David Beauchard
Encyclopedia
Pierre-François "David" Beauchard (born 9 February 1959), who uses the pen name David B., is a French
comic book
artist and writer, and one of the founders of L'Association
.
, Beauchard began working in comics in 1985 (Pas de samba pour capitaine Tonnerre), and wrote and illustrated stories in numerous magazines, including Okapi, À suivre, Tintin Reporter, and Chic. His distinctive black-and-white
style was influenced by Georges Pichard
and Jacques Tardi
, among others.
In 1990, he co-founded the independent publisher L'Association
, which became a major force in French small-press comics. His comics appeared in the L'Association
anthology magazine Lapin and in numerous small-format books. Much of his work in the 1990s was dream art
, collected in le Cheval blême and les Incidents de la nuit.
From 1996 to 2003, he created the acclaimed six-volume autobiographical
epic l'Ascension du Haut Mal (meaning, literally, "The Rise of the High Evil" but published in English as Epileptic
, "haut mal" indicating what is referred to in English as a grand mal seizure). It was the first of his long works to be translated into English, and is now considered to be among the masterpieces of recent Franco-Belgian comics
. The series has been repeatedly nominated for prizes at the Angoulême International Comics Festival
: in 2002, the fourth volume received the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Scenario
and in 1998 and in 2004, volumes 2 and 6 were nominated for the Prize for Best Comic Book
.
Since 1997, he has also worked for publishers other than L'Association
, and has collaborated with other authors such as Joann Sfar
, Christophe Blain, and Emmanuel Guibert.
In 2005 Beauchard was awarded the Ignatz Award
for Outstanding Artist.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist and writer, and one of the founders of L'Association
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït, who left soon thereafter...
.
Biography
After studying advertising at the Duperré School of Applied Arts in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Beauchard began working in comics in 1985 (Pas de samba pour capitaine Tonnerre), and wrote and illustrated stories in numerous magazines, including Okapi, À suivre, Tintin Reporter, and Chic. His distinctive black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
style was influenced by Georges Pichard
Georges Pichard
Georges Pichard was a French comics artist, known for numerous BD magazine covers, serial publications and albums, stereotypically featuring partially exposed voluptuous women.-Biography:...
and Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi is a French comics artist, born 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. He is often credited solely as Tardi.-Biography:After graduating from the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the...
, among others.
In 1990, he co-founded the independent publisher L'Association
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït, who left soon thereafter...
, which became a major force in French small-press comics. His comics appeared in the L'Association
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït, who left soon thereafter...
anthology magazine Lapin and in numerous small-format books. Much of his work in the 1990s was dream art
Dream art
Dream art is any form of art directly based on material from dreams, or which employs dream-like imagery.-History:References to dreams in art are as old as literature itself: the story of Gilgamesh, the Bible, and the Iliad all describe dreams of major characters and the meanings thereof...
, collected in le Cheval blême and les Incidents de la nuit.
From 1996 to 2003, he created the acclaimed six-volume autobiographical
Autobiographical comics
Autobiographical comics are autobiography in the form of comic books or comic strips. The form first became popular in the underground comics movement and has since become more widespread...
epic l'Ascension du Haut Mal (meaning, literally, "The Rise of the High Evil" but published in English as Epileptic
Epileptic (graphic novel)
Epileptic is the English title of L'Ascension du haut mal , an autobiographical graphic novel by David Beauchard .-Publication history:...
, "haut mal" indicating what is referred to in English as a grand mal seizure). It was the first of his long works to be translated into English, and is now considered to be among the masterpieces of recent Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
. The series has been repeatedly nominated for prizes at the Angoulême International Comics Festival
Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
: in 2002, the fourth volume received the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Scenario
Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Scenario
This Prize for Scenario is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.As is the customary practice in Wikipedia for listing awards such as Oscar results, the winner of the award for that year is listed first, the others listed below are the nominees.-1990s:* 1993:...
and in 1998 and in 2004, volumes 2 and 6 were nominated for the Prize for Best Comic Book
Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Comic Book
The Prize for Best Album , also known as the Golden Wildcat , is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival....
.
Since 1997, he has also worked for publishers other than L'Association
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït, who left soon thereafter...
, and has collaborated with other authors such as Joann Sfar
Joann Sfar
Joann Sfar is a French comics artist, comic book creator and film director.-Life and career:Sfar was born in Nice. He is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of Franco-Belgian comics. Many of his comics were published by L'Association which was founded in 1990 by...
, Christophe Blain, and Emmanuel Guibert.
In 2005 Beauchard was awarded the Ignatz Award
Ignatz Awards
The Ignatz Awards are intended to recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year since 1997, but skipped a year in 2001 due to the show's cancellation after the September...
for Outstanding Artist.
Awards
- 2000: Angoulême FestivalAngoulême International Comics FestivalThe Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
, Prize for ScenarioAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for ScenarioThis Prize for Scenario is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.As is the customary practice in Wikipedia for listing awards such as Oscar results, the winner of the award for that year is listed first, the others listed below are the nominees.-1990s:* 1993:...
, for L'ascension du Haut Mal Tome 4 - 2005: Ignatz AwardIgnatz AwardsThe Ignatz Awards are intended to recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year since 1997, but skipped a year in 2001 due to the show's cancellation after the September...
, Outstanding Artist, for Epileptic
External links
- David B. biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia