Tony Valente took his first steps in the world of comic books thanks to publishing house Del- court, for which he illustrated the four-volume series Les 4 Princes de Ganahan [The 4 Princes of Gan- ahan]. After finalising his work on this series, Valente began work on his own project, Hana Attori (Soleil Productions), which drew heavily from the influences of the manga and anime series that Tony grew up reading and watching, only to devote himself fully to his biggest and most successful project: Ra- diant, which he both wrote and illustrated. Valente can also boast of the fact that Radiant set a precedent as the first and to date only man- fra (French manga) publication to be translated into Japanese, with over a million copies sold world- wide. This series is translated and published in Serbia by publishing company Najkula. When and how did you fall in love with comics, or manga specifically? - I think it happened in front of the TV, when I watched Drag- on Ball as a kid. I then discovered the manga that formed the basis of this anime and really liked it! It was the same with Ranma ½ - I first discovered him in anime, and only later in manga... When reading comics/ manga as a kid, did it ever cross your mind that you might one day illustrate them yourself? - I didn’t consider manga, be- cause during the time of my child- hood it would have been strange to think about that, as there wasn’t a single example of manga beyond Japan. I really liked French comics and knew that I wanted to express myself in that form. To be hon- est, I didn’t have any other plans. You are one of the world’s chief representatives of “manfra”. How does it dif- fer from Japanese manga? - It’s just manga that’s made in France. In France we actually don‘t like the word manfra (laughs). We
prefer to call it French manga or even global manga, i.e., manga that originated outside of Japan. Inter- estingly, each country has its own word for that, and listing them all would be exhausting. You will be coming to Bel- grade soon. Have you pre- viously visited our capi- tal? - I’m coming for the first time and am really looking forward to it. Serbia has long been on my list and I now have the opportunity to come and visit. What are your first associ- ations with Belgrade? - I love old buildings, particu- larly medieval architecture, and I know that there are many incred- ible ruins of buildings from that time throughout Serbia, starting with the Belgrade Fortress. As an enthusiast and creator of fantasy, that can really help me dream up new landscapes for Radiant. Are you familiar with the works of any authors of comics from the Balkans? - Gradimir Smuđa is the on- ly one that comes to mind, be- cause he’s also published a comic in France. Apart from him, I cur- rently don’t know anyone else and I hope that will change with my trip to your country. What’s your opinion of Enki Bilal and did you know that he was born in Belgrade? - I didn‘t know that, to be hon- est! In France, he is an important figure in French comics; he’s been there for as long as I can remem- ber. He’s an incredible illustrator and creator of amazing worlds. Who are your favourite comic authors and whose works do you gladly re- turn to? - I won‘t be very original, as a manga reader: my favourite se- ries is One Piece! There are really many brilliant titles in this indus- try, and I’m currently interested in Dandadan. I also like One-Punch Man, My Hero Academia, Witch Hat Atelier, Vagabond etc.
– Pada mi na pamet jedino Gradimir Smuđa, jer je i on obja- vio strip u Francuskoj. Osim nje- ga, zasad ne znam nikoga i na- dam se da će moje putovanje u vašu zemlju to promeniti. Kakvo je vaše mišljenje o Enkiju Bilalu i da li zna- te da je rođen u Beogra- du? – Nisam to znao, da budem iskren! U Francuskoj je važna fi- gura u francuskom stripu. Uvek je bio tu, otkad znam za sebe. Ne- verovatan je ilustrator i kreator neverovatnih svetova. Ko su vam omiljeni strip autori i kome se rado vraćate? – Neću biti baš originalan kao čitač mange: Moja omiljena seri- ja je „One Piece“! Postoji zaista mnogo sjajnih naslova u ovoj in- dustriji, a trenutno me zanima „Dandadan“. Volim i „One Pun- ch Man“, „My Hero Academia“, „Witch Hat Atelier“, „Vagabond“...
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