Andre Franquin

This is a collection of darkly comic standalone strips by a cartoonist Herge (Tintin) idolized. Die Laughing, which is executed in stark black and white, takes aim at everyone and everything in its scathing critique of modern life, but is particularly ruthless toward animal abusers, the military industrial complex, and death penalty enthusiasts. Franquin’s loose but meticulous line work features expressionistic shadows and silhouettes that infuse his depressed, repressed, and oppressed characters with a disturbing manic energy. Die Laughing is filled with visual gags and gag-inducing visuals that will haunt you.

Die Laughing

Kim Thompson

Renowned Franco-Belgian gag cartoonist Andre Franquin suffered from depression. With his late-career "Idees Noires" series of gags from the late 1970s and early 1980s, created mostly for the independent/underground comics magazine Fluide Glacial, Franquin harnessed his still-virtuoso graphic style to his increasingly morbid worldview. Fantagraphics is proud to present the complete "Idees Noires" collection under the title Franquin's Last Laugh.

Andre Franquin

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