The graphic novel Peau neuve

The beginning

September 1990, Laura, 12 years old, just moved. She starts in a new secondary school, where she knows nobody. In the 5th C, she discovers her new collegues and her French teacher Mrs. Brochard, alias "Prozac" ! She asks her pupils to write a report about their holidays. A very simple subject, but Laura spends every year her holiday with her parents and her little brother in a naturist campsite in the Aquitaine region. She writes an excellent report, valued at 16 on 20. Unfortunately, Mrs. Brochard thinks it necessary to inform the entire class of the subject of Laura's report : naturism ...

Topics

Peau neuve raises a lot of topics. The main are certainly naturism and bullying at school, but there are also others like the relationship parents-children, brother-sister, the family, puberty, the relation to nature, the respect for the environment, multiculturalism etc.

Little game "Which campsite ?"

The author, Elise Griffon, does not mention the name of the naturist campsite where the action takes place. It can be a mixture of several resorts or not. One thing seems to be certain regarding the drawings and the text (pine woods, tidal pool...), we are on the Atlantic coast in the Aquitaine region. Katleen, thinks rather at Euronat because of the very international character of certain pages. Personally, I rather think at CHM Montalivet... The enigma remains. Read the comic to make your own opinion...

Katleen's opinion

I like the comic strip Peau neuve a lot. It deals with several topics like the unease of the teachers, the bullying at the secondary school, even the cruelty of certain pupils towards their "classmates", the changes of the body during the puberty and the naturist philosophy.
The comic strip Peau neuve grants to the drawings that are in my opinion successful an important place.
The naturist campsite described in Peau neuve reminds me of my holidays in Euronat. You have the pine woods, the dunes, a very large beach, high waves, young people spending the night around a campfire on the beach...
The naturist atmosphere that you encounter in Peau neuve, is the one you would like to find everywhere. It is notorious that teenagers have difficulty to undress, because they don't want to be exposed to the others, or to show themselves in their birthday suit. Also this issue is well handled in the comic.
More than a story, Peau neuve resembles at an appeal for naturism. This comic will help all those (not only teenagers) that have difficutly to overwin the fear to be seen naked, so that they can profit from the nice sensation of the water and the waves on their entire body ...

Yann's opinion

Peau neuve is a real success. The permanent contrast between the scenes at the secondary school, grey and violent and these at the naturist campsite, natural and radiating liberty, is skilled and very well done. The issue of the bullying at school is very well and honestly treated. It is the same for the naturist holidays, the story feels authentic. If you are naturist, you will certainly recognize many things that you have experienced on your own holidays. If you are not naturist yet, Peau neuve shows you how delightful it is to spend his holidays in a naturist campsite, it tells you about the feeling of freedom, of wellness and of our relation to nature. Really, as I said from the start, Peau neuve is an excellent comic strip, not to miss if you are naturist ... or not yet.

Elise Griffon in short

Elise Griffon is the author of the texts and the drawings of the comic strip Peau neuve. She is born in 1977 and lives in Paris. She has studied film and has made a short film and story-boards for small films. Also interested in press cartoons and cartoons in general, she was in contact with Charlie Hebdo which probably, explains her thoughts for Cabu in the beginning of Peau neuve...

Also from Elise Griffon

Beside Peau neuve, Elise Griffon is also co-author with Sébastien Marnier, of the work "Salaire net et monde de brutes" that tells about the adventures of precarious workers. It is available at Amazon on the following page Buy Salaire net et monde de brutes.