Jijé

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Jijé
BornJoseph Gillain
(1914-01-13)13 January 1914
Spirou et Fantasio
Blondin et Cirage
Jean Valhardi
Jerry Spring
Awardsfull list

Joseph Gillain (French:

Spirou et Fantasio strip (and for having introduced the Fantasio character) and the creator of one of the first major European western strips, Jerry Spring
.

Biography

Blondin, Cirage, Prof. Labarbousse and guest star "Marsupilami Africanis" in Les soucoupes volantes (1954)

Born Joseph Gillain in

Petits Belges.[2] Jijé also produced many illustrations for various Walloon
magazines.

In 1939, he started to work for the new

Rob-Vel: he added the sidekick Fantasio to the lone hero Spirou in order to add some comic relief in the series. He then created his own series, Jean Valhardi, and drew episodes of the American series published during the war, like Red Ryder and Superman, when due to the war, the American pages could not reach the publisher.[2]

His Catholic faith inspired biographies of

Versailles
after a prolonged illness.

Style and appreciation

Jijé is one of the few European artists to have worked on both realistic and humorous features. After starting in a

Morris, and Will. Other famous artists working in the style and influence of the School of Marcinelle include Peyo, Jean Roba and Eddy Paape.[3] Together with Franquin, Jijé is considered to be the father of the Atom style,[2] which has had a revival since the 1980s with artists like Yves Chaland and Ever Meulen.[4]

But Jijé was also the first master of the Franco-Belgian realistic comic, with Jerry Spring. Both his drawing style and his writing was very influential and groundbreaking. Later students of Jijé, not really working in the Atom style or the School of Marcinelle, include

Guy Mouminoux
. Artist Jean Giraud started working in the style of Jijé before developing his own style.

He is held in high esteem by many of his peers, both those he tutored like Franquin and Moebius, and others.

Tibet, author of Ric Hochet and Chick Bill, and for the major part of his career working for rival Tintin magazine, has said that "If Hergé is considered as God the Father, then Jijé undoubtedly is the Godfather".[2]

In his writing, he can be seen as a transitional figure between the classic hero-driven comics like

Alix or Michel Vaillant, and the modern anti-heroes like Blueberry or the works of Hermann Huppen
. Jerry Spring still was the perfect, flawless hero, but the rest of the cast was no longer strictly divided into heroes, victims and villains, and no longer was the Native American the bloodthirsty figure he often was in earlier comics. A similar early anti-racist message was also given by Blondin et Cirage, with a white and a black boy featured as equals.

He also pursued sculpting and painting, mainly for his private use or for family and friends. His illustrations for stories like The Count of Monte Cristo (in the Belgian magazine Bonnes Soirées with René Follet) mix elements from his comic work and his paintings into one decorative style.

In 2004, the Maison de la Bande Dessinée, a comics museum in Brussels dedicated to his works was created, later expanding its focus to the work of Jijé as well as the creators he has influenced.[5]

Awards

Bibliography

Cover of Jerry Spring #1 (1955)
  • Jojo, 1936–1937, 2 albums
  • Blondin et Cirage, 1939–1956, 8 albums
  • Freddy Fred, 1939, 1 album
  • Trinet et Trinette, 1939, 1 album
  • Spirou et Fantasio, 1940–1950, 2 albums and some short stories
  • Jean Valhardi, 1941–1966, 11 albums
  • Don Bosco, 1943, 1 album (redrawn version 1950)
  • Christophe Colomb, 1946, 1 album
  • Emmanuel, 1947, 1 album
  • Baden Powell, 1950, 1 album
  • Jerry Spring, 1954–1980, 21 albums
  • Blanc Casque, 1954, 1 album
  • Bernadette Soubirous, 1958, 1 album
  • Charles De Foucauld, 1959, 1 album
  • Docteur Gladstone, 1964, 1 album
  • Tanguy and Laverdure, 1971–1980, 10 albums
  • Redbeard, 1979–1980, 2 albums

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d de Grand Ry, Michel; Nizette, André; Lechat, Jean-Louis (1986). "Jijé". Le livre d'or de la bande dessinée. Brussels: Centre de la bande dessinée Belge. pp. 6–7.
  2. ^ a b c d De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Jijé". In België gestript, pp. 132–134. Tielt: Lannoo.
  3. ^ De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Eddy Paape". In België gestript, pp. 147-148. Tielt: Lannoo.
  4. ISBN 978-90-450-0996-4
    .
  5. ^ Maison de la Bande Dessinée website Archived 16 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine

Sources

External links

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