Le Poisson clown

Clownfish , in the French original Le Poisson-Clown , is a four-volume comic series by David Chauvel and the illustrator Fred Simon . The first volume, Happy , was published in 1997 by the French Delcourt publishing house and in 1998 by Carlsen in a German translation. The German editions of the three other volumes Christina , Aidan and Chas were published by Kombinat Comics from 2002. The series is over.

action

Happy

1952: The young Happy Wimbush moves to his brother Chas in Denver after the death of his father in Henryetta . Shortly after his arrival, Happy meets the police officer Aidan Codikow at the hotel, who is visiting a prostitute there. Aidan questions him about his brother. Happy soon finds out that his brother Chas belongs to the Mafia when he shoots a man in front of Happy's eyes. One evening, the two visit First Bank's chief security officer, John Williams, who, under pressure, delivers a surefire break-in plan to the bank. Happy begins to doubt the friendliness of Aidan Codikow when he becomes aggressive and demands the break-in plan from Happy. Happy then leaves Aidan alone. That same evening Happy is invited to a meeting of the Nicieza family, where he meets Ernesto Nicieza, his son Lucky, his wife Christina, the gangster Guido Cariello and his wife Debbie and the rest of the syndicate for which Happy's brother Chas works. They plan to break into the bank, with Happy being the driver. When Happy hears the police coming, he drives to the next side street, where he stumbles upon Lucky Nicieza and a diamond suitcase protected by bombs. At the last minute, the two flee, whereupon Lucky Happy reveals that his brother is probably dead. Lucky gives Happy the order to wait in a hotel in Boulder with the diamond case until Lucky's wife Christina and Debbie Cariello come to pick it up again. Since the last bus to Boulder has already left, Happy is taken by the traveling salesman Edmund Weiner. Happy leaves the suitcase in Weiner's car and when Christina and Debbie come to pick it up, he stands empty-handed.

The first part is very much influenced by Denver, there is a constant change between the meetings of Happy and his brother Chas, the conversations between Happy and Aidan Codikow and flashbacks that suggest an unexplained family drama.

Christina

Shortly after Lucky Nicieza gave Happy the diamond case, his wife Christina shot him. Christina and Debbie Cariello, who is now also widowed, drive to Boulder to take Happy's suitcase. However, since Happy left the suitcase in Weiner's car, Christina goes crazy and ties Happy and Debbie in the hotel room. Now the divided storyline typical of the later volumes begins . While Christina finally finds Weiner's house after a long search and finds out that Weiner's son is at a masquerade ball with the car and the suitcase still in it , Happy and Debbie break free and decide to look for Christina. Happy and Debbie sleep with a black farmer during the night. At this time Christina ambushes a helpless girl disguised as Snow White to get her costume and access to the masked ball. There she meets Michael Weiner, with whom she goes into the car. Willy, the girl's friend in the Snow White costume, confuses Christina with his girlfriend and tries, while the other two are alone, to push their car into the river. A wild chase ensues, in which Christina can just get to safety with the suitcase. But when Christina opens it, all she finds is a pile of ties. She drives back to the hotel, where a great stranger, invisible to the reader, is waiting for her and forcing her to tell her story. At that moment, the black farmer Happy and Debbie drives to Weiner's house, where they meet the tied Edmund Weiner and his wife. Debbie knocks down Michael Weiner in self-defense, who comes home. However, Happy finds the diamond suitcase in Weiner's hallway, and they decide to exchange the suitcase with Ernesto Nicieza for their freedom. While the great stranger turns out to be Aidan Codikow with Christina, he takes Christina hostage and interrogates the Weiners, Happy and Debbie are trapped on a farm by the killers of Ernesto Nicieza. Aidan Codikow rescues them, but just afterwards he lets the farmers take them away and takes the suitcase. But since neither he nor Christina know the code , they cannot open the suitcase without igniting the bomb, and they come up with a plan.

The second volume is influenced by the two storylines that run through the volume. The storyline with Christina is told personally by Christina, at the insistence of Aidan Codikow, who is not yet recognizable there, in the hotel room. The second storyline is told in parallel, and only at the end do the two storylines meet and then split up again.