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OuBaPo

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https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%83%90%E3%83%9D OuBaPo is a French comics-creation group established in 1992. It creates experimental works by imposing various formal limitations called “constraints” (contraintes) on comics (bande dessinée). “OuBaPo” abbreviates “Workshop of Potential Comics” (OUvroir de BAnde dessinée POtentielle), and its name and methodological approach follow “Oulipo,” the experimental literary group founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and others. Around the end of the 1980s, bande dessinée artist Lewis Trondheim had gained a reputation through experimental works including Le dormeur (The Sleeper) and Psychanalyse (Psychoanalysis), made entirely from copies of a single panel, and Bleu (Blue) and La nouvelle pornographie (The New Pornography), labeled “abstract comics,” which removed meaning and words from the works and consisted solely of sequences of abstract shapes. After finishing Psychanalyse, encouraged by fellow cartoonist Jean-Christophe Menu, Trondheim also attempted to create stories based on just 4 wordless panels drawn by Menu. Combining these 4 panels (often using only one type of panel), Trondheim produced 20 sets of 4-panel comics, then asked Menu to draw 4 new types of panels; this is how Moins d'un quart de seconde pour vivre (A Quarter of a Second to Live) came about. The results of Trondheim’s experimental comics production, resembling Oulipo’s literary experiments, formed the basis for the establishment of Oubapo. Menu, Trondheim, 6 other cartoonists, and comics historian Gilles Ciment met frequently at the Nawak studio frequented by Parisian artists (“Nawak” is slang meaning “nonsense”), discussing comics created with constraints over drinks. Thus OuBaPo was established in 1992 under Ou-x-po with the motto “Constraints free the artist's soul,” and announced in publications of L'Association, the independent comics publisher with which Lewis Trondheim was involved. During the 10 years after its founding, the 9 founding members met 3 times annually, creating various constraints and continuing to produce works. OuBaPo created a board game called Scroubabble. It is based on Scrabble, but uses comics panels instead of letters. OuBaPo's first collection, OuPus 1, was published in 1997, and 3 further collections were published from 2003 to 2005. Several exhibitions of works have also been held in Paris. In 2005, Trondheim and Menu fell out over the group's direction, and Trondheim left in autumn 2006. Subsequently, one founding member left in 2007 and the aforementioned Ciment left in 2008, each over differences with Menu. In November 2010, representative members of Oubapo attended Oulipo's 50th-anniversary celebration in Rennes and performed ScrOUBAbble before an audience.

Source updated 2026-05-23 · Snapshot 2026-10-08