Alain Ayroles

Alain Ayroles studied sequential art at the School of Fine Arts in Angoulême, France, where time spent as role-playing game gamemaster to fellow students Jean-Luc Masbou and Bruno Maïorana laid the foundations for future collaborations on a series of highly successful graphic novel projects. For these games he created Contes et Racontars, a fantasy universe that combined swashbuckling adventure with traditional legends, in which one of the players plays a wolf and another a fox, and where the gamemaster plays a non-player character in the guise of a rabbit. This universe would become the inspiration for two series: fairy tale Garulfo and the epic De cape et de crocs.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtiEEyFoPm0 |title=Alain Ayroles, parcours d'un conteur fantastique - BD'dicace |last=Le comte sequentiel |date=11 December 2020 |website=Youtube |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

Ayroles got his break when a small publishing house, recently created by the young Guy Delcourt, hired Ayroles and several of his classmates to work on The Children of the Nile. This publication helped launch the professional careers of authors such as Turf, Joel Mouclier, Claire Wendling and Christophe Gibelin, and Jean-Luc Masbou. Following this Ayroles began writing the scripts to his future graphic novels and spent much of his time researching French literature and poetry as well as 13th century vocabulary. In the meantime, he took a position at French animation studio IDDH to work on layouts, character creation and the scripts to their animated series'. Maoïrana, Masbou and Thierry Leprévost also worked at IDDH for a time.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrUIvwo7orA |title=Garulfo, un conte revisité - BD'xploration |last=Le Comte Séquentiel |date=2018 |website=Youtube |publisher= |access-date=20 March 2021 |quote=}}

With Garulfo Ayroles wanted to turn the idea of the classic fairy tale on its head. With the script to the first two instalments and some draft drawings, he pitched the idea to a number of publishing houses. However, editors advised him to find someone to collaborate with as the boards did not meet with approval.{{cite journal |last1=Dragan |first1=Miroslav |date= |title=Garulfo l'art du conteur |url= |journal=Pavillon Rouge |volume=14 |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bdselection.com/php/?rub=page_dos&id_dossier=64 |title=Interview - Alain Ayroles |last=Vincent |date= |website=BD Sélection |publisher= |access-date=10 June 2009 |quote= |archive-date=10 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510172657/http://www.bdselection.com/php/?rub=page_dos&id_dossier=64 |url-status=dead }} So Ayroles approached Maïorana and together they pitched it to Delcourt who agreed to publish the story. Volume 1 was released in 1995.{{cite journal |last1=Tallet |first1=Richard |date=14 April 2012 |title=Le loup, le renard et la BD |url= |journal=Charente Libre |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=}} The series proved a commercial and critical success until it ended after six albums in 2002.

In parallel to Garulfo, Ayroles and Masbou pitched a second series to Delcourt, which would prove even more successful. De cape et de crocs is a 17th-century theatrical comedy of fable and adventure full of references to French classical literature.{{cite web |url=http://www.actuabd.com/Alain-Ayroles-Ce-qu-on-essaye-de |title=Alain Ayroles : "Ce qu'on essaye de transmettre dans De cape et de crocs, c'est le plaisir de la culture." |last=Lemaire |first=Thierry |date=21 May 2012 |website=Actua BD |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}} Volume 1 was released in 1995, and success led to another 11 volumes being published over the next 21 years.{{cite web |url=https://www.bdgest.com/news-83-BD-On-a-glapi-sur-la-lune-interview-en-un-acte.html |title=On a glapi sur la lune |last=Briot|first=J |date=3 March 2006 |website=BD Gest |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}} Critical reception was positive, described by Actua BD as "becoming more and more of a classic".{{cite web |last=Anspach |first=Nicolas |date=6 May 2004 |title=De Capes et de Crocs - T6 : Luna Incognita - Par Ayroles & Masbou - Delcourt |url=https://www.actuabd.com/De-Capes-et-de-Crocs-T6-Luna-Incognita-Par-Ayroles-Masbou-Delcourt |website=ActuaBD |access-date=}} a series which mixes "comic, novel, theatre and cinema" that is "rich in a thousand and one references, expertly distilled by authors who are as cultivated as they are mischievous".{{cite web |url=https://www.actuabd.com/De-Capes-et-de-Crocs-T7-Chasseurs-de-chimeres-Par-Ayroles-Masbou-Delcourt |title=De Capes et de Crocs - T7 : Chasseurs de chimères - Par Ayroles & Masbou - Delcourt |last=Boileau |first=Laurent |date=20 February 2006 |website=ActuaBD |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}} The series ended in 2016.{{cite journal |author= |date=27 January 2017 |title=Ayroles et Masbou disent adieu à "De Cape et de crocs" |url= |journal=Sud Ouest |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=}}

In 1998 Ayroles was awarded the Petit Robert prize for best comics writer at Quai des Bulles for Garulfo and De cape et de crocs.{{cite news |last=Labé |first=Yves-Marie |date=30 October 1998 |title=Saint-Malo, quai des bulles |url= |work=Le Monde |location=Paris |access-date=}}

Skill with words proves useful in translating the Bone series of comic books by Jeff Smith, whom Ayroles had been a fan of since the early 90s, and had brought to the attention of Delcourt. He worked on the first five volumes of the French version in collaboration with Anne Capuron.

In 2008, his collaboration with Luigi Critone Seven Missionaries drew positive reviews, according to Actua BD the album is "particularly well-crafted from a scripted point of view" and littered with "provocative humour".{{cite web |url=https://www.actuabd.com/Sept-Missionnaires-Par-Alain-Ayroles-Luigi-Critone-Ed-Delcourt |title=Sept Missionnaires - Par Alain Ayroles & Luigi Critone– Ed. Delcourt |last=Wurlod |first=Olivier |date=24 March 2008 |website=ActuaBD |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}} Seven Missionaries recounts the adventures of seven not-so-Catholic priests who have to counter the Viking invasions in Ireland. Ayroles proved to be one of the few authors working on the Sept series to develop seven characters and a complete story in a single volume.

From 2009, he published a new series with Maïorana and Thierry Leprévost, D, which was inspired by the gothic world of vampires in a plot set in Victorian Britain.{{cite journal |last1=Giret |first1=Haude |date=9 March 2009 |title=Rendez-vous d'enfance avec le mythe du vampire |url= |journal=Sud Ouest |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=}}{{cite web |url=http://www.actuabd.com/Alain-Ayroles-Bruno-Maiorana |title=Bruno Maïorana rêvait depuis longtemps de dessiner une histoire de vampires |last=Detournay |first=Charles-Louis |date=25 August 2014 |website=Actua BD |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

Teaming up with Juanjo Guarnido, he wrote Les Indes Fourbes (The treacherous Indies{{cite web |url=http://www.tcj.com/a-picture-isnt-always-worth-a-thousand-words/ |title=A Picture Isn't Always Worth A Thousand Words |last=Hulley |first=Bart |date=22 September 2020 |website=The Comics Journal |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}), published in 2019, about the adventures of Pablos de Segovia, a character from the novel by Francisco de Quevedo El Buscon.{{cite news |last=Pietralunga |first=Cédric |date=15 August 2019 |title=Alain Ayrolles et Juanjo Guarnido, picaresques ! |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2019/08/15/alain-ayrolles-et-juanjo-guarnido-picaresques_5499735_3260.html |work=Le Monde |location=Paris |access-date=}} The album immediately met with great critical and public success, collecting three awards in France.{{cite web |url=https://www.actuabd.com/Les-Indes-fourbes-d-Alain-Ayroles-et-Juanjo-Guarnido-Delcourt-Prix-Landerneau |title=Les Indes fourbes d'Alain Ayroles et Juanjo Guarnido (Delcourt) Prix Landerneau 2019 |last=Pasamonik |first=Didier |date=26 November 2019 |website=Actua BD |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/la-bd-les-indes-fourbes-embarque-dans-le-top-20 |title=La BD Les Indes fourbes embarque dans le Top 20 |last=Combet |first=Claude |date=24 September 2019 |website=Livres Hebdo |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

In 2020 he worked with Fabien Nury, Benjamin Adam and Thibault Valetoux on the screenplay to Paris Police 1900, a period drama series for French television, featuring eight episodes of 52 minutes, broadcast on Canal+.

In 2021 he collaborated on a spin-off of Alex Alice's Castle of the stars series. The Chimeras of Venus is a five-chapter story drawn and colored by Étienne Jung. This steampunk-oriented space epic is developed in the same universe as the source series, between volumes 13 and 17, which Ayroles is also credited for.

File:FIBD2020AyrolesGuarnido 01.jpg 2020.]]

• 1998: The Petit Robert prize for best comics writer, awarded at Quai des Bulles for Garulfo and De cape et de crocs.
• 2019: The Landerneau Prize (France) awarded by Régis Loisel for Les Indes fourbes.
• 2019: The RTL Grand Prix for comics (France) for Les Indes fourbes.VS, [https://www.actuabd.com/+Les-Indes-fourbes-d-Ayroles-et-Guarnido-rafle-encore-la-mise-en-remportant-le+ « Les Indes fourbes d’Ayroles et Guarnido rafle encore la mise en remportant le Grand prix RTL de la BD »], on Actua BD, 29 November 2019.
• 2019: Comic booksellers (France) prize for Les Indes fourbes[https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/alain-ayroles-et-juanjo-guarnido-laureats-du-prix-des-libraires-de-bd « Alain Ayroles et Juanjo Guarnido, lauréats du prix des libraires de BD »], on Livres Hebdo (consulted 31 January 2020)

Illustrated by Bruno Maïorana, colors by Thierry Leprévost.

• 1 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=1995 |title=De mares en châteaux |trans-title=From ponds to castles |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-045-8}}
• 2 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=1996 |title=De mal en pis |trans-title=From bad to worse |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-087-3}}
• 3 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=1997 |title=Le prince aux deux visages |trans-title=The Prince with Two Faces |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-84055-139-3}}
• 4 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=1998 |title=L'ogre aux yeux de cristal |trans-title=The Ogre with Crystal Eyes |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-84055-237-6}}
• 5 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2000 |title=Preux et prouesse |trans-title=Knights and Prowess |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-334-1}}
• 6 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2002 |title=La belle et les bêtes |trans-title=Beauty and the Beasts |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-84055-579-7}}

Illustrated by Jean-Luc Masbou

• 1 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=1995 |title=Le Secret du janissaire |trans-title=The Secret of the Janissary |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-059-8}}
• 2 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=1997 |title=Pavillon noir ! |trans-title=Jolly Roger! |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-143-8}}
• 3 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=1998 |title=L'Archipel du danger |trans-title=The Archipelago of Danger |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-335-X}}
• 4 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2000 |title=Le Mystère de l'île étrange |trans-title=Mystery of the Strange Isle |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-059-8}} includes one Act play Le Médecin imaginaire (The imaginary Doctor)
• 5 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2002 |title=Jean Sans Lune |trans-title=John Moonless |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84055-578-6}}
• 6 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2004 |title=Luna incognita |trans-title=Luna incognita |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-84789-112-6}}
• 7 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2006 |title=Chasseurs de chimères |trans-title=Chimera Hunters |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=2-84789-925-1}}
• 8 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2007 |title=Le maître d'armes |trans-title=The Master at Arms |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-0318-4}}
• 9 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2009 |title=Revers de fortune |trans-title=Reversal of Fortune |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-0835-6}}
• 10 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2012 |title=De la Lune à la Terre |trans-title=From the Moon to the Earth |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-1996-3}}
• 11 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2014 |title=Vingt mois avant |trans-title=Twenty Months Past |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-4036-3}}
• 12 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2016 |title=Si ce n'est toi... |trans-title=If it wasn't you... |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-6475-8}}

Illustrated by Luigi Critone, colors by Lorenzo Pieri

• Vol. 4: {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2008 |title=Sept missionnaires |trans-title=Seven missionaries |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-0643-7}}

Illustrated by Bruno Maïorana, colors by Thierry Leprévost

• 1 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2009 |title=Lord Faureston |trans-title=Lord Faureston |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-0412-9}}
• 2 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2011 |title=Lady d'Angerès |trans-title=Lady d'Angere|url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-1960-4}}
• 3 {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2014 |title=Monsieur Caulard |trans-title=Mr Caulard |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-1960-4}}

Illustrated by Juanjo Guarnido

• {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2019 |title=Les Indes Fourbes |trans-title=The Treacherous Indies |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=978-2-7560-3573-4}} - Official Selection Angoulême Festival 2020
• {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2019 |title=Les Indes Fourbes : Tirage de luxe |trans-title=The Treacherous Indies: Deluxe Edition |language=French}} Co-edition Caurette/Black & White - ISBN 979-10-96315-50-5 - Limited edition of 499 numbered and signed copies.

Illustrated by Etienne Jung

• {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2021 |title=Les Chimères de Vénus |trans-title=Chimaeras of Venus |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Rue de Sèvres |isbn=978-2-369-81187-9}}
• {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2023 |title=Les Chimères de Vénus 2 |trans-title=Chimaeras of Venus 2 |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Rue de Sèvres |isbn=978-2-369-81030-8}}

Illustrated by Richard Guérineau.

• {{cite book |last=Ayroles |first=Alain |date=2023 |title=L'Ennemi du genre humain|trans-title=The enemy of human kind|url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Delcourt |isbn=9782413078548}}

{{Portal|comics|fantasy}}

• Mythic fiction
• Fantasy comedy

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.editions-delcourt.fr/bd/series/serie-garulfo/album-garulfo-t01 Garulfo on Delcourt's website]
• [https://www.bedetheque.com/serie-57-BD-Garulfo.html Garulfo on BeDeTheque.com]
• [http://decape.free.fr De Cape et de Crocs] Website for the series by Alain Ayroles.
• [http://nerial.free.fr/artelio/artelio/spip_052.html Interview with Alain Ayroles about De Cape et de Crocs]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayroles, Alain}}

Category:20th-century French writers

Category:French children's writers

Category:French comics writers

Category:French male writers

Category:1968 births

Category:Living people