The Cajun legend of the Feu Follet is speculated to be many things—from the spirits of the dead that spend time as seemingly harmless pranksters or a benevolent being which may or may not have more sinister motives. The 20-page comic book includes four self-contained stories that involve a Feu Follet encounter. Each story loosely bleeds into the next and is depicted entirely in black, white, and green.
Among the goals this project requires, understanding the culture of South Louisiana in order to accurately depict the legend in a storytelling medium and appropriately demonstrating the more cryptic aspect of the Feu Follet without deviating from the source is a priority. Specifically, the interpretation of whether or not the Feu Follet is truly malevolent, the fate of the characters present in the book at the hands of the Feu Follet, and for the viewer to form their own opinions. Additionally, this project involves building a database of digital brushes, digital textures, and a font that were inspired by the daunting nature of the Feu Follet to fit the rest of the book’s tone.
In the daunting environments of Louisiana, lighting and shadow techniques with harsher textures through hatching brushes, and exploring the relationship between type and image combined with dramatic pauses, the book succeeds in the initial goals that it was set out to achieve. The book depicts the lore of the Feu Follet in detail with an understanding of how the Feu Follet is said to operate without deviating from the legend. Viewer interpretation is instilled in how the Feu Follet is portrayed throughout the exposition and images, and Feu Follet, Mystery of the Marsh Fires captures the feeling of going through the swamp alongside these characters or placing the viewer in their perspective.
