Comic book "Histoires de Pierres"

A comic book about geology

Geology is often perceived by the general public as being a complicated and unappealing discipline. It was therefore decided to focus on presenting the key stages in the geological history of Beaujolais in a lavishly illustrated style. Following a meeting with Éléonore Ampuy, an illustrator based in Lamure-sur-Azergues, the idea of telling the story of geology as a comic strip quickly emerged and this project got under way very smoothly in the summer of 2017.

The book

Eight of the comic strips originally drawn form the core of the book "Histoires de Pierres, chroniques géologiques du Beaujolais" (A History of Rocks, A Geological Chronicle of Beaujolais).

Each comic strip is linked to a geological period and is organised as follows:

- Presentation of past landscapes and environments in the introduction

- Presentation of typical rocks and geological events

- Explanation of the different geological processes and phenomena at work

- Highlighting of an example of representative local geoheritage in the conclusion.

In addition to the eight comic strips, there is additional content to help explain further general geological phenomena. These are the complementary illustrations :

- A timeline retracing the geological history of the area

- A geological map of the Beaujolais region showing the main geological features in the area

- Illustrations depicting the main rocks, fossils and minerals of the Beaujolais which make up the region's geological wealth.

The author

After obtaining a DNAP in Visual Communication at the Beaux-Arts de Rennes, Éléonore Ampuy's passion for comics took her to Brussels where she obtained a Master 2 in Illustration at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Since 2012, she has been working as a graphic designer and illustrator on various projects. She creates images for events, cultural projects, music groups and announcements. She is increasingly looking for simplicity and the depiction of movement in her work. She likes dreamlike worlds, hybrid creatures and naïve paintings.She currently lives in Lamure-sur-Azergues and is one of the founding members of the 'Quartier Métisseur' association, which is a place for culture and meeting others. She offers illustration workshops and works on personal and collaborative projects.
Find her work at : www.eleonoreampuy.com,nonoampuy,nonoampuy / eampuy,gmail,com

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

"When the Syndicat Mixte du Beaujolais asked me to work on this comic book project, I didn't know much about geology. I pictured it as an old-fashioned, dusty science where the only interesting thing about it was old, unearthed fossils. I discovered a world of astonishing richness and complexity which seemed to me to be the foundation of many aspects of our history.

Geology is humbling. We're very small compared to the slow work of rocks and the extraordinary forces of these underground phenomena.

During these two years I've learnt a lot. And I've retained one thing in particular - I've learnt to read landscapes. I look at them today with new eyes.

Then there was the challenge of how to tell a funny and light-hearted story while teaching about some fairly complex scientific facts.

It was a long and difficult job at times, but that's to be expected when talking about 500 million years of geological history."

ELEONORE AMPUY