Jijé
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jijé | |
| Birth name | Joseph Gillain |
| Born | January 13, 1914 Gedinne, Belgium |
| Died | June 20, 1980 (aged 66) Versailles, France |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Notable works | Spirou et Fantasio Blondin et Cirage Jean Valhardi Jerry Spring |
| Awards | full list |
Jijé (January 13, 1914 - June 20, 1980) was a Belgian comics artist, best known for Spirou et Fantasio and Jerry Spring.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born Joseph Gillain in Gedinne, Namur, he completed various art studies (woodcraft, goldsmithing, drawing and painting) at the abbey of Maredsous.[1] In 1936, he created his first comics character, Jojo in the catholic newspaper Le Croisé. Jojo was heavily influenced by The Adventures of Tintin, but Jijé developed his own style gradually.[1] Soon a second series followed, Blondin et Cirage, for the catholic youth magazine Petits Belges.[2] Jijé also made many illustrations for Walloon magazines.
In 1939, he started to work for the new magazine Spirou, where he would produce the largest part of his oeuvre until the end of his life. Because the magazine could not receive foreign drawings during the war, he drew most of the comics during that period. He took over the main series of Spirou et Fantasio from the Frenchman Rob-Vel: he added the sidekick Fantasio to the lone hero Spirou to get some comic relief in the series. In the following years, he 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 Don Bosco and Christopher Columbus, as well as a gospel in comics form, Emmanuel.
After the war, he handed over his existing series to younger artists: André Franquin got Spirou et Fantasio, Eddy Paape Jean Valhardi and Victor Hubinon Blondin et Cirage.
He also had a few young cartoonists living in with him in Waterloo, thus creating the so-called "School of Marcinelle": this included André Franquin, Morris, and Will. Other famous artists working in the style and influence of the School of Marcinelle include Peyo and Jean Roba. Later students of Jijé, not really working in the Atom style or the School of Marcinelle, include Jean Giraud (aka Moebius), Jean-Claude Mézières and Guy Mouminoux.
In the 1950s, he drew new adventures of Jean Valhardi and Blondin et Cirage, while starting a new series, the western Jerry Spring. He also drew a biography of Baden-Powell. In the mid-1960s, he took over the artwork of Tanguy et Laverdure from Albert Uderzo and Redbeard from Victor Hubinon, both in the magazine Pilote.[1]
He died at Versailles after a prolonged illness.
[edit] Style and appreciation
Jijé is one of the few European artists to have made both realistic comics and caricatural ones. After starting in a Hergé-like Ligne claire style, he went on to create his own distinctive style,[1]
[edit] Bibliography
- 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
[edit] Awards
- 1975: Grand Prix Saint-Michel of the city of Brussels, Belgium
- 1976: Stripschapprijs, The Netherlands
- 1977: Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême, France
[edit] Sources
- Jijé publications in Le journal de Spirou BDoubliées (French)
- Jijé albums Bedetheque (French)
- Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Jijé official site (French)
- Jijé biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Jijé biography on BDparadisio (French)
