Ce deuxième tome des Formidables Aventures de Lapinot réjouira les amateurs de Scrabble, de billes, de flipper et d'ésotérisme d'Europe centrale.
(This second volume of the Spiffy Adventures of McConey will delight those who like Scrabble, marbles, pinball and Central European esotericism.)
Pichenettes (translated in English as The Hoodoodad) is a 1996 comic book by Lewis Trondheim. It is the second album of The Spiffy Adventures of McConey series.
Lapinot arrives in the big city. He sees a tramp who tries to commit suicide. In order to convince him not to do so, he accepts a stone that is cursed according to the tramp.
Pichenettes provides examples of the following tropes:
- Alice Allusion: When Lapinot (who is a rabbit) arrives at the art gallery, Titi brandishes a watch tells him that he is late. Lapinot asks in return if he shall be beheaded.
- Bungled Suicide: The tramp tries to commit suicide three times, but it always fails (the pond that he throws himself into is not deep enough; the traffic light turns red when he tries to get run over; his jacket is held by a nail when he jumps from a bridge).
- Curse: Richard thinks that he is cursed because Lapinot accepted the stone. Later, Wilfried also thinks that he is cursed.
- Fortune Teller: One tries to read Richard's palm, but he does not want to. When she finally catches a glimpse of his palm, she flees in panic.
- Ironic Echo: After Lapinot gave money to a beggar in the subway, Richard asks him if his ambition is to become a saint. Later, Richard is forced to give money to another beggar and Lapinot asks him the same question.
- Loophole Abuse: In order to ward off the curse, without making another victim, the museum deputy curator first suggests to accept the cursed stone on behalf of the museum, but the curator says that this will bring the curse on the head of the state and the country as a whole, since it is a national museum. Finally, Richard notices that the Svalonian mummy is in the appropriate posture to accept the stone and so Lapinot gives it to the mummy.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In the end, it is not clear whether the stone is really cursed or not.
- Moment Killer: Lapinot is going to talk to Nadia at the art gallery, when Richard jumps between them because he is chased by a dog.
- Mythology Gag: In the beginning, Lapinot meets a small guy dressed as a cow-boy who threatens him with a gun. Actually, he is just a kid in disguise playing in a park. That is a reference to Blacktown, the previous album, which is not in the same Continuity.
- Shoutout: The exorcist says that he will release Richard from the spell just like Mickey or Donald.
- Starts with a Suicide: The story starts when Lapinot sees a tramp who tries to commit suicide and talks him out of it.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: Lapinot talks to the tramp to convince him not to commit suicide.
- This Is Reality: Richard tells the exorcist that this is reality and that he cannot release him from the spell like Mickey or Donald.
- Überwald: The cursed stone comes from Eastern Svalonia, in Central Europe.
- Whammy Bid: When the director of an art gallery tries to buy a painting for a high, but sensible price, Wilfried offers one million, then one billion for it.
