Intermodal transmodalization: new costumes for Molière’s Don Juan

Abstract

Don Juan and his faithful servant Sganarelle remain highly popular today. In fact, new technologies and media have allowed Molière’s masterpiece to move beyond the walls of the theatre. The play has been the object of numerous recreations within the context of a new dynamics for the production and reception of texts. This paper focuses on the language of comics as a means to renew Molière’s work. According to Nicolas Presl, the author of comics dialogues with classic literary works by applying a filter of modernity to them. This paper argues that comparing the comics versions presented by Vents d’Ouest (2008) and Guy Delcourt Productions (2010) allows for a deeper understanding of intermodal transmodalization (image, sound, text) and of the dialogue between new languages and the traditional genre.