When ideas take shape in comics
On June 15, 2025, Apolline’s annual celebration turns the Etoy schoolyard into a buzzing little arts festival: music, dance, workshops… and, a bit off to the side, a 12-year-old student proudly leafing through his own printed comic book. Daniel doesn’t just read comics, he creates them. In the middle of families, strollers, and laughter, he casually explains that he “always takes [his] comic books on vacation.” His stories follow him everywhere, like a red thread running from his bedroom to the playground, and now all the way to the tables at Apolline’s summer party.
Daniel, 12, a comic book author at Apolline
Daniel is 12 and has been taking comic book classes at Apolline for a year, with his teacher Lorraine. He’s been drawing “forever,” but his turning point goes back to early childhood: “When I was really little, I wanted to read comic books, but I didn’t really understand them. So I told myself I would make my own comics. That way, everyone would understand.” What could have stayed a source of frustration becomes a project: finding his own way to tell stories so they’re clear, accessible, and easy for anyone to read.
From Tintin to imaginary forests: a style of his own
His first comic book reads came from Tintin. He says he’s “a tiny bit” inspired by Hergé’s world, especially the colors and shapes, including the choice to “not add too many shadows” and to make sure every color is clearly distinct so they’re “not too close to each other.” But the story itself is entirely his. In his comic, a group of friends goes into the forest to relax, gets lost, has to spend the night there, and lives through a series of adventures before finally making it back home. Daniel admits with a smile, “For that one, I didn’t write a script. I just made up the story as I went along.” Panel after panel, he builds his narrative step by step, just like his characters moving through the trees.
From bedroom to studio: when Apolline helps you go all the way
Before joining Apolline, Daniel had already started his comic “a bit at home.” In class with Lorraine, he adds the “final touches” to complete it and get it ready for printing. In just one year, what began as a solitary project becomes a finished work, ready to be shown, flipped through, and even gifted. Daniel explains that for a long time he drew “super simple” pictures, and now he enjoys making them more complex, always “in pencil,” without a tablet or screen. At Apolline, his universe isn’t reshaped from the outside; it’s supported, refined, and brought into focus so it can truly exist—right up to the moment he holds a book in his hands with his name as the author.
“His inner world speaking”: a mother’s view, a school’s mission
In the end, it’s his mom who might sum up best what this comic book really represents. She says how “very, very happy” it makes her to see that Daniel has found “something he’s been passionate about since he was very little,” a passion that “comes from the inside.” For her, his comics are “his inner world speaking,” a unique and original style that she is “very proud” of. Daniel’s story could be that of so many children: a desire to tell stories, a pencil, a few memorable reads, and a school that offers the framework, trust, and tools to carry it through. At Apolline, the celebration in Etoy doesn’t just showcase artworks; it celebrates children’s voices as they discover and build themselves through art.