Les Tuniques Bleues
The Bluecoats Les Tuniques Bleues | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Dupuis (French and Dutch) Cinebook (English) |
Format | Ongoing series |
No. of issues | 67 (in French) 17 (in English) |
Main character(s) | Sergeant Cornelius Chesterfield & Corporal Blutch |
Creative team | |
Created by | Raoul Cauvin & Louis Salverius |
Written by | Raoul Cauvin |
Artist(s) | Willy Lambillotte |
Les Tuniques Bleues (Dutch: De Blauwbloezen) is a Belgian series of
History
Cauvin has written the stories for the first 64 volumes. Six of the first ten volumes were illustrated by Louis Salverius, with Lambil taking over after Salverius' death.
The first book,
The stories appear first in Spirou, before being published as an album. The French editions are published by Dupuis. New albums are among the top ten best selling comics in French each year, with 184,800 copies for the 50th album alone in 2006.
Plot
The original setting was the frontier of the
In the second album, Du Nord au Sud, the main characters, Blutch and Chesterfield, travel east to join
The two main protagonists are colorful and clashing opposites. Corporal Blutch is a reluctant soldier, highly critical of authority, whose only wish is to get out of the army and return to civilian life, often threatening to desert and coming up with ways to avoid going into yet another senseless battle. Blutch does have a heroic side and will not hesitate to fight against the Confederate troops even to the risk of his own life. Sergeant Cornelius Chesterfield is by contrast a devoted and obedient career soldier, always determined that he and Blutch should be in the thick of the action. He is proud of his scars and dreams of military glory. Though strong and brave to the point of recklessness, he is clumsy and narrow-minded, unable to clearly perceive the madness of the war around him. Though their relationship is often antagonistic, they are comrades for life and have saved each other's lives many times in spite of repeated threats made by both of doing the other in.
Other recurring characters include the somewhat insane, charge-obsessed Captain Stark and the bumbling general staff, headed by the anger-prone General Alexander. Historic figures are also occasionally present in the narrative: alongside General Grant, they include President
Historical details are generally quite exact, and accuracy has steadily improved over the years. Yet the series is first and foremost entertainment and historic details are altered to suit the story. The serious drama of the plots is balanced by frequent humorous incidents and Blutch's constant sarcastic wisecracks. Although this is not strictly speaking an adult-oriented bande dessinée, the authors are not afraid of showing the reality of war in a harsh, but tactful manner, such as dead bodies in the aftermath of a battle. Military authority, especially the uncaring and/or incompetent leader is often the subject of parody and derision.
Les Bleus de la marine
Navy Blues (French: Les Bleus de la marine) is the seventh album in Les Tuniques Bleues comic series by Willy Lambil and Raoul Cauvin.[4] It was published for the first time at No. 1904 and No. 1917 in Spirou magazine, afterwards as an album in 1975. The plot is based around the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862.
Plot
After a battle between the Confederate and Union Army's goes awry for the Northerners, even with a near suicidal cavalry charge from the 22nd cavalry regiment. Corporal Blutch and Sergeant Chesterfield are dismissed by Captain Stark for cowardice and insubordination respectfully. Afterwards, both men are first reassigned to the infantry regiment where they attack a Confederate barrier too early, which gets them dismissed again. Next, they are reassigned to the artillery regiment, where they operate their own cannon. They end up getting dismissed from this regiment as well when they fire upon their own trenches. After that, they become stretch-bearers and are warned if they fail again, there would not be any place anymore for them in the army. They end up being dismissed a final time when they bring back a wounded Confederate soldier from the battlefield to the field hospital. As a final solution, Corporal Blutch and Sergeant Chesterfield are reassigned to the Navy as sailors on a sailing ship, which ends up sinking in battle with the Confederates. Following the sinking, both men are transferred to the USS Monitor and see action during the Battle of Hampton Roads against the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia. The battle ends in a draw, bringing back glory to Corporal Blutch and Sergeant Chesterfield. As a reward, they are reassigned back to the 22nd Cavalry regiment, although a lack of manpower following one of Stark's infamous suicide charges could've also been the reason for the transfer, as both men are experienced cavalrymen.[5]
Albums
- Un chariot dans l'Ouest
- Du Nord au Sud
- Et pour 1500 dollars en plus
- Outlaw
- Les déserteurs
- La prison de Robertsonville
- Les Bleus de la marine
- Les cavaliers du ciel
- La grande patrouille
- Des Bleus et des tuniques
- Des Bleus en Noir et Blanc
- Les Bleus tournent cosaques
- Les Bleus dans la gadoue
- Le blanc-bec
- Rumberley
- Bronco Benny
- El Padre
- Blue rétro
- Le David
- Black Face
- Les cinq salopards
- Des Bleus et des dentelles
- Les cousins d'en face
- Baby blue
- Des Bleus et des bosses
- L'or du Quebec
- Bull Run
- Les Bleus de la balle
- En avant l'amnésique!
- La Rose de Bantry
- Drummer boy
- Les Bleus en folie
- Grumbler et fils
- Vertes années
- Captain Nepel
- Quantrill
- Duel dans la manche
- Les planqués
- Puppet Blues
- Les hommes de paille
- Les Bleus en cavale
- Qui veut la peau du Général?
- Des Bleus et du Blues
- L'oreille de Lincoln
- Emeutes à New York
- Requiem pour un Bleu
- Les nancy hart
- Arabesque
- Marriage à fort Bow
- La traque
- Stark sous toutes les coutures
- Des bleus dans le brouillard
- Sang bleu chez les Bleus
- Miss Walker
- Indien, mon frère
- Dent pour dent
- Colorado Story
- Les bleues se mettes au vert
- Les quatre évangélistes
- Carte blanche pour un Bleu
- L'étrange soldat Franklin
- Sallie
- La bataille du Cratère
- Où est Arabesque ?
- L'envoyé spécial
- Irish Melody
- Du Feu sur la glace
Historical correlations
Several albums highlight historical facts of the American Civil War, other adventures are set in a place or anonymous battle. Some accounts tell of an encounter with a Native American tribe without any relation to the American Civil War. However, the chronology of the albums does not follow that of the war, but several albums are in flashback, tracing the past of the two protagonists, possibly narrated by one of them (Bull Run) or another character (Vertes Années).
Album | Historical reference |
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1. Un chariot dans l'Ouest | |
2. Du Nord au Sud | |
3. Et pour quinze cents dollars en plus | |
4. Outlaw | |
5. Les Déserteurs | |
6. La Prison de Robertsonville | Andersonville Prison |
7. Les Bleus de la marine
|
Battle of Hampton Roads |
8. Les Cavaliers du ciel | Union Army Balloon Corps |
9. La Grande Patrouille | |
10. Des Bleus et des tuniques | |
11. Des Bleus en noir et blanc | Mathew Brady |
12. Les Bleus tournent cosaques | |
13. Les Bleus dans la gadoue | The Mud March |
14. Le Blanc-bec | |
15. Rumberley | |
16. Bronco Benny | |
17. El Padre | |
18. Blue rétro | |
19. Le David | Anaconda Plan; CSS David |
20. Black Face | |
21. Les Cinq Salopards | |
22. Des Bleus et des dentelles | |
23. Les cousins d'en face
|
|
24. Baby blue | |
25. Des Bleus et des bosses | |
26. L'Or du Québec | |
27. Bull Run | First Battle of Bull Run |
28. Les Bleus de la balle | |
29. En avant l'amnésique | |
30. La Rose de Bantry | Trent Affair |
31. Drummer boy | |
32. Les Bleus en folie | |
33. Grumbler et fils | |
34. Vertes Années | |
35. Captain Nepel | |
36. Quantrill | William Quantrill |
37. Duel dans la Manche | Battle of Cherbourg |
38. Les Planqués | |
39. Puppet Blues | |
40. Les Hommes de paille | |
41. Les Bleus en cavale | |
42. Qui veut la peau du général ? | Ulysses S. Grant |
43. Des Bleus et du blues | |
44. L'Oreille de Lincoln | Siege of Vicksburg |
45. Émeutes à New York | Draft Riots |
46. Requiem pour un Bleu | |
47. Les Nancy Hart | Nancy Harts |
48. Arabesque | |
49. Mariage à Fort Bow | |
50. La Traque | |
51. Stark sous toutes les coutures | |
52. Des Bleus dans le brouillard | Joseph Hooker, Battle of Lookout Mountain |
53. Sang bleu chez les Bleus | François d'Orléans |
54. Miss Walker | Mary Edwards Walker |
55. Indien, mon frère | |
56. Dent pour dent | |
57. Colorado Story | |
58. Les Bleus se mettent au vert | |
59. Les Quatre Évangélistes | William Nelson Pendleton |
60. Carte blanche pour un bleu | |
61. L'Étrange Soldat Franklin | Sarah Emma Edmonds |
62. Sallie | Sallie Ann Jarret |
63. La bataille du Cratère | |
64. Où est Arabesque ? | |
65. L'envoyé spécial | William Howard Russell |
66. Irish Melody | Irish Brigade (Union Army) |
67. Du Feu sur la glace | Stand Watie |
English translations
Cinebook Ltd has started publishing English translations from 2008, as "The Bluecoats". Sixteen books have been published to date.
- Robertsonville Prison (French #6), 2008, ISBN 978-1-905460-71-7
- The Navy Blues (French #7), 2009, ISBN 978-1-905460-82-3
- The Skyriders (French #8), 2010, ISBN 978-1-84918-014-6
- The Greenhorn (French #14), 2011, ISBN 978-1-84918-066-5
- Rumberley (French #15), 2012, ISBN 978-1-84918-108-2
- Bronco Benny (French #16), 2013, ISBN 978-1-84918-146-4
- The Blues in the Mud (French #13), 2014, ISBN 978-1-84918-183-9
- Auld Lang Blue (French #18), 2015, ISBN 978-1-84918-245-4
- El Padre (French #17), 2016, ISBN 978-1-84918-286-7
- The Blues in Black and White (French #11), 2017, ISBN 978-1-84918-341-3
- Cossack Circus (French #12), 2018, ISBN 978-1-84918-383-3
- The David (French #19), 2019, ISBN 978-1-84918-430-4
- Something Borrowed, Something Blue ISBN 9781849185318
- The Dirty Five ISBN 978-1-80044-004-3
- Bull Run ISBN 978-1-80044-061-6
- Sallie ISBN 978-1-80044-089-0
Video games
Les Tuniques Bleues was made into a video game named
In popular culture
Les Tuniques Bleues are among the many Belgian comic characters to jokingly have a Brussels street named after them. The Rue des Comédiens/ Komediantenstraat has a commemorative plaque with the name Rue des Tuniques Bleues/ Blauwbloezenstraat placed under the actual street sign.[7]
References
- ^ a b "Best of Belgium's Cartoons", Ooi Kok Chuen. New Straits Times, November 27, 1995.
- ^ "les Tuniques bleues tome 65 avant le 64 !?". Planète BD (in French). Dupuis. June 29, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- ^ Ratier, Gilles. "ACBD bilan 2006". ACBD.fr. Archived from the original on March 5, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
- ^ "Les Bleus de la marine" (in French). Dupuis. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "7. Les Bleus de la marine" (in French). lestuniquesbleues.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "Les Tuniques Bleues, nouvelles stars du retro-gaming ?". March 23, 2012.
- ^ "EBru | Bruxelles Capitale de la Bande Dessinée (BD) - Noms de rue". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2015.