For several years, the universe of the Dungeon has made a smashing return but it still lacked a series: Potron-Minet on the transformations of the castle into a trap for adventurers. Follow us to discover the new pieces appearing in Survivre.
Moving from owner to entrepreneur
Writers Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim return after thirteen years of absence from the series Dungeon Potron-Minet. It all starts with a paradox: justice officers break the law. In a forest, at night, a trio breaks into the Dungeon. The narrator is a dog. An unemployed lawyer, he became a thief out of necessity because crimes are increasingly rare, he is devoid of clients. He has teamed up with a clerk and a secretary to rob the Dungeon but the association does not last because of the unexpected arrival of a large stone bristling with spikes. Having lost two assistants, he advances alone but arrives at his destination: the room of the owner Hyacinthe de Cavallère. He won't go any further… Hyacinth is angry because it has been three times this week that his nights are interrupted by criminals. He is the main character of Dungeon Potron-Minet. The previous cycle had described his coming to power by replacing his father. However, he refuses this family conditioning. He does not want to become the leader and only acts to sleep peacefully. For this, he must make his Dungeon impregnable. Alas, his initiatory quest is interrupted by the attack of the armies of the duchies of Clérembard and Vaucanson who want to share the lands of Hyacinthe.
An SME of monsters
Dungeon is a universe world. Indeed, this new cycle of Potron-Minet shows the transition from the craftsmanship of the Dungeon to the creation of an SME of the adventure. Hyacinth must recruit reliable employees, here a dragon child. He must then train this new employee and force him to leave his family culture to increase his efficiency. Its former employees are disturbed by contradictory injunctions and these changes. To settle social conflicts, the owner sets up an administrative council even if his thieving companion refuses to sit. He then discovers the difficulty as CEO to reconcile work with married life because, since his appointment, his partner Alexandra shuns him.
Each series can be read independently and it is possible to take a volume at random without being lost. However, the fan will find elements well known by characters or places. We find the village of xenophobic rabbits and beer brewers. We also discover how the dungeon was populated by strange creatures. Survivre tells the story of Hyacinthe de Cavallère's collaboration with Marvin. The cartoonist Stéphane Oiry takes over from Christophe Blain and Christophe Gaultier. His very childish drawing is perfectly suited to this rereading of fantasy. This naivety is particularly marked in the depiction of the rabbit killer. Conversely, the final siege of the castle is much more precise. We can think of illustrations from novels. This success is amplified by Walter's very successful colorization with a dark gothic tone at the beginning and flashes of red for violence.
This new volume of Donjon Potron-Minet published by Delcourt marks the birth of a fantasy SME. In Survivre, the screenplay by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim is very free. The adventures are above all an excuse to make us laugh. In Survive, it works very well even if the second part is looser with a magical resolution a little easy.
Other chronicles on the Dungeon universe are present on the site with Dungeon Antipode and The Best Beer.
