Review by Ian Keogh
One day an orc turns up at Aurora’s school and is allocated the spare seat next to her. Lewis Trondheim supplies an explanation as to how that happens and why everyone considers the presence of a fictional creature normal, but the reasoning’s not important, it’s the jokes stemming from the situation that matter, and Trondheim’s never been short of jokes.
Aurora and the Orc combines three books published in French with a progression evident in the single page gag strips. Aurora is at first disgusted by the orc, but as the only one who sees what he is, she takes on the task of educating him about what’s not acceptable on Earth. By the second book Aurora is accompanying the orc back to his home, and to some extent the roles are reversed, except here death is a constant possibility.
Trondheim is gloriously off-message when it comes to the general agenda of books for children, serving up jokes that some might consider in poor taste. Aurora points out to her teacher that even if cameras spot the orc eating a child, the child will still be eaten and that’s a big problem. The teacher’s response prioritises the possibility of the orc choking on a shoe. Many other gags rely on the orc channelling what young schoolboys enjoy, so there are plenty of funny takes on fighting, pooping and other largely inappropriate subjects. Trondheim having an orc making the comments perhaps distances them from parental disapproval.
His cheery, energetic cartooning should have universal appeal. There’s so much life to the characters, even when they’re just standing around. The simple gormless look of the orc with his protruding lower teeth is a delight, as is Aurora’s wild turquoise hair.
Much of Trondheim’s success to date is founded on an ability to think beyond what anyone can predict about where his stories are heading. There’s some evidence of this, but the additional restriction of telling a story via single page joke strips can negate it, especially over the earliest strips where the jokes eventually become one-note with an occasional exception reminding us of Trondheim’s unique mind. Aurora on the orc’s world is less predictable, particularly when she acquires a bunch of potions with random effects, and there’s a great twist pertinent to events once Aurora returns home again.
Misgivings about the opening section only apply due to the standards Trondheim’s maintained during his career. From anyone else these would be well drawn and above average strips, but from the orc’s return home the humour is considerably more imaginative and less constrained, making for an all-ages delight.
