Pierre Christin
Encyclopedia
Biography
Christin was born at Saint-MandéSaint-Mandé
Saint-Mandé is a commune of the Val-de-Marne department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...
in 1938.
After graduating from the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, Christin pursued graduate studies in political science at SciencesPo and became a professor of French literature at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, Salt Lake City. His first comics story, Le Rhum du Punch, illustrated by his childhood friend Jean-Claude Mézières
Jean-Claude Mézières
Jean-Claude Mézières is a French comic strip artist and illustrator. Born and raised in Paris, he was introduced to drawing by his older brother and influenced by comics artists such as Hergé, Andre Franquin and Morris and later by Jijé and Jack Davis...
, was published in 1966 in 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...
magazine. Christin returned to France the following year to join the faculty of the University of Bordeaux
University of Bordeaux
University of Bordeaux is an association of higher education institutions in and around Bordeaux, France. Its current incarnation was established 21 March 2007. The group is the largest system of higher education schools in southwestern France. It is part of the Academy of Bordeaux.There are seven...
. That year he again collaborated with Mézières to create the science-fiction series Valérian and Laureline for Pilote. The first episode was Les Mauvais Rêves (Bad Dreams).
In addition to the ongoing Valerian, Christin has written several other comics one-shots, including The City That Didn't Exist (Le Ville qui n'existe pas), The Black Order Brigade
The Black Order Brigade
The Black Order Brigade is a translation of Les Phalanges de l'Ordre Noir a political thriller graphic novel written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Enki Bilal and translated by Frank Wynne.-Plot outline:A fascist organization with roots in the Spanish Civil War, The Black Order Brigade,...
(Les Phalanges de l'ordre noir) and The Hunting Party (Partie de chasse) (all illustrated by Enki Bilal
Enki Bilal
Enes Bilal is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director.-Biography:Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Slovak mother and a Bosnian father who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor, he moved to Paris at the age of 9. At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied...
). Among the many European comics artist he has collaborated with are Enki Bilal, 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...
, Alexis
Alexis (comics)
Alexis was the pseudonym of Dominique Vallet, a French comics artist, best known for his work on the series Al Crane and Superdupont.-Biography:...
, Raymond Poïvet
Raymond Poïvet
Raymond Poïvet was a French cartoonist.-Biography:Poïvet was born in 1910 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Nord....
, 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...
, Annie Goetzinger, Daniel Ceppi, and François Boucq
François Boucq
François Boucq , is a French comic book artist. He is most famous for his surreal comics revolving around the main character Jérôme Moucherot.-Biography:...
. He has also written screenplays and science-fiction novels.
Awards
- 1976: Angoulême International Comics 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...
, Best French Author - 1986: Angoulême International Comics Festival, Library Readers Award, for La voyageuse de la petite ceinture
- 1995: Haxtur AwardHaxtur AwardThe Haxtur Award is a Spanish award for comics published in Spain. It is awarded annually at the Salón Internacional del Cómic del Principado de Asturias ....
s, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, nominated for Best Short Comic Strip, for El Círculo del poder (The Circles of PowerThe Circles of PowerThe Circles of Power is volume fifteen in the French comic book science fiction series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières...
) - 1997: Angoulême International Comics Festival, Tournesol Award, for Les otages de l’Ultralum (Hostages of the UltralumHostages of the UltralumHostages of the Ultralum is volume sixteen in the French comic book science fiction series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières.-Outline:...
) - 1996: Max & Moritz PrizesMax & Moritz PrizesThe Max & Moritz Prize is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials which has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Best International Writer
External links
- Pierre Christin biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia