Raymond Macherot
Raymond Macherot | |
---|---|
Born | Verviers, Belgium | 30 March 1924
Died | 26 September 2008 | (aged 84)
Nationality | Belgian |
Area(s) | Artist, writer |
Pseudonym(s) | Zara |
Notable works | Clifton Chlorophylle Sibylline |
Raymond Macherot (30 March 1924 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian cartoonist. Although not nearly as famous as fellow Belgian cartoonists such as Hergé or André Franquin, Macherot's work, both as artist and writer, remains highly regarded among critics and collectors.[1]
Biography
The Tintin years
Raymond Macherot was born in
In 1954, Macherot created the series
With Les croquillards (1957), Macherot placed his characters to the island of Croquefredouille, a fictitious country populated entirely with "civilized" animals, complete with technology, police, government, and so on. The action surrounds the introduction (by Anthracite, of course) of carnivorous animals to the island (the 'croquillards' of the title). The story is darkly comic, with many characters ending up as gourmet meals for the predators. Strangely, Macherot's publisher, Le Lombard, refused to release the Croquefredouille stories in book form until 1980.
Alternatively, in 1959, Macherot created Colonel Clifton, a series about a retired MI5 detective. He did three books worth of material, all the while continuing Chlorophylle, before calling it quits and moving to Spirou magazine, run by competitor-publisher Dupuis.
turned the series into a relative hit.The Spirou years
Macherot began his stint at Spirou with a new series, Chaminou, featuring a cat secret agent to the King, living in the country Zoolande. However, Chaminou's first story, Chaminou et le Khrompire (1964), was unpopular and Macherot abandoned Chaminou.[1] Closer to Chlorophylle, Sibylline, featured a female mouse and her fiancé Taboum. Many books have been published in this series, which enjoyed some success. From 1972 to 1976, Paul Deliège wrote the scenarios for Sibylline. Macherot ended the series upon his retirement in 1990.
Other series created by Macherot for Spirou include Pantoufle (with René Goscinny), Mirliton (with Raoul Cauvin), and as scenarist on Mulligan with Yvan Delporte and Isabelle, with Delporte and André Franquin.[1] In the 1990s, Chaminou was revived, first by the team of Yann Lepennetier and Denis Bodart, and later by Olivier Saive, who completely redrew and augmented Chaminou et le Khrompire under Macherot's supervision, splitting it in two volumes. As for Sibylline, the series has been revived in 2006 by André Taymans for new adventures, also under Macherot's supervision.
Raymond Macherot died in the night of 25 and 26 September 2008 in his sleep.[3]
Themes
Although superficially gentle and innocent looking, many of Macherot's strips are darker, and certainly more violent and
Bibliography
Not all of Macherot's stories have been published in book form. When they have been, they have not necessarily been published in chronological order. This is particularly true with Chlorophylle. This list shows the original magazine publication order. The years indicate the initial publication date for each book.
Also note that most of these books have recently been reissued in collected hardback editions, with extensive notes and biographical details.
Chlorophylle
- Chlorophylle contre les rats noirs (Le Lombard, 1956)
- Chlorophylle et les conspirateurs (Le Lombard, 1956)
- Pas de salami pour Célimène! (Le Lombard, 1957)
- Le Bosquet hanté (Le Lombard 1957)
- Les Croquillards (Glénat, 1977). This begins the so-called "Croquefredouille cycle".
- Zizanion le terrible (Glénat, 1977)
- Le retour de Chlorophylle (Le Lombard, 1961). This is a break in the cycle.
- La revanche d'Anthracite (Le Lombard, 1964). This ends the "Croquefredouille cycle".
- Le furet gastronome (Le Lombard, 1970)
- Chloro à la rescousse (Le Lombard, 1971)
Clifton
- Les enquêtes du colonel Clifton (Le Lombard, 1959)
- Clifton à New-York (Le Lombard, 1960)
- Clifton et les espions (Le Lombard, 1963)
Chaminou
- Chaminou et le Khrompire (Dupuis, 1965)
- La peur du loup (Marsu, 1992), story by Macherot and Olivier Saive, art by Saive
In addition, Macherot is credited on the following Chaminou books but has not contributed to the story or art:
- L'affaire Carotassis (Marsu, 1991), story by Yann, art by Denis Bodart
- La main verte (Marsu, 1993), by Olivier Saive
- L'opuscule sans scrupule (Marsu, 1995), by Olivier Saive
Sibylline
- Sibylline et la betterave (Dupuis, 1967)
- Sibylline en danger (Dupuis, 1969)
- Sibylline et les abeilles (Dupuis, 1971)
- Sibylline et le petit cirque (Dupuis, 1974)
- Sibylline s'envole (Dupuis, 1975), story by Paul Deliège
- Sibylline et les cravates noires (Dupuis, 1977), story by Paul Deliège
- Elixir le magnifique (Dupuis, 1979)
- Burokratz le vampire (Dupuis, 1982)
- Le chapeau magique (Dupuis, 1983)
- Le violon de Zagabor (Dupuis, 1984)
- Sibylline et le Kulgude (Dupuis, 1985)
Later Sibylline stories have not seen publication in book form, though they have been published in Spirou magazine.
New Sibylline stories are currently being produced by André Taymans. Macherot receives credit on the cover though his actual involvement is unclear.
- Sibylline et la ligue des coupe-jarrets (Flouzemaker, 2006), by André Taymans
Mirliton
- Mirliton (Dupuis, 1980), story by Raoul Cauvin. This is #4 in the series Les meilleurs récits du Journal Spirou.
Isabelle
- Le tableau enchanté (Dupuis, 1972), story by Macherot and Yvan Delporte, art by Will
- Isabelle et le capitaine (Dupuis, 1983), story by Macherot and Yvan Delporte, art by Will
- Les maléfices de l'oncle Hermès (Dupuis, 1978), story by Macherot, Franquinand Yvan Delporte, art by Will
- L'astragale de Cassiopée (Dupuis, 1979), story by Macherot, Franquin and Yvan Delporte, art by Will
Compilations
- Spécial Clifton (Le Lombard, 1981). Collects the three Clifton stories by Macherot.
- Chlorophylle à Croquefredouille (Le Lombard, 1998). Collects the Chlorophylle stories from the "Croquefredouille cycle". This is #7 in the series Les classiques du rire.
- Clifton (Niffle, 2004). A pocket-sized, black-and-white compilation of the three Clifton stories by Macherot.
Books about Macherot
- Macherot: une monographie (Mosquito, 1998). Features an interview, various critical texts, and many previously unreleased drawings.
- À propos de Macherot (À propos, 2005)
References
External links
- Raymond Macherot biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia