Jean-Michel Charlier
Encyclopedia
Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian
script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics
. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine
Pilote
.
with World Press, the syndicate of Georges Troisfontaines
, which worked mainly for the comic strip
magazine Spirou
. The following year he and artist Victor Hubinon
created the four-page comic strip L'Agonie du Bismarck. Charlier wrote the script and also drew the ships and airplanes. In 1947 Charlier and Hubinon began the long-running air-adventure comic strip Buck Danny
. After a few years, Charlier stopped all work on the drawings and concentrated only on the scenarios, on the advice of Jijé
, then the senior artist at Spirou.
Unable to support himself writing comic scripts at a time when Dupuis concentrated almost solely on the magazine and albums were few and far between, Charlier qualified for a pilots license in 1949 and briefly flew for the airline SABENA
.
However the following year Charlier returned to comic strips, collaborating with Hubinon once again to create Tiger Joe for La Libre Junior, the weekly comics supplement to the journal La Libre Belgique
. Charlier also continued to supply scripts for Spirou magazine, collaborating with Eddy Paape
on the strip Valhardi and, in 1955, with future Asterix
artist Albert Uderzo
on the comic strip Belloy. Together with Hubinon, he also created some biographical comics like Jean Mermoz
and Surcouf
. Other long running series he started for Spirou in the early 1950s were La Patrouille des Castors
for Mitacq
, and in 1951 Les Vraies Histoires de l'Oncle Paul
(Uncle Paul's true stories), a weekly comic of four pages telling a true story. The latter series was continued from 1954 on by Octave Joly, and was a place where many young talents published their first comics, including Jean Graton
, René Follet
and Hermann Huppen
.
Charlier, Hubinon, Uderzo, and comic-strip writer René Goscinny
founded the comics agency Edifrance and the magazine Pistolin in 1955, and the influential magazine Pilote in 1959. Charlier was editor
-in-chief and also wrote two stories for the first issue: Redbeard with Hubinon and Tanguy and Laverdure with Uderzo - these latter two characters would later get their own TV series as well: Les Chevaliers du Ciel, featuring Tanguy and Laverdure, was made by ORTF
between 1967 and 1969, an English-dubbed
version of the show being released under the title The Aeronauts.
Charlier visited the United States
in 1963 and a tour of the American West inspired him to create Fort Navajo, a western series, for Pilote. He chose as artist Jean Giraud
(Moebius), then a commercial illustrator who had briefly worked with Jijé
on Jerry Spring
, a popular European western strip. Fort Navajo, later renamed Blueberry or Lieutenant Blueberry after its main character, became a popular and innovative graphic novel
. In 1972 friction among the staff at Pilote caused Charlier to give up his editorial position and he worked in French television until 1976. He then worked as editor-in-chief for two years at Tintin
magazine. He continued to write Blueberry and Buck Danny stories.
Jean-Michel Charlier died in Saint-Cloud
, France, in 1989. His main series are all continued by other writers, often chosen by Charlier himself.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine
Franco-Belgian comics magazines
Belgium and France have a long tradition in comics. They have a common history for comics and magazines.In the early years of its history, magazines had a large place on the comics market and were often the only place where comics were published. Most of them were kids-targeted.In the 1970s,...
Pilote
Pilote
thumb|Cover of the first Pilote teaser issue, #0.Pilote was a French comics periodical published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as Astérix le Gaulois, Blueberry, Achille Talon, and Valérian et...
.
Biography
Charlier was born in Liège, Belgium in 1924. In 1945 he got a job as a draughtsman in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
with World Press, the syndicate of Georges Troisfontaines
Georges Troisfontaines
Georges Troisfontaines was the founder of the World Press agency, and one of the co-authors of the series Buck Danny.After his first work for the comics magazine Spirou before WWII, in which he published strips in relation to aviation, he created in the 1940s the World Press agency...
, which worked mainly for the comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
magazine Spirou
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
. The following year he and artist Victor Hubinon
Victor Hubinon
Victor Hubinon was a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series Buck Danny and Redbeard.-Biography:...
created the four-page comic strip L'Agonie du Bismarck. Charlier wrote the script and also drew the ships and airplanes. In 1947 Charlier and Hubinon began the long-running air-adventure comic strip Buck Danny
Buck Danny
Buck Danny is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a military flying ace and his two sidekicks serving in the United States Navy or the United States Air Force. The series is noted for its realism both in the drawings and the descriptions of air force procedures as part of the storyline. In...
. After a few years, Charlier stopped all work on the drawings and concentrated only on the scenarios, on the advice of Jijé
Jijé
Jijé was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the Spirou et Fantasio strip and the creator of one of the first major European western strips, Jerry Spring.-Biography:Born Joseph Gillain in Gedinne, Namur, he completed various art studies Jijé (13 January 1914 – 20...
, then the senior artist at Spirou.
Unable to support himself writing comic scripts at a time when Dupuis concentrated almost solely on the magazine and albums were few and far between, Charlier qualified for a pilots license in 1949 and briefly flew for the airline SABENA
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
.
However the following year Charlier returned to comic strips, collaborating with Hubinon once again to create Tiger Joe for La Libre Junior, the weekly comics supplement to the journal La Libre Belgique
La Libre Belgique
La Libre Belgique is a Belgian newspaper in French. In Belgium, it can be roughly seen as an equivalent of Flemish De Standaard. The paper is widely perceived as pro-catholic...
. Charlier also continued to supply scripts for Spirou magazine, collaborating with Eddy Paape
Eddy Paape
Eddy Paape is a Franco-Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the series Luc Orient.-Biography:Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée , Belgium in 1920...
on the strip Valhardi and, in 1955, with future Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
artist Albert Uderzo
Albert Uderzo
Albert Uderzo is a French comic book artist, and scriptwriter. He is best known for his work on the Astérix series, but also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, also in collaboration with René Goscinny.-Early life:...
on the comic strip Belloy. Together with Hubinon, he also created some biographical comics like Jean Mermoz
Jean Mermoz
Jean Mermoz was a French aviator, viewed as a hero by many in both Argentina and his native France, where many schools bear his name...
and Surcouf
Robert Surcouf
Robert Surcouf was a famous French corsair. During his legendary career, he captured 47 ships and was renowned for his gallantry and chivalry, earning the nickname of Roi des Corsaires .- Youth :...
. Other long running series he started for Spirou in the early 1950s were La Patrouille des Castors
La Patrouille des Castors
La Patrouille des Castors is a Belgian comics series drawn by Mitacq and written by Jean-Michel Charlier. 30 albums were published by Dupuis, all relating the adventures of a Scout patrol.-History:...
for Mitacq
Mitacq
Michel Tacq, or Mitacq, is an author of Belgian comics. He was involved in Scouting for most of his life.-Biography:...
, and in 1951 Les Vraies Histoires de l'Oncle Paul
L'oncle Paul
Les Belles Histoires de l'oncle Paul, and later Les Plus Belles Histoires de l'oncle Paul, is a Belgian comics series of historical stories created by Jean-Michel Charlier and Eddy Paape and published in the comics magazine Le Journal de Spirou from 1951 to 1982.-Theme:The series consists of...
(Uncle Paul's true stories), a weekly comic of four pages telling a true story. The latter series was continued from 1954 on by Octave Joly, and was a place where many young talents published their first comics, including Jean Graton
Jean Graton
Jean Graton is a comic book author and cartoonist of French nationality. Graton created the famous character Michel Vaillant and the eponymous series in 1957.-Biography:...
, René Follet
René Follet
René Follet , sometimes known by the pen name Ref, is a Belgian illustrator, comics writer and artist.-Biography:René Follet was born in Brussels in 1931. His first publication appeared when he was 14, illustrating a promotional issue of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island for Aiglon, a...
and Hermann Huppen
Hermann Huppen
Hermann Huppen is a Belgian comic book artist. He is better known under his pen-name Hermann. He is most famous for his post-apocalyptic comic Jeremiah which was made into a television series.-Biography:...
.
Charlier, Hubinon, Uderzo, and comic-strip writer René Goscinny
René Goscinny
René Goscinny was a French comics editor and writer, who is best known for the comic book Astérix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris and Iznogoud with Jean Tabary.-Early life:Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, to a family...
founded the comics agency Edifrance and the magazine Pistolin in 1955, and the influential magazine Pilote in 1959. Charlier was editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
-in-chief and also wrote two stories for the first issue: Redbeard with Hubinon and Tanguy and Laverdure with Uderzo - these latter two characters would later get their own TV series as well: Les Chevaliers du Ciel, featuring Tanguy and Laverdure, was made by ORTF
Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française
The Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1974, with providing public radio and television in France.-Post World War II:...
between 1967 and 1969, an English-dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
version of the show being released under the title The Aeronauts.
Charlier visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1963 and a tour of the American West inspired him to create Fort Navajo, a western series, for Pilote. He chose as artist Jean Giraud
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
(Moebius), then a commercial illustrator who had briefly worked with Jijé
Jijé
Jijé was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the Spirou et Fantasio strip and the creator of one of the first major European western strips, Jerry Spring.-Biography:Born Joseph Gillain in Gedinne, Namur, he completed various art studies Jijé (13 January 1914 – 20...
on Jerry Spring
Jerry Spring
Jerry Spring is a Franco-Belgian Western comics series created by the Belgian comics creator Jijé. Originally published in Le Journal de Spirou, the series made its debut on March 4, 1954.-Bibliography:-Sources:* BDoubliées Footnotes...
, a popular European western strip. Fort Navajo, later renamed Blueberry or Lieutenant Blueberry after its main character, became a popular and innovative graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
. In 1972 friction among the staff at Pilote caused Charlier to give up his editorial position and he worked in French television until 1976. He then worked as editor-in-chief for two years at Tintin
Tintin (magazine)
Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...
magazine. He continued to write Blueberry and Buck Danny stories.
Jean-Michel Charlier died in Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...
, France, in 1989. His main series are all continued by other writers, often chosen by Charlier himself.
External links
- Jean-Michel Charlier official site
- On Dupuis.com
- Jean-Michel Charlier biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia