The scriptwriter of Deadly Adèle threatens to put his pencil after a disagreement with Bayard Jeunesse

The creator of the deadly character Adèle, one of the most popular in youth comics, threatens to arrest because he says he is mistreated by his former publisher, who for his part denounces « unfounded allegations ». « I am now forced to consider stopping and putting my pencil »said Antoine Dole, 43, on Instagram on Monday January 27.

He launched his own publishing house in 2023, Mr Tan & Co, leaving the publisher Bayard Jeunesse. But Bayard still holds rights over the vast majority of Mortelle Adèleincluding the first 19 episodes of the « main series ».

Antoine Dole believes that this catalog is poorly managed. « Before, my opinion was respected. From now on, I am treated as a dead author who no longer has a say, who is no longer consulted »he wrote. « I dissociate myself from the choices of Bayard Éditions, their commercial operations and publications, in particular those planned in the coming months and which consist in presenting works from the Deadly Adèle and Ajax series, released several years ago, as new products, which trompe the consumer », he continued.

Questioned by AFP Tuesday on this precise accusation, Bayard said he would respond later. In a press release in reaction to « accusations formulated by Antoine Dole », Bayard youth wrote: « We refute and condemn these unfounded allegations. They shock us deeply and are the opposite in our ways of working. »

Mortelle Adèle is a red -haired girl with a strong character and very direct language, created by Antoine Dole in 2012. She attracts a very numerous child reader, the author evoking a total of « 21 million readers » Since its beginnings. The designer has been Diane Le Feyer since 2015. When they broke up with Bayard, these two authors chose as an interforum broadcaster and distributor, a subsidiary of a competitor group, Editis. Editis intervened in this conflict by publishing a press release which affirms his « full support » to the authors. « We deeply regret the current situation, and are fully committed every day alongside Mr Tan & Co to continue to bring Mortelle Adèle to life »wrote the French number two of the edition.