Introduction Marc-Antoine Mathieu was born in 1959 in Antony, France. He lives in Angers, France. The following are projects by Marc-Antoine Mathieu: Paris-Maçon Julius Corentin Acquefacques, prisonnier des rêves La Mutation La Cœur des ombres Mémoire morte Le Dessin Following these is a list of other sites of interest. Mathieu's work has also appeared in a number of anthologies, including: a work in Paroles de taulards, published by Delcourt and Bd Boum / Festival de Blo­is; the 7-page black-and-white "From a Century to Another Century (A Dream)" in Comix 2000, published by l'Association in 1999; and a work in Le Retour de Dieu, published by Autrement. In addition, he has worked for Lucie-Lom, an agency that specializes in putting together expositions, for which he has produced original art.

Paris-Maçon Published by Futuropolis in 1987, Paris-Maçon is typically classified as an early work, demonstrative of an artist not yet fully mature. In interviews, Mathieu acknowledges Paris-Maçon, calling it (along with Le Dessin) as one of his more intimate works (as opposed to the imagination of Julius Corentin Acquefacques), but Mathieu refers to L'Origine as his first graphic novel.

IMAGE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	STATUS
	Paris-Maçon	published by Futuropolis in 1987	Much Needed

Published by Delcourt in the magazine-size hardcovers typical of French comics, the Julius Corentin Acquefacques, prisonnier des rêves series began in 1990 and consists of four books, the last of which was published in 1995. It was this series that made Mathieu's reputation and for which he is still best remembered.
When L'Origine was published in 1990, it garnered immediate critical praise and awards. Its story was more than compelling: it changed the very medium. Ostensibly the story of a glasses-wearing everyman ironically with an elaborate name, it featured a surreal world thought to show the influence of Kafka and Gilliam: most memorably, one sequence showed twins in a cramped apartment who routinely have to move everything to the narrow walls, pulling up the floorboards to allow an elevator to pass through the apartment, which we are told is actually one of the better arrangements available. But L'Origine was most memorable for taking the idea of incorporating the book as art object into its own narrative to the next level. Julius Corentin Acquefacques received in the post a page from the comic, seeing its title and being unable to find "origine" in the dictionary -- suggesting that his world has no origin. He then receives another package to be opened at a specific time, at which point it has accurately predicted the page on which it is opened. But another page is enclosed, one depicting a later point in which the title character experiences déja vu and remembers the present moment we are presently reading. Running across the bookstore or library in which that future page is set, Julius Corentin Acquefacques enters and the page previously seen occurs, this time as the narrative. Our hero finds there a copy of L'Origine, realizing only 12 pages remain in the narrative! He then discovers a group of quasi-scientists attempting to elaborately recreate the origin of L'Origine and who almost worship him as the center of their universe. It is at this point that L'Origine pulls its greatest coup.
As one scientist explains his theory that a three-dimensional world might exist and that a hole might be created to see into the future, we flip the page and realize that the page has a hole in it, allowing us to see a panel two pages subsequent. As we read the next page, we look back through the hole into the past, reading a panel from two pages prior. As Julius Corentin Acquefacques reacts to this panel, the scientist realizes what has happened -- the proof of his theory. At this point, another package is delivered with another page. On page 42, the last page, they read this page, page 43, on which the scientist reacts with alarm, realize that they are on page 43, the page which, on page 43, is being burned by Marc-Antoine Mathieu. Reading this page, the scientist realizes that they are on page 42, at which point the narrative ends. The reader's eye draws upward to the next page, held by the hero, on which the characters' world dies in flame. There are thus two last pages: the last page of the book, which ends abruptly, and the last page held on the last page of the book, which is burned on that same page. Thus, the story both has and doesn't have its final page.
The sequel, La Qu..., seemingly begins where the first ended -- with the protagonist falling through a white void with the ruins of his world. Over the course of the narrative, he goes on a quest through expansive surreal landscapes, finally arriving at a tower. In the most memorable sequence, he opens a door in the top of the tower and colored light pours into his world. The black-and-white book then becomes a colored one, with Acquefacques reacting in surprise. The book ends as it began, with Acquesfacques falling through a void, his adventure seemingly a dream, questioning the nature of his colorless universe.
More artistically successful was the third volume, Le Processus.
Le Début de la fin, the final volume in the series, was a flip book, the other side being called La Fin du début, with seperate copyright and title pages completing the aesthetic. Each narrative begins with Acquefacques apparently dreaming that he is on a boat talking to a reflection of a man sitting on the reflection of the moon. A coin toss that Acquefacques loses signals that he will return to his world as a reflection; he loses in both narratives, though he guesses heads in one and tails in the other. Thus, both narratives have an inversed Acquefacques: one that says goodbye for hello and has no reflection in the mirror, and another in an world where all the buildings are upside-down. In parallel narratives, both investigate their condition, arriving finally at a mirror through which they walk. This mirror occurs at the center of the book, and thus the two narratives intersect, with their characters walking into the other narrative. The point is to have a flip book dealing with the theme of reflections and inverses, revealing L'Épaisseur du miroir ("The depth of the mirror," the title of the book as given on its spine) -- both of reflections in general and of the flip book as medium. The characters, however, do little once they walk into the other narrative, which is after all dedicated to the mirror version of the protagonist. An interesting implication, though one not explored in the book, is that in the other world, because of the way comics conveys time spacially, the characters are actually moving backwards through time once they pass through the mirror. Still, while not entirely satisfying, Le Début de la fin stands as an important and fairly successful expirement in pushing yet further the medium of comics itself.

IMAGE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	STATUS
Larger Version Available	L'Origine	42 pages; black-and-white; published in 1990	B
Larger Version Available	La Qu...	46 pages; black-and-white with some color; published in 1991	B
Larger Version Available	Le Processus	46 pages; black-and-white; published in 1993	B
Larger Version Available	Le Début de la fin	48 pages; black-and-white; a flip book, the other side entitled La Fin du début; titled L'Épaisseur du miroir on the spine; published in 1995	B

La Mutation was published by l'Association in 1992.

IMAGE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	STATUS
Larger Version Available	La Mutation	published by l'Association in 1992	Much Needed

La Cœur des ombres was published by l'Association in 1999.

IMAGE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	STATUS
	La Cœur des ombres	published by l'Association in 1999	Much Needed

Published by Delcourt in 2000, Mémoire morte is a thoughtful rumination on cities, walls, and language -- architectual and otherwise.

IMAGE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	STATUS
Larger Version Available	Mémoire morte	published by Delcourt in 2000; 62 pages; magazine-size hardcover; black-and-white	B

Le Dessin is like a fine art film: it may not seem to amount to much, but it is stylish, evocative, profound, and simply intellectually beautiful.

IMAGE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	STATUS
	Le Dessin	published by Delcourt in 2001; 40 pages; magazine-size hardcover; black-and-white with some color	B

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