The author and screenwriter Benoît Drousie, known as Zidrou, has just published, with the designer Lucy Mazel, a graphic novel which addresses medical assistance in dying. Even if the theme arouses tension, euthanasia is approached with great sensitivity by the author in Virgil[1].
Zidrou says that being a screenwriter means tackling themes that speak of life, and death is the strongest dramatic element that one can evoke. This is why when Lucy Mazel sent her the portrait of a black man that she drew, she expected Zidrou to tell her the story of this character, who according to her, had the idea to be called Virgil. Zidrou subsequently found the idea of euthanasia, a theme which, according to him, depicts a death which takes its time, which settles in and which makes poor Virgil drool.
It is April 2015. Virgil learns that his wife Solène is leaving him after 40 years of living together: “From now on, Virgil was nothing more than a common terrestrial body located six billion kilometers from Solène. » (p. 11).
Two years later, while trying to help a kitten in a tree, Virgil fell from the top of his ladder. This tragic accident left Virgil quadriplegic. He can no longer move his upper body. He is lying in a hospital bed and he stares at the ceiling all day long: “How stupid can a ceiling be!?!” When you spend your life looking at the ceiling. It’s because we’ve hit rock bottom” (p. 13).
However, this image does not sum up Virgil’s new life, as emphasized by Zidrou and Lucy Mazel who did not want to fall into miserabilism, by illustrating the importance of the family, the entourage and the nursing staff in this ordeal.
About the authors
Comic strip author, Lucy Mazel was born on August 11, 1986 in Aurillac in France. Along with Véronique Cazot, she published the series Olive between 2020 and 2023.
Zidrou was born on April 12, 1962 in Anderlecht, Belgium. He co-created and scripted comedy series for young people such as L’Élève Ducobu and Tamara. He published Beautiful Summers, The bear’s skin, Leonard, Zidrou and more recently The beast.
Reda Benkoula
[1] Virgil | Zidrou (Screenplay), Lucy Mazel (Drawing) | The Lombard | 2025 | 104 pages