by the Drainer, which would have been astonishing for a professional.

However, Jean-Claude Loiseau of Télérama , at the time of a freehand granted to Lewis Trondheim in his number of the August 12th 2006, briefly summarizes what it names “ the affaire ” before going back the consent to Lewis Trondheim to the number of the February 8th 2006.

End 2006, one of the sketches of the collective work Lives the policy! (published at Dargaud) is signed Frantico.

An interview in Libération the January 25th 2007 gives Trondheim as author of the “ canular ” Frantico, indicating that Trondheim would have assembled that to prove itself to be still able to create after having reached forty.

The June 20th 2007, an article of the World commenting on the closing of the blog of Nico Shark, second blog of Frantico (see below), confirms that Frantico is in fact Lewis Trondheim, and uses indifferently the two names to speak about the author of the blog.

Nico Shark

The May 6th 2007, shortly after the results of the presidential elections, Frantico puts on line new a blog, Nico Shark.

Since the evening of the 2nd turn of the legislative elections of the June 17th 2007, the blog of Nico Shark, as well as the site lodging it, is blocked and replaced by the error message “error/gouv/rg/halt.htm”.

The blog of kek, shelterer of the blog of Nico Shark, again functions the June 18th in end of the afternoon. The following day, it is evoked there attacks on its waiter, which started with the opening of the blog of Nico Shark. It is also explained there that Frantico received threats and thus prefers to stop this blog.

The June 19th with 20:30 appears a bond on the site of kek towards an interview of Frantico: this one gives an artistic direction to the stop of the blog, crossing short to the rumors of censure. The brutal closing of the site is presented as “put in abyss” of the adventures of Nico Shark.

Sources

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