Mattt Konture is a French underground comics author and musician. He is one of the founders of the French publishing house L’Association and is a forerunner of the French autobiographical comics movement.
Konture grew up in Lozère, where his influences included Métal Hurlant artists like Marc Caro, Doury, Rita Mercedes, and Moebius.
Konture published his first comics in 1983 (at the age of 18) in magazines such as Viper (“L’ajeun”) and Le Lynx (“Les Exploits de Ted” with Jean-Christophe Menu). When Konture went to Paris he published his first comics, Nerf, on an old Xerox machine. L’Association later reprinted this first book. His first comic book was Ruga Zébo Violent, first volume of the “Pattes de Mouche” collection published by L’ANAAL, to become L’Association.
At this time, Konture’s drawings were very dark and full of strokes and looked like the growing American underground style. Konture later discovered 1960s American underground cartoonists such as R. Crumb and Gilbert Shelton, who inspired him to create psychedelic and autobiographical comics. In 1988, Konture started autobiographical comics such as Krokrodile Comix 1, or Galopu, that was a forerunner of the French underground movement.
In 1989 Konture returned to Lozère. There he drew a few comics and continued Ivan Morve (a pun on “Mort-vivant,” “living dead”). Ivan Morve is a series of half-autobiographical stories published in the pages of Psykopat.
During the same period Konture started “Jambon blindé,” an improvised comix commissioned by his friend Stéphane Blanquet. This new way of telling stories drove Konture to draw a series of “comix” edited by L’Association in the collection Mimolette. “Autopsie d’un mort vivant” (“Autopsy of a living dead”) is a dark retelling of Konture’s life. In these books all his characters reappear: Galopu, Mister VrO, and Ivan Morve — each of them represents the author’s mood.
Mattt often draws with artist friends, publishing works such as Galopinot (L’Association) drawn with Lewis Trondheim, and, more recently, L’Abbé Noir (Arbitraire) drawn with Lilas and Willy Ténia, La Comète à 4 pattes (L’Association), drawn with Lilas, Willy Ténia and Freaky Nasa, and Borrut Popotte (Marseilles based silkscreen and publishing house Le Dernier Cri), drawn with Lilas.
For a long period of his life, Konture worked at home. Now he’s part of a collective artist’s space (workshop, gallery and boutique) En Traits Libres, which is open to the public.
Konture has also played in many musical groups (Les Tordus, Pumpkin Guts, Cosmogol, Rhinoplastic Démodex…), including his original one-man group Courge, which later changed its name to Lucky and the Courges, and which produces CDs and plays concerts in the Montpellier area where he lives.
Mattt Konture, L’Éthique du souterrain
Documentaire de 64 minutes réalisé par Francis Vadillo, qui a suivi Mattt Konture pendant plus de deux ans, chez lui, dans différents festivals, et lui offre enfin le portrait qu’il mérite. C’est l’occasion de le voir au travail, dessinant dans ses carnets et réalisant des fanzines, ou jouant sur scène avec son groupe Courge. On pénètre dans son quotidien en l’accompagnant dans sa pratique compulsive du dessin, seul ou entouré de ses nombreux amis fanzineux, mais aussi par l’évocation de la maladie qui l’affecte, la sclérose en plaques. C’est enfin un portrait d’une scène underground musicale et graphique vivace et festive, que Mattt Konture n’a de cesse de parcourir pour apporter sa contribution.
On y croise J.-C. Menu, Pacôme Thiellement et Killoffer, qui se souviennent de leurs rencontres, au début des années 80, et reviennent sur l’importance de son œuvre autobiographique.
64-minutes documentary directed by Francis Vadillo, who followed Mattt Konture for more than two years, at home, in various festivals, and finally offers him the portrait he deserves. This is an opportunity to see him at work, drawing in his notebooks and making fanzines or playing on stage with his group Courge. We enter his daily life by accompanying him in his compulsive practice of drawing, alone or surrounded by his many zinester friends, but also by evoking the disease that affects him, multiple sclerosis. Finally, it is a portrait of a vivacious and festive musical and graphic underground scene which Mattt Konture constantly explores to make his contribution.
We meet J.-C. Menu, Pacôme Thiellement and Killoffer, who remember their meetings in the early 80s, and discuss the importance of his autobiographical work.
During filming, Mattt Konture produced a new “comixture” which accompanies the DVD. This new comix, without possible comparison with a simple making-of, opens a dialogue with the documentary, offers it unexpected extensions and gives all its coherence to the whole.
Order your DVD : Mattt Konture, L’Éthique du souterrain
Écritures Dessinées, Radio Escapades (2022) :
Entrevue radio spéciale de Julie Doucet et Mattt Konture
LÖPÇÜK 