A Dutch bourgeois of the golden age invents, in secret, a flying machine and thus emancipates herself from the tutelage of her husband: this is what the comic strip tells The sky for conquest, which has just been published by Delcourt. This is the first graphic novel by a young Korean author, very popular on social networks: Yudori.
In Holland in the middle of the 16th century, Amélie led a life dreamed of by many: this young Catholic married a handsome and wealthy merchant, Hans. But Amélie does not want to remain confined to life at home with her two servants. She only dreams of conquering the sky, a space that men have not yet invested. Amélie then engages in secret in a scientific invention…
The young Korean author Yudori, whose first graphic novel this is, surprises with this eminently modern story which takes place during the Dutch Golden Age. ” Basically, I wanted to tell the story of a woman who loves all things aerial and who wants to invent a flying machine, she explains. As I am a history fan, I explored different historical periods and different cultures, and discovered the Dutch Golden Age. It was at this time that capitalism, colonialism and the discovery of the world were born. I understood that it would be the perfect setting for my story”
Yudori is inspired by the flying machines of Leonardo da Vinci, but also discovered during his preparatory research that even before the invention of hot air balloons by the French, the Chinese had developed flying machines.
Emancipation from male guardianship
But beyond the historical and scientific aspects, this comic depicts relationships between different women: Amélie and her servants, and then a sex slave brought back from Asia by Hans. Yudori talks about the emancipation of his heroines:
I love talking about women and drawing them. I deeply respect and admire different types of feminism, even though some feminists have criticized me for misrepresenting women. But whatever. I write about women, for women, even if people don’t agree with me.
Yudori represents this 16th century Europe with a great sense of detail. The graphic style of this young Korean author, coming from the webtoon, mixes the influences of Franco-Belgian comics and manga.
“ I have a very international lifestyle and I’m from the internet generation, I don’t see any difference in graphic styles, explains the young author. For example, people always wonder if Picasso was a French artist or a Spanish painter. For me, he was a pedophile and that’s it. People always ask me if I’m American, Korean or Chinese, and why I work with French people. I tell them that it was offered to me, that I can do it and that it suits me. We don’t need to say that it’s a French or Asian comic. »
Happy and talented, Yudori has just succeeded with The sky for conquest, a remarkable graphic novel, and one of the most noticed this fall.