This comic book spy series has everything of a great saga in the making.
First published in the magazine
Okapi
between 2008 and 2020, the seven volumes of
Espions de famille
(now published as a hardcover album on the new label
Bande d'Adolescents
) retrace the adventures of an emotional trio as strong as it is atypical, Alex, Leila and her grandfather Amédée.
Because yes, these three have... the family spirit.
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The plot features young Alex, a teenager who is only interested in video games.
Secretly in love with Leila, he wants to declare his love for her on her birthday.
But his grandfather ruins everything... To be forgiven, Amédée Caillebotis tells his grandson a family secret: he was a spy in the service of France in the 1960s, belonging to the famous band of "Charles' Angels"...
Leila, Amédée and Alex, the twirling trio from the
Family Spies
series in full action... © Bande d'ados/ Bayard editions/Milan
Because he doesn't really believe in it, Alex puts his family in danger by unwittingly having B707 (Grandpa's old code name) spotted by one of his old enemies, the infamous Doctor Mordicus...
A teenage spy saga
But times have changed, technology has evolved.
The two enemies of yesteryear will quickly find themselves overwhelmed... allowing Alex and Leïla to save the world.
The designer Romain Ronzeau: "The series interweaves three themes, the intergenerational bond, teenage romance and the world of espionage."
© Teen band / Bayard editions / Milan
“Originally, this series was born in
Okapi
,
remembers designer Romain Ronzeau.
The magazine had asked screenwriter Thierry Gaudin to create an action comic for teenagers. With him, we launched
Espions de famille
, a series that intertwined several themes. The intergenerational link and the evocation of the relationship between teenagers and their grandparents, which sometimes stretches a little. A teenage romance that at this age is very complicated. All immersed in the world of espionage with references to James Bond or OSS 117. Finally, the series spanned a dozen years. Many fans of the series find that it is about a more tender OSS 117... A saga of espionage at the height of teenagers.»
“The central theme of the series revolved around transmission.
»
Thierry Gaudin, screenwriter of the series "Family Spies"
The collaboration between Thierry Gaudin and Romain Ronzeau was a model of its kind.
“Before each start of an album
, recalls Romain Ronzeau
, we met in a café to brainstorm ideas or draw threads.
It was a real emulation.
We quickly realized that the central theme of the series revolved around transmission.
Screenwriter Thierry Gaudin:
“This series is particularly close to our hearts.
Especially since it is a loopy and coherent story, with endearing characters.
© Teen band / Bayard editions / Milan
Screenwriter Thierry Gaudin says the same thing:
“Romain is very attentive to the emotions of the characters. Throughout the series, we thought together about the staging of the pages. We have been ruthless with each other. This series is particularly close to our hearts. Especially since it is a loopy and coherent story, with endearing characters. The set has already sold more than 60,000 copies in a soft version under the
BD Kids label
. But we are delighted by this promotion thanks to which
Espions de famille
will be able to reach a new, older audience..."
The saga has many fans.
They can rejoice, the tandem is currently working on a new version.
“This is a series of ecological anticipation set in fifty years,
reveals Thierry Gaudin.
We wanted to open up horizons, try to do the anti
Hunger Games..."
And Romain Ronzeau to clarify:
“This sequel features Alex and Leila as grandparents.
We are going to keep the very serial aspect of the original series, but we have added the theme of ecology to it..."
The comic box
Romain Ronzeau:
“This board is the starting point of the whole adventure.
» © Band of teenagers / Bayard editions / Milan
Page 14 of
Grandpa's Bonsissages
album is a great introduction to the series.
“
It is indeed a good choice,
agrees the designer Romain Ronzeau,
because this board is a bit like the starting point of the whole adventure.
In the first strip, the three panels introduce the arrival of the two protagonists, Amédée and Alex.
We understand in the first image that Alex is a teenager fascinated by screens.
His grandfather has already given him the novel
The Three Musketeers
for his birthday when books are not his cup of tea.
Romain Ronzeau:
“
We understand in the first image that Alex is a teenager fascinated by screens.
» Group of teenagers / Bayard editions / Milan
When Amédée resumes contact with his grandson, he is holding an old notebook in his hand.
Alex, still pissed off by what his grandfather did, doesn't even look away.
"Amédée wears a Jacquard sweater like my own grandfather
," notes the designer.
In his hands, his personal spy diary looks a bit like a magic notebook.
His whole past is recorded there.
I represent it as a family album with black and white photos.
»
Romain Ronzeau:
“The image suggests that the “Charles' Angels” form a shock team, a bit like
Top Gun
.
» © Band of teenagers / Bayard editions / Milan
The images in Amédée's notebook are classified "Top secret". Amédée makes Alex swear not to tell anyone... Of course the temptation will soon be too strong.
“The pictures contained in this notebook have something of the images of Épinal,
deciphers the designer.
They suggest that the "Charles' Angels" form a shock team, a bit like
Top Gun
. The five spies are caught on the pontoon of an aircraft carrier, and wear leather jackets like backpackers or adventurers. As "Les Anges de Charles" works for Charles de Gaulle, we made a little nod to the Charlie's Angels series
which
in English bears the name of
Charlie's Angels
...»
In the second half of the page, Romain Ronzeau took the time to draw Amédée's famous spy notebook.
“The year 1962 is not there by chance,
notes the designer.
This is the year of release of the first James Bond starring Sean Connery.
The different images are a bit exaggerated, the one where the hero poses with one foot on the missile he has just disarmed with the Eiffel Tower in the background, or the one where General de Gaulle gives him a medal.
We are clearly in the glorious aspects of Amédée's career.
Often children do not suspect everything that their grandparents have experienced..."
This board functions as a kind of mise en abyme... © Bande d'ados/ Bayard editions/Milan
In the insert at the end of the page, we find Amédée and her grandson Alex, a little flabbergasted.
“The teenager looks at his grandpa with a different eye
, recognizes Romain Ronzeau.
He's no longer the goofy, weird grandpa he thought he knew.
Amédée Caillebotis finds herself adorned with a new aura, a heroic image.
»
More generally, this board functions as a kind of mise en abyme.
“Thanks to the thumb that holds the notebook,
concludes the designer,
the reader starts the adventure by opening a book within the book.
It's our way of inserting our little story into the big one...
"
Espions de famille, volume 1, Bonsissages de Papy,
by Romain Ronzeau and Thierry Gaudin, in the collection Bande d'Adolescentes, 56 p., published by Bayard/Milan.
€12.50.
