Dunce, humor from the cold

After Scandinavian furniture, literature from the far north, how about discovering Norwegian humour with Dunce? Let yourself be convinced by this new title of the 404 comics collection.

Dunce is an anthology of Norwegian strips – comics in a few boxes that can be found in newspapers. Jensk – Jens K. Styve – settles in the north of the country marked by the polar winter. When he started drawing late, this harsh climate and snowy landscapes influenced him. It started on social media, but Dunce quickly became the most published comic trip in the country – in fifteen newspapers and two monthly. It was during a trip to Bergen that Nicolas Beaujouan, editorial manager, was marked by drawing before being conquered by bittersweet humor.

The name of the series means in English a dunce and we find the symbol by the hat of the main character, Jens. This anti-hero is especially very selfish. He only gives his blood for the gift offered afterwards, collector's mugs. Although the hero has a son, Gustav, it is the smallest who seems the most mature. Indeed, his son asks for a day without internet to finally be able to exchange with his father. It will take a power cut for several days for the two to talk to each other. It is through the family that we feel the passage of the seasons. The winter depression is treated by a piece of hard rock while the holidays in the south of the country are an opportunity for Gustav to discover the hot sand and frozen water. It is not the strong winds of autumn that will convince us to come. The start of the school year is eagerly awaited because the little boy will finally be able to decorate his brand new textbooks with insults on every page. Although his best friend, Karianne, is only cynicism and bitterness, they dance with joy when Gustav receives his first letter and refuses to open this exceptional gift. The family grows with the arrival of a dog. Brego is able to speak, but his gift is used to share his temperamental character. He categorically refuses any form of training especially that humanity is boring. Often the funniest of the family, he forces his master to listen only to jazz. For him, the only valid reason to stay in this family is food.

Without being connected to current events, Dunce is anchored in the^twenty-first century. A day without internet is decided unilaterally by Børge, Jens' bureau chief, but how can a start-up work? We must therefore occupy our time with ridiculous games in business: making "lego" to stimulate creativity. Nevertheless, Jens admits that progress is good. For example, he has no nostalgia for audio cassettes. Employees are so addicted that they reconstruct the internet in real life by building a Facebook and Instagram wall while their boss hides to answer a Tinder match. It must be said that their boss seems very depressed and socially maladapted. When they are evicted from their offices because of gentrification, the trio find themselves in a coworking space with a lot of relaxing activities… but not a single concrete achievement. Børge converts to hipsterism by the grace of a food truck but finds his way – and perhaps wealth – in the rehabilitation of the festivities of the Scandinavian saints. The quality of the humor comics certainly comes from the main character but for the series to last more than a few pages it is the diversity and quality of secondary characters like Peanuts. This is the case with Dunce by Jens' hilarious gallery of colleagues and loved ones. Dunce is also a wildlife series. Even though the hero and his family are human, his office colleague is a raven and his boss Børge is a species of fish.