A New Normality: The Evolution of the Uchronic Universe of the Series Le Château des étoiles by Alex Alice

Abstract

This article explores how the first two volumes of the bande dessinée series, Le Château des étoiles (2014–2021), by Alex Alice, illustrate how notions of a “new normality” can occur in a uchronic space opera on multiple levels, as well as how the bande dessinée as a form of media and how littératures de l’imaginaire as a genre lend themselves to the disruptions that bring about such new normalities. More specifically, this article will argue that the new normalities occur on the level of the textual universe, on the narrative level, and on the visual level of these volumes, and that the disruptions that serve as the causes of each of these moments in which a new normality begins are themselves key aspects of these works. These arguments will be based on theoretical notions of the uchronia, literary analyses, and visual analyses, which combine to explore how these examples of the bande dessinée format exploit the multimodal capacities of this form of media to effectively communicate textually and visually.

Keywords:

• Alex Alice
• bande dessinée
• fantasy
• littératures de l’imaginaire
• multimodal
• uchronia

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elisabeth Herbst Buzay

Elisabeth Herbst Buzay is a Visiting Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Connecticut. Her research focuses on communication and environmental studies in French Medieval literature and contemporary French fantasy literature, and she has published in SITES, the Revue de Philologie et de Communication interculturelle, and Nouvelles Francographies, as well as co-authoring a book chapter about Assassin’s Creed.