Tao and his monsters[1] is a new comic strip which is published by Éditions Le Lombard.
To create this work, there is first the screenwriter Kid Toussaint, who is also at the origin of the series Animal Jack, Magic 7, They, Masks, The Herocorns And Absolutely normal. At the graphic level, David Gilson, who is known for his work for the Walt Disney Animation France studio and his series of autobiographical comics Bichon, creates expressive and colorful drawings aimed at young audiences.
Who is Tao?
Tao is a little boy who is a little dizzy and somewhat distracted as it is written in the presentation of the comic: “Break a window? Forget to take out the trash? Lying to the teacher? Tao swears it’s not him… and it’s true! With each strong emotion, a monster emerges and takes its place: cowardly skeleton, lying vampire, distracted ghost[2],…They all look like him and have a great gift for causing mayhem! At night, Tao tries to understand them in his dreams but during the day, he must deal with their stupidities… and finally regain control! »
As we can discover in the first volume of the series, Tao wishes he could take control of the monsters in his head: “I have fun with you guys, guys…but I have to admit that you are causing me harm. What we need is for one of you to be…someone really good…a nice guy, that is…to take my place from time to time: like a perfect prince” (Page 11).
Tao’s story is not implausible, since Victoria, her neighbor and classmate, was able to notice that monsters sometimes take control of Tao, as she confirms in her notebook. Since I have been observing him, I have noticed that Monsters replace him from time to time, creating a whole bunch of problems, she said.
And yes…things are happening in Tao’s little head, who is the victim of mockery from the students at school as well as those from his big sister Chloé who tells him to go get some wild garlic for their grandmother. His friend Robin accompanies him on this journey which leads them straight to the neighboring forest.
Reda Benkoula
[1] Tao and his monsters – It’s not me! | Kid Toussaint (Screenplay), Gilson David (Drawing) | The Lombard | 2025 | 80 pages
[2] The first volume of this comic also allows us to appreciate a notebook which includes, among other things, a description of the monsters which haunt the young boy.