Since my native publishing house announced the cover, I can show it to you) Another childhood dream came true - I illustrated "Notre-Dame de Paris" Moreover, I didn’t bother, I tried by hook or by crook to find an illustrator for it, but in the end the project overtook me.
So now we have a gypsy, a goat (stupid, but therefore happy) as a kawaii element, a gargoyle (who ended up on the cover, apparently descending from the roof at night to stare at the altar), the threatening shadow of a threatening priest (who is holding a cross in his left hand ohhh how I love these microscopic Easter eggs) and, the cherry on the cake - a reference to the Notre Dame fire, glowing with flames in the night.
I can show you a lot of additional materials on this project. Because, for example, I drew the rose of the cathedral with a separate drawing, each element, and only then inserted it into place and distorted the perspective. I drew it twice from scratch because it was deleted the first time. And the gargoyle was also drawn separately, so a fully developed background is hidden behind it (I don’t know why I do this on quite a large number of illustrations, apparently the soul asks for visual novels and moving elements).
And Esmeralda initially had a different face. Here. He told me everything.
We’ve said many times that Barricades: A Les Mis Convention is a fan convention, but what exactly does that mean?
Fan conventions have been around since the 1930s in various forms. At their core, these events are gatherings of fans on a specific topic. At a convention, fans have the opportunity to present and attend panels and other programs, engage with experts, and meet other fans.
So, what is Barricades? Barricades is a fan convention dedicated to Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. Our convention is exclusively virtual, allowing fans across the globe to gather together. Each year, we invite our community to submit panels to present at the con, as well as organizing specific meetups and activities. At plenary sessions, we hear from Guests of Honor who have been invited based on specific expertise or contributions to the ongoing legacy of Les Mis. This year, our Guests of Honor include Christina Soontornvat and Luciano Muriel, and a third guest to be announced! Stay tuned!
You can learn more about Barricades and register on our website. Registration costs £12 - scholarships are available upon request to cover the cost.
Adore each other. Be fiendishly smitten. Be frantically in love. Can there be too many perfumes, too many rosebuds, too many nightingales? Can lovers love each other too much, be too enchanting, too beguiling, too charming? Is it possible to be too much alive, too happy? Adore each other, and never mind the rest.
Thinking about how Victor Hugo wrote one of the most famous portrayals of prostitution that is sympathetic to the prostituted woman (Fantine from Les Miserables) and shows how she is forced by poverty to sell her body, how it clearly is a traumatic experience, and how much disrespect the pimps have for her in reality... And yet he continued constantly visiting brothels and using the women's bodies - so much so that a very famous rumor was created that all the brothels in Paris closed down to mourn him after his death... Kill all men?
"A phenomenon often seen. A sceptic adhering to a believer; that is as simple as the law of the complementary colours. What we lack attracts us. Nobody loves the light like the blind man."
Palestine mention in Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, 1887
Israel will never be able to erase Palestine. It’s woven into our history, our stories. They say you can’t kill a revolution, you can’t erase the truth of its existence either.
It's always "spill the tea" and never "tell me quickly what's the story, who saw what and why and where, let him give a full description, let him answer to Javert!"
It's that time of the year again! Remember to leave out bread and absinthe for Victor Hugo and he will leave you 50 pages on a subject that is off-topic but that he is vaguely interested in. Be safe out there!
Barbie (2023), dir. Greta Gerwig // Les Misérables, Victor Hugo // Barbie (2023), dir. Greta Gerwig // Achilles Come Down, Gang of Youths // Barbie (2023), dir. Greta Gerwig