They Never Managed To Get Jean Giraud, Moebius, and Gir Together To Do One

May 23, 2011 11:12 AM

Du Tac au Tac was a 1970s French television programme which brought cartoonists together to create improvised jam drawings based on specific themes, building upon one another's illustrations. Some highlights: Neal Adams (Batman), Joe Kubert (Sgt. Rock), and Jean Giraud (Blueberry) open Pandora's Box and in another segment, create a bestiary and draw their favorite comic-book heroes. Jean Giraud and Hugo Pratt (Corto Maltese) create a 3-panel strip using four onomatopoeia provided by Jean Claude Forest (Barbarella) and Jije (Spirou and Fantasio). Goscinny and Uderzo (Asterix) play a game of equisite corpse with Greg (Achille Talon) and Davy (Olivier Rameau).

A few more highlights:

Philippe Druillet (Metal Hurlant), Forest, Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing), and Mike Kaluta (The Shadow) create the Tower of Babel.

Jim Steranko (Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD), Robert Gigi (Pilote), and Forest depict New York in the year 3000 and bring their science-fiction characters and super-heroes together while floating on the Hudson.

Guido Crepax (Valentina), Esteban Maroto (Red Sonja), and Thé Tjong-Khing (Arman & Ilva) draw a story about a woman and a monster.

Franquin (Gaston), Jean Roba (Boule et Bill), Peyo (The Smurfs), and Morris (Lucky Luke) draw a chase scene and tell a story that begins with a horseshoe.

Jean Giraud and Jije get silly with a cowboy strip.

There are tons more in the INA's archive!

posted by Alvy Ampersand (13 comments total)

It's like a rap battle with magic marker. This is fantastic.


oh god they make it look so easy
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 11:17 AM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

It's like a rap battle with magic marker.

That would have been a way better title.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:20 AM on May 23, 2011

This is a fantastic post and you are a fantastic person for posting it.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:31 AM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'd love to know what happened to those drawings. I wonder if they even survived after the shoot was over.
posted by sardonyx at 11:48 AM on May 23, 2011

This is a fantastic post and you are a fantastic person for posting it.
Yes ! Thanks a lot for this !
posted by motdiem2 at 12:11 PM on May 23, 2011

I love the fact that Neal Adams is wearing a tie.

I also have great fondness for the chicken.
posted by sardonyx at 12:23 PM on May 23, 2011

All I can think of is the smell and sound of those markers.
posted by thylacine at 2:04 PM on May 23, 2011

That was wonderful (and amusing) to watch. But I can't help thinking that we'll not see shows like this again any time soon with the short attention span and fragmented TV markets that exist these days. Things like this or the Bob Ross painting show wouldn't get startup cash now unless they were somehow cheaper to make than a Home Reno show.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 3:36 PM on May 23, 2011

Oh, wow. I have tomorrow's entertainment lined up now.
posted by egypturnash at 10:48 PM on May 23, 2011

Wow, it's gonna take a lawnnnnnnnnnng time to download all of these...
posted by mykescipark at 11:55 PM on May 23, 2011

Ok now this here, this is the kind of thing that keeps up my hopes for the Internet.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 12:16 AM on May 24, 2011

Extraordinaire ! Thanks a lot !
posted by nicolin at 1:49 AM on May 24, 2011

This is so fucking awesome it's stupid. I mean it's turned me stupid. To saying stupid shit becomes I'm so fucking occupied with Fu k, this is awesome.

Seriously, I grew up reading these guys and to see them at all, much less to see them at work, is great. This really made my day, thanks.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:09 AM on May 24, 2011