Michel Vaillant

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the comics series. For the 2003 film, see Michel Vaillant (film). For the footballer, see Michel Vaillant Mbiobe Mouegni.
Michel Vaillant
Cover of Le Grand Defi, the first title of the series
Publication information
PublisherLe Lombard, Novedi, Fleurus, Graton éditeur
FormatBande dessinée
Publication date1957 - present
Main character(s)Michel Vaillant
Creative team
Created byJean Graton
Written byJean Graton, Phillipe Graton
Artist(s)Jean Graton, Studio Graton
Colorist(s)Jean Graton, Studio Graton

Michel Vaillant is a French

car racing comics series created in 1957 by French[1] cartoonist Jean Graton and published originally by Le Lombard. Later, Graton published the albums by himself when he founded Graton éditeur in 1982. Michel Vaillant is the main character of the eponymous series, a French racing car driver who competes mainly in Formula One
.

The feature first appeared in Tintin magazine, where Jean Graton had already published a number of short stories about real-life sporting heroes. The series appeared in Tintin between 1957 and 1976, in France[2] as well as in Belgium.[3] An estimated 17 million copies of the series' albums have been sold worldwide.[4]

Publication history

On February 7, 1957,[

Franco-Belgian comics magazine Tintin
, with publication beginning June 12, 1957. With their positive reception, a full-length adventure was written and drawn by Graton, published in Tintin in 1959.

The titles were first published in album format by

automobile industry. In 2000, the Palmarès Inedit series was created, with early works and stories previously unpublished in books. In 2007, Studio Graton translated three titles into English:[6]
"The Great Challenge" (Tome 1), "China Moon" (Tome 68), "24 Hours Under the Influence" (Tome 70). In 2008, a new collection was launched by Le Lombard, named Integrale Michel Vaillant. This series plans to reprint all past adventures in 20 volumes of 200 pages, each volume grouping several stories. All the titles of the original series are to be reprinted, and many comments, dossiers and unpublished strips added.

Jean Graton later left the writing to his son Philippe,[7] gradually leaving the artwork to the Studio Graton, which he established. Since Graton stopped drawing the series himself, the graphic style has evolved, with Philippe Graton continuing with the writing and three artists providing the artwork. Philippe Graton admitted that the draftsmanship isn't as rigorous as it once was.[8]

Series overview

Vaillante is a family-run French business which, in the beginning, was a

IndyCar, rallying or enduro
challenges.

Michel, Henri's son, is the main driver, his usual team-mate being the American, Steve Warson. The team is first managed by Henri Vaillant, then by Michel's older brother Jean-Pierre. Henri has remained the chairman of the Vaillante firm, but was replaced by Jean-Pierre when he retired.

As the Vaillante firm grows, Vaillante's drivers, among them Michel, accumulate victories, but their success is either disrupted by rivals, by internal problems in the Vaillante team or by the "Leader", the greatest of Vaillante's enemies. Most of the adventures deal with motor racing life, but they also deal with the Vaillante team drivers' private lives, with concerns in the Vaillante firm and with various outside problems.

Realism

A Vaillante F1, designed by Michel Vaillant, as drawn by Jean Graton on the back cover of the most recent albums

The comic is notable for depicting real-life motor racing background,[9] featuring many real-life drivers, teams and personalities. Michel Vaillant competes in existing motor races and Grand Prix on real-life circuits. In the course of the series, the background in which the characters are featured evolves: the series' environment has always been updated, so that cars, teams and personalities have constantly changed.[10]

Graton's graphic style also aims at being realistic, as the illustrations are very technically accurate. Notably, Graton is recognized for the meticulous details he provides on cars illustrations.[11] The numerous depictions of cars and circuits featured in the series are very specific and detailed; Graton used to personally attend races and circuits to take notes. Philippe Graton later continued this practice.[12]

Michel Vaillant's name is very similar to that of the birth name of automotive pioneer

Karl Benz
, which was Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant.

Realism is also expressed in the fictional background. Vaillant's factories and property are prominently featured in the series. The Vaillante firm is run as a real company, it has financial problems, must launch advertising campaigns and search for sponsors. It owns factories, which employs several engineers and mechanics that are realistically described and is shown employing several real-life drivers.

The Vaillants own the familial domain "La Jonquière", located a short drive / cycle ride from the factory, and is home throughout the series to Henri and Elisabeth Vaillant. Michel and Jean Pierre lived there in the early books, before striking out on their own.

As the context in which the characters evolved, Michel also is shown getting older. While he looked like a young man of about twenty years at the beginning of his adventures, he is seen progressively reaching middle-age. Recently his appearance is younger than previously. Other fictional characters are also shown getting older. In recent years, their general appearance has become steady. In spite of this he is still depicted as quite young for a man who has competed against drivers of multiple generations, including Juan Manuel Fangio, Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna.

Characters

Michel Vaillant is the main character of the series. Michel Vaillant is a complete driver and sportsman. His main occupation is to drive in the Formula 1 Championship. Michel is named world champion in four different albums. He also twice won the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times. He also competed in rally races, winning the East African Safari and the Paris-Dakar. He participated in several stock-car, F2, F3 and GT races.

He is also able to drive trucks and motorcycles, and practice football, gymnastics, tennis, judo and skiing very well. As a kind, serious, helpful, attentive, honest and generous man, Michel is very popular.[13] His many abilities, his courage and his values, his kindness and his physical appearance make him a practically perfect hero, without any flaws.[14]

Françoise Vaillant is Michel's wife. She first appeared in 1963, as a teenager. At that time, she was a journalist for a newspaper owned by her father Louis Latour, a good friend of Henri Vaillant. In 1966, she appeared again, but as an older, attractive young woman. From that time on, she appeared in every album of the series and saw Vaillant more and more, until his family urged him to marry her. They married in 1974. Françoise has an important role in the series, and in some adventures she is the main character.

Jean-Pierre Vaillant is Michel's older brother by six years. Like Michel, he started as a driver for the Vaillante team. He married Agnès de Chanzy, the daughter of Henri Vaillant's friend living in Argentina, in the very first album. But rapidly, he became more and more interested in managing the family team and to elaborate strategies for

godson
.

Steve Warson is an American driver and Michel's best friend. He first appeared in the series in 1957. Steve has a different personality than Michel: he smokes, drinks, flirts, fights, and defies other drivers. Despite his several flaws, he is a good driver for the Vaillante team and a faithful teammate to Michel, even if his romantic adventures sometimes caused him to be Vaillante's occasional rival. His numerous girlfriends have included Ruth and

Julie Wood
. As good driver as Michel, he outdoes him in most rallying and American races.

The "Leader" is a mysterious character who is the worst enemy of Vaillante and owner of the Leader team. The Leader team uses modern and advanced technology to compete against the Vaillante team in motor races. The team resorts to aggressive strategies to win races and uses dangerous drivers, such as Vince Hummer, Bob Cramer, Dan Hawkins, Donald Payntor, Michael Borman, and Jack Moore. The leader was brought up by Buddhist monks. An ambitious and cruel man, he studied a form of Buddhism that gives him amazing powers, which he uses to try to dominate the motor industry. His first appearance was in the album "Mach 1 pour Steve Warson".

Ruth alias Jo Barett is the Leader's daughter and was briefly Steve Warson's girlfriend. Before knowing her real origin, Ruth was a kind girl and friendly towards the Vaillante team. She became cruel and mean, taking over as the new Leader at her father's death, and tried to avenge him by fighting against his enemies.

Henri Vaillant is Michel and Jean-Pierre's father. He began as a

employees
, he is very appreciated by them.

Elisabeth Vaillant is Henri Vaillant's wife. She married him when he was a simple mechanic, but does not know anything about cars,

motor racing
, or mechanics.

Julie Wood is an American

Julie Wood
, which ran for eight volumes, from 1976 to 1980.

Yves Douleac is a driver for the Vaillante team. He lost his father, a truck driver for Vaillante at

Marseilles
, at 7. He was brought up by his mother and he was very admirative of Michel Vaillant, getting to know him personally and being employed as a driver. Courageous and proud, he later fell in love with Gabriele Spangenberg, and succeeded in marrying her despite his modest origin.

Gabriele Spangenberg is a German female driver for the Vaillante team and Yves Douléac's girlfriend. Her father, of noble heritage, first opposed such a union, due to Yves's poor origin, but later gave his permission, in the face of Gabriele's determination.

Bob Cramer is an American driver, Vaillante's enemy and a driver for the Leader team along with his friend and partner Dan Hawkins. A drunkard and a brawler, he is also aggressive in motor races where he caused a lot of crashes.

Non-fictional characters
As a driver evolving in the motor racing background, Michel Vaillant competes with many existing drivers, some of whom play an important part in the stories. Pierre Dieudonné appeared in some adventures as a driver for the Vaillante team. Drivers, most notably French and Belgians like Vanina and Jacky Ickx, François Cevert, Patrick Tambay, Thierry Boutsen, René Arnoux, Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Éric Bernard, have made appearances in the storylines.

Gilles Villeneuve and Jacky Ickx are portrayed as good friends of Michel's as is Didier Pironi, and are the most recurring drivers of the series. Didier Pironi played an important part in the album: Un pilote a disparu (1980). Non-fictional team managers and journalists also appear regularly, as do some statesmen and celebrities. Michel himself is often seen being interviewed by real-life journalist Gérard "Jabby" Crombac.

Publications

  • Volume 1 : Le Grand défi (1959)
  • Volume 2 : Le Pilote sans visage (1960)
  • Volume 3 : Le Circuit de la peur (1961)
  • Volume 4 : Route de nuit (1962)
  • Volume 5 : Le 13 est au départ (1963)
  • Volume 6 : La Trahison de Steve Warson (1964)
  • Volume 7 : Les Casse-cou (1964)
  • Volume 8 : Le 8e pilote (1965)
  • Volume 9 : Le Retour de Steve Warson (1965)
  • Volume 10 : L'Honneur du Samouraï (1966)
  • Volume 11 : Suspense à Indianapolis (1966)
  • Volume 12 : Les Chevaliers de Königsfeld (1967)
  • Volume 13 : Concerto pour pilotes (1968)
  • Volume 14 : Mach 1 pour Steve Warson (1968)
  • Volume 15 : Le Cirque infernal (1969)
  • Volume 16 : Km. 357 (1969)
  • Volume 17 : Le Fantôme des 24 heures (1970)
  • Volume 18 : De l'huile sur la piste ! (1970)
  • Volume 19 : 5 filles dans la course ! (1971)
  • Volume 20 : Rodéo sur 2 roues (1971)
  • Volume 21 : Massacre pour un moteur ! (1972)
  • Volume 22 : Rush (1972)
  • Volume 23 : Série noire (1973)
  • Volume 24 : Cauchemar (1973)
  • Volume 25 : Des filles et des moteurs (1974)
  • Volume 26 : Champion du monde (1974)
  • Volume 27 : Dans l'enfer du safari (1975)
  • Volume 28 : Le Secret de Steve Warson (1975)
  • Volume 29 : San Francisco Circus (1976)
  • Volume 30 : Les Jeunes Loups (1977)
  • Volume 31 : La Révolte des rois (1978)
  • Volume 32 : Le Prince blanc (1978)
  • Volume 33 : La Silhouette en colère (1979)
  • Volume 34 : KO pour Steve Warson (1979)
  • Volume 35 : Le Galérien (1980)
  • Volume 36 : Un pilote a disparu (1980)
  • Volume 37 : L'Inconnu des 1000 pistes (1980)
  • Volume 38 : Steve Warson contre Michel Vaillant (1981)
  • Volume 39 : Rallye sur un volcan (1981)
  • Volume 40 : Rififi en F1 (1982)
  • Volume 41 : Paris-Dakar (1982)
  • Volume 42 : 300 à l'heure dans Paris (1983)
  • Volume 43 : Rendez-vous à Macao (1983)
  • Volume 44 : Steve et Julie (1984)
  • Volume 45 : L'Homme de Lisbonne (1984)
  • Volume 46 : Racing show (1985)
  • Volume 47 : Panique à Monaco (1986)
  • Volume 48 : Irish coffee (1986)
  • Volume 49 : Catégorie poids lourds (1987)
  • Volume 50 : Le Défi des remparts (1988)
  • Volume 51 : Le Caïd de Francorchamps (1989)
  • Volume 52 : F3000 (1989)
  • Volume 53 : La Nuit de Carnac (1990)
  • Volume 54 : L'Affaire Bugatti (1991)
  • Volume 55 : Une histoire de fous (1992)
  • Volume 56 : Le Maître du monde (1993)
  • Volume 57 : La Piste de jade (1994)
  • Volume 58 : Paddock (1995)
  • Volume 59 : La Prisonnière (1997)
  • Volume 60 : Victoires oubliées (1997)
  • Volume 61 : La Fièvre de Bercy (1998)
  • Volume 62 : Le $pon$or (1999)
  • Volume 63 : Cairo (2000)
  • Volume 64 : Opération Mirage (2001)
  • Volume 65 : L'Épreuve (2003)
  • Volume 66 : 100.000.000$ pour Steve Warson (2004)
  • Volume 67 : Pour David (2005)
  • Volume 68 : China Moon (2006)
  • Volume 69 : Hors-piste en enfer (2006)
  • Volume 70 : 24 hours under the influence (2007)

New series

  • Volume 1 : In the name of the Son (2012)
  • Volume 2 : Charge (2013)
  • Volume 3 : Beyond Control (2014)
  • Volume 4 : Collapse (2015)
  • Volume 5 : Renaissance (2016)
  • Volume 6 : Rebellion (2017)
  • Volume 7 : Macau (2018)
  • Volume 8 : 13 Days (2019)
  • Volume 9  : Duels (2020)
  • Volume 10 : Pikes Peak (2021)
  • Volume 11 : Cannonball (2022)
  • Volume 12 : Target (2023)
  • Volume 13 : Redemption (2024)

In 1986, the album Irish coffee was awarded the Avoriaz Festival's Grand Prix (Morzine, France).

In other media

In 1967, French TV broadcast a live-action adaptation of the series, Les Aventures de Michel Vaillant. It ran for 13 episodes and featured stories written and filmed around a real-life world sportscar championship, documenting Henri Grandsire driving an

Magny Cours, Nürburgring, Monza, Targa Florio, Le Mans, Monaco, Rouen-Les-Essarts, Sebring and Reims
.

The series was also adapted into a Michel Vaillant animated series. 65 episodes of 26 minutes were produced in 1990 in France by

former Family Channel, sponsored by Mattel's Hot Wheels franchise (hence the title) and distributed by France 3 Video and Pacific Media Ventures.[15] Michel's name was anglicized to "Michael Valiant". It was broadcast again in France in 1993 and 1998 by France 2
, and sold in more than 30 countries.

A

soundtrack to the movie composed by the band Archive
was released at the same time.

In popular culture

A Dutch poster celebrating the 50th anniversary of the series in 2007

The series has been influential in the world of auto racing. Some famous Formula One drivers have admitted that their passion for automobile racing originated from reading the Michel Vaillant comics series,[16] among them four- time Formula One champion Alain Prost.[17] In 1969, Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari personally wished Michel Vaillant a happy 20th birthday.[18] The circuit Zolder, in Belgium, in which several well-known motorsport races take place, have paid tribute to the series, naming the biggest building of the circuit "Michel Vaillant club".[19]

Many real cars were adapted from automobile designs from the series. Cars bearing the logo Vaillante ran in

Geneva Motor Show in 2006.[24] It was also Luc Donckerwolke who transformed a Lola B98/10–Judd into a Vaillante and a Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S into a Leader car in 2003 for the Besson movie.[25] Donckerwolke also collaborated with Studio Graton on the latest titles of the series, drawing some cars featured in the albums.[26]

Many commercial products have been derived from the series,[27] among them figurines, collected by automobile fans as well as comics fans.[28] There's also a video game featuring Michel Vaillant[29] which has ranked first in the auto racing video games in Benelux,[30] and has been the top download on commercial websites.[31]

Alain Menu's Vaillant color Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T

In June 2012, Swiss racing driver

Race of Portugal with a Vaillante-themed livery.[32]
Menu won the second feature race of the event (round 14) under the name M. Vaillant, even dying his hair and shaving his beard to resemble the look of the character.

In 2017 Rebellion Racing entered the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans as "Vaillant Rebellion" using Vaillant colours on cars #13 and #31.

Reception

The series is very popular among fans of automobiles, because it features real-life cars, including renowned and prestigious models. The series have fans throughout several countries, though it has not translated into other languages except for English, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian (with Michel Vaillant renamed Mark Breton in the two latter), Portuguese, Serbian, Croatian, Finnish and Italian. It has above all fans in France and Belgium, including Dutch-speaking Belgium, given that Michel Vaillant albums have been translated into Dutch.[citation needed]

The series has received various tributes as a masterpiece of the

Belgian post offices.[34] Celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the series took place in 2007, among them Strip Turnhout, at the bi-annual official Flanders comics festival, organizing a retrospective exhibition.[35]

The series also ranks high on the collector's market, with original editions ranking among the most valuable. Graton's original art pages have fetched high prices at auctions. In January 2006, a page from "Le 13 est au départ" was sold for 4,800 euros at an auction in Paris. In April 2006, in Paris again, an original page from "L'Honneur du Samourai" was auctioned for 12,384 euros (whereas its original value was 3,500 euros), breaking the record of the time.[36] In 2008, an original page from "De l'huile sur la piste" was sold for 11,520 euros at auction in 2008 at Brussels among other works previously published by Tintin magazine, establishing the record sale of that day.[37]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ruëll, Niels (December 1, 2005). "Studio Graton: de strijd van een kleine uitgever" (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Brusselnieuws. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009.
  2. ^ "Michel Vaillant dans le journal Tintin édition française". Bdoubliées.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  3. ^ "Michel Vaillant dans le journal Tintin édition belge". Bdoubliées.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  4. ^ "Jean Graton". BD Paradisio. On estime à 17 millions le nombre d'albums vendus dans le monde depuis 1959
  5. ^ "Michel Vaillant - "Série"". Bdtheque (in French).
  6. ^ "Books in English". michelvaillant.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-09.
  7. ^ "Graton, Philippe". Bedetheque. En 1994, Philippe reprend l'écriture des scénarii de Michel Vaillant
  8. ^ "Philippe Graton : "Notre studio respecte le style Graton tout en le faisant évoluer"". ActuaBD. 17 June 2008. On perd donc une certaine spontanéité et nous n'avons pas la même rigueur
  9. ^ "Vaillante". cartype.com (a museum of automobile typography). The realistic drawings constitute an exceptional encyclopaedia of 50 years of motor racing
  10. ^ La Marque BD "Sport-Auto dans Michel Vaillant "Rétrospective des aventure F1 de Michel Vaillant"
  11. ^ Saturday Morning Cartoons Michel Vaillant
  12. ^ "Michel Vaillant affronte les Audi aux 24H du Mans". Webcarnews. Pour être le plus réaliste possible, la collaboration avec Vanina Ickx (fille de Jacky et pilote chez Audi) mais aussi avec Luc Donckerwolke, un designer automobile, donne à cet opus un véritable goût d'asphalte.
  13. Le Nouvel Observateur. Lorsqu'il discute moteur (...), Michel parle en réalité de la Vie, avec un grand V. Celle qui exige force de caractère et droiture. D'ailleurs les femmes qui le côtoient dans ses aventures lui reconnaissent tour à tour les qualités du gendre idéal, du fiston rêvé et du petit-fils parfait.[permanent dead link
    ]
  14. ^ "Michel Vaillant: Bringing a cartoon strip to the screen" (PDF). InCamera. Kodak. April 2003. The character of Michel Vaillant is an ideal mixture of all the characteristics they like to see in a popular hero !
  15. ISBN 978-1538103739
    .
  16. ^ "Jean Graton" (in French). Quelques grands pilotes actuels avouent devoir leur passion à Michel Vaillant.
  17. ^ "Michelvaillant.com". Archived from the original on 2008-11-09. Michel Vaillant has revealed the world of motor racing of all ages. Some even admit they passion began with Michel Vaillant books. These include Alain Prost, five times world champion or Luc Donckerwolke, the most renowned automobile of his generation.
  18. ^ "Vaillante". Cartype (a museum of automobile typography). This imaginary hero [is] recognised by the world of racing (Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari personally wished him a happy 20th birthday)
  19. ^ "VIP Lounges - Michel Vaillant club". Circuit Zolder. Archived from the original on 2009-08-01. infoplan {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  20. ^ "Michel Vaillant affronte les Audi aux 24H du Mans". Webcarnews (in French). De véritables Vaillante avaient pris le départ en 1997 et en 2003.
  21. ^ La bande dessinée et l'automobile : Partie 5, quand l'automobile s’inspire de la B.D... et inversement. leblogauto.com
  22. ^ leblogauto.com Genève 2006: Seat Ibiza Vaillante
  23. ^ "Luc Donckerwolke, génération BD". Le Figaro (in French). 23 May 2008.
  24. ^ "A Vaillante signed Donckerwolke". michelvaillant.com. Archived from the original (high definition images, a 3D movie and a movie in English to be downloaded) on 2009-08-03.
  25. ^ "La Seat Ibiza version BD". Tout en BD (in French). A l'occasion du Salon de l'auto de Genève, la marque espagnole présente un concept car inspiré de Michel Vaillant: la Seat Ibiza Vaillante.
  26. ^ Franz-Peter Hudek. "Culture : comic and design" (PDF). Audi 2006 annual report. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2011.
  27. ^ La marque BD "Sport-Auto dans Michel Vaillant" Produits dérivés
  28. ^ Official website "Les objets"
  29. ^ gamespot.com Michel Vaillant "Michel Vaillant is a mobile racing game featuring Michel Vaillant."
  30. ^ Official website Archived 2008-11-09 at the Wayback Machine Mobile games: Vaillant takes the lead
  31. ^ themobilegames.com Michel Vaillant Racing
  32. ^ "Chevrolet unveils one-off WTCC livery that Alain Menu will use at the Algarve circuit". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  33. ^ "How to make a maximum card ?". belgianmaximaphiles.be. Archived from the original on 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  34. ^ Official website Archived 2008-11-09 at the Wayback Machine A stamp for Michel Vaillant. The stamp panel can be seen here Archived 2009-08-04 at the Wayback Machine.
  35. ^ "Michel Vaillant at 50". forbiddenplanet.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Strip Turnhout, the bi-annual official Flanders comics festival, wanted to honour Michel Vaillant and his creator by organising a retrospective exhibition to mark this anniversary. The show, which tells the story of the comic, but also of car racing in general, debuts on December 15, together with this year's edition of the festival.
  36. ^ Official website Archived 2008-11-09 at the Wayback Machine Auction and Record sale in Paris. The two panels can be seen here Archived 2009-08-04 at the Wayback Machine and here Archived 2009-08-04 at the Wayback Machine and here.
  37. ^ "11.520 euros la planche de Michel Vaillant". Tout en BD. Une planche à l'encre de Chine de l'épisode De l'huile sur la piste a créé la surprise lors d'une vente publique à Bruxelles.

External links

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