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Vice Blog

ANTOINE ORAND EST LE MEILLEUR FILS DE PUTE DES BANDES DESSINÉES.

Antoine did a comic for Vice this week. He's a Frenchman whom I know nothing about other than we are Facebook friends and that I love his drawings. I wanted to learn more about him but ended up mostly asking about French stuff because I also wanted to learn more about France.

Vice: Antoine, you are French. Tell me about your Frenchness.
Antoine Orand: Yes, I am. I was born in a suburb of Paris in 1988 and then I moved to this great city two years ago.

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You can really draw. Your drawing style reminds me a little of French BD (French term for comics) genius, Nicholas De Crécy. Was he an influence?
Of course Nicholas De Crécy was an influence, what a wonderful drawer! Especially when he use watercolors.

What do you think of American comics?
I really like some great and hilarious authors like Andy Rementer, or the legendary Robert Crumb. I'm a big fan of Chris Ware too. Back in time I really appreciate Daniel Clowes too.

I go back and forth on Chris Ware but think he's a very limited writer and a good designer/crafts maker. While we're naming names, who are your favorite French cartoonists?
I think my favorite french cartoonist is my friend Mr Sale Pute who is drawing on our collective blog. He is a real motherfucker.


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Where do you live in France? May I come and live there with with you?
Bretagne is to my point one of the most beautiful place in the world, but I live in Paris now. Of course you can come in, bring me some dope.

When you say dope do you mean pot or heroin?
I don't fix me.

Got it. Why don't French folks like speaking either French or English to English- or French-speaking visitors?
I met some Americans, most of them were girls. In these case I were speakin' a good English. It depend of what kind of English or American you are.

Would you talk English to me if I came up to you and asked which part of France was the froggiest so I could avoid it?
I think "Frenchness and frogs" is an English shitty former joke, so that's OK.

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How many times have you been on the Eiffel Tower?
Never.

OK, well what are the best things to do in France then?
If you wanna have cool time, on a sunny day, take a ship--buy it if you can--a sailing ship in a typically small town like Port-Nic or something else on the Atlantic side. Then just have a trip. You'll picture that.

Yes, I'll picture myself buying a sailboat. Do you have published work in France? Are you like a thing there?
I have been published in a sketchbooks compilation by cfsl.ink. At the moment, the collective is working on a few exhibitions for 2011, so we work a lot and we will see.

My favorite thing about your comics are the great facial expressions. How'd you get so good at funny faces?
Maybe because I draw a lot of people's face like that all the day, all the year. I just can't stop.

INTERVIEW BY NICHOLAS GAZIN