206
4
225 * 295
06/12/2003
12+
This series is emblematic of the years 1970-1980 – in fact, it’s a veritable sociological mirror. “Germain et Nous” gives us a group of teenagers, and then takes a sharp whip of irony to the group which has been called the “Bof-Generation”…
Frédéric Jannin made his comics debut in 1975, with a series of sketches narrating the adventures of Rockman the rocker. Two years later, Franquin proposed a collaboration for “Trombone Illustré,” the supplement to the magazine “Spirou” which he had just launched and in which he published his famous “Idées noires” (“Black Notions”). With the support of Thierry Culliford, the son of Peyo, Jannin created “Germain et Nous.” Germain, the central character of this humorous chronicle, is a “Bof-Generation” teenager who discovers “fast food,” the obligatory “rock,” electronic games and music videos. His friends: teenagers as turbulent, insolent and disoriented as he is. All, naturally, are in “ideological conflict” with their elders. They comment on everything with a healthy dose of irony – especially the conformism of adults, and of their parents in particular, themselves under the influence of the dictates of fashion and the media… In short, an amusing look back fom the distance of 30 years and more, and – for more youthful readers – a chance to evaluate the distance which separates their teenage lives from those lived by their parents.
