Garulfo is a French comic books series written by Alain Ayroles (also Author of De Cape et de Crocs) and illustrated by Bruno Maïorana , taking an humoristic take on Fairy Tales like De cape et de crocs did for the swashbuckling genre.
Garulfo is a frog who cannot stand being at the bottom of the food chain, and worships mankind as the epitome of God's Creation. Inspired by the tale of The Frog Prince and with the help of a witch, he succeeds in being turned into a prince by the kiss of a handmaid he mistakenly believes to be a princess, and manages to make his entrance at he king's court. Unfortunately, he soon discovers man's true nature, and his ignorance of human society puts him in bigger trouble.
The second Story Arc is based on the unwilling cooperation between the innocent Garulfo and Romuald, the irascible and vain prince turned into a frog to learn humility, so that Romuald kisses a princess and both beings find back their respective forms.
This comic provides examples of:
- Affectionate Parody: Of fairy tales.
- Animal Talk: All animals can understand each other, and can apparently understand humans as well, but humans definitely can't understand animals. After they have been transformed, Romuald and Garulfo become able to understand and speak both languages regardless of which shape they are in.
- Amusing Injuries: Garulfo's body (whether inhabited by himself or Romuald) is submitted to a lot more punishment than what should be healthy for a frog to endure, yet he never shows any long-lasting injuries.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: With a few exceptions (Enguerrand, Héphylie and Romuald after their Character Development), all the nobles in this story are vain, jerks, or both.
- Berserk Button: Just don't break anything in the Ogre's crystal collection.
- Black Knight: Sinistre De Malemort.
- Blind Without 'Em: Anjalbert de Gonfalon is renowned as The Famous Dragon Slayer because he is too short-sighted to pick on monsters smaller than ogres.
- Carnivore Confusion: Played for drama when Fulbert, Garulfo's duck friend, innocently (for him) eats tadpoles. Garulfo breaks their friendship over this.
- Cats Are Mean:
- After turning into a frog, Romuald comes across an Affably Evil cat. Played with, in that the cat might have been nicer if Romuald had not been such a Jerkass to it in the beginning.
- And then there's Puss in Boots, who's a jerk through and through.
- Character Development:
- The point of the whole second Story Arc is making Prince Romuald a better person. Princess Héphylie also gains more depth.
- The first Story Arc involved Garulfo getting disillusioned about humans and learning to be content to be a frog. He is also becoming more jaded and cynical in the second story arc.
- Chase Scene: Romuald in frog form and Garulfo in human form get chased quite often by predators or guards.
- Chekhov's Gun: The sword of Earl Hégueulard, which he forgets near the wolf he killed. It provides Garulfo with a providential weapon when the Earl attacks him later on.
- Climbing Climax: The final fight between Romuald and the Ogre takes place at the top of the ruined castle.
- Combat Pragmatist: Romuald: he tries to distract his opponent when he fails to get the upper hand.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Black Knight is quite fed up with being the bad guy. The Ogre also wouldn't hurt anyone if just left to his own devices instead of being assaulted by clueless asshole knights who break his fine crystal sculpture collection.
- The Duenna: Noémie.
- Decade Dissonance: The realms of Brandelune and Miralonde are Renaissance, whereas Lambrusquet looks rather like the late Middle-Ages.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Jean Tortecagne the bandit has respect for the orphans of hanged men.
- Exit, Pursued by a Bear: Earl Hégueulard's end.
- Fish out of Water: Or rather Frog Out Of Water.
- Forced Transformation: Garulfo (turned into a human) and, in the second arc, Romuald (turned into a frog).
- Fractured Fairy Tale: The main themes of fairy tales are either subverted, or there but with a twist (the Puss in Boots is a Jerkass, the Ogre is lonely, the Princess is a Spoiled Brat...)
- Humans Are Bastards: What Garulfo discovers at length during his stint as a human.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: The reason of Noemie's inimity towards Garulfo.
- It's All About Me: Prince Romuald for a good part of the second arc.
- Karmic Death: Hégueulard meets his ends at the jaws of the she-wolf whose mate he killed.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Deconstructed: apart from Anjalbert de Gonfalon, most of the knights are either incompetent, either conceited bullies.
- Magic A Is Magic A: The Law of Conservation of Magic: for every frog that turns into a prince, a prince turns into a frog. Apparently.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Hephylie is horrified when she realises that the Hopeless Suitor she playfully sent to fight an ogre was slaughtered and dies with her name on his lips.
- Mundane Made Awesome: In a simple frog's perspective, a humble peasant catching a pike appears a titan vanquishing a fearsome monster.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Sinistre de Malemort
- No One Could Survive That!: Once. Afterwards, people are Genre Savvy enough to assume that Garulfo has survived.
- Our Ogres Are Hungrier: Subverted. He has the looks and the explosive temper, but is otherwise a lonely Gentle Giant (gentle enough to maintain a collection of fine crystals despite having huge sausage fingers)... Unless provoked.
- Pike Peril: One of the main reasons Garulfo wants to be a human is that as a frog, he's at the mercy of fish much bigger than him, and sees a human hooking and pulling a pike out of the water as proof that they're the Superior Species, planning to eat a pike every day in revenge.
- The Power of Love: Allows Garulfo to return to his normal form. Also, somehow, returns Héphylie back to life.
- Prince Charmless: Prince Romuald. At first.
- Rags to Royalty: Deconstructed with Pipa the servant girl. She really does not take well to being treated like a princess, and is for instance seen sleeping on the floor in a corner of her large room or sweeping the floor in her beautiful dress. She eventually breaks down when someone calls her a princess and yells that she's just a servant.
- Seeking Sanctuary: Considered null and void if the cathedral door doesn't have a cathedral around it.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Garulfo starts with a much idealized vision of mankind. He learns better.
- Talking Animal: Except witches and fairies, humans can't understand animals. However, when in frog form, Romuald retains the ability to speak, and so does Garulfo when he reverts to his former self.
- Totem Pole Trench: in order to get by unquestioned, the heroes wrap themselves in a moldy shroud, shaking a clacker and moaning "Leper! Leper!". Then they meet a Genre Savvy guard, who knows better than to back away, and knocks off the hood... to see a pair of bulbous yellow eyes on a wizened green body. He runs, fast.
- True Love's Kiss: Played with. Garulfo simply needs a kiss from a human female to become human in the first place, no matter if love is involved or not. Played straight when Romuald resurrects Hephylie with a kiss.
- Twice-Told Tale: The story contains a lot of more or less subtle references to well-known fairy tales, some of which are simply alluded to. For instance, Puss in Boots being a cat turned human is only heavily hinted but never explicitly stated.
- The Unreveal: Today, the Black Knight will show you his face.
