Des sportifs embarqués dans l'aventure en canoë

This article deals with how the introduction of comic books in canoeing publications highlights the norms of the practice of adventure and their evolution during the 20th century. From a corpus of amateur works covering the period 1930-2000, the analysis focuses on "visual narrations" (UHL, 2015). What are the processes used by the authors to describe the normative universe of an adventure sport ? Based on the concepts of visual sociology, three sets are analyzed: regulations and ethics, then body and gender, and finally, the relation to space and nature. It is a matter of showing, through the mediums in the presence, that an evolution takes place from the 1980s, passing representations linked to a Promethean imaginary sport exploits to the ordinary adventure of new audiences captives (women, children). The Drawings show that the rivers tourism development Process and a free access for all to the natural areas.