In 1948, in the aftermath of the Second World War, with Europe still in ruins, three young Belgian comic strip artists, Joseph Gillain (aka
Jijé), Maurice de Bevere (aka
Morris) and
André Franquin, crossed the Atlantic with the intention of settling in the US.
All three would eventually return to Belgium, their hopes of working for Disney ultimately dashed by the turmoil of the McCarthy years. However, in the meantime they made the acquaintance of their colleagues of the Charles
William Harvey Studio in New York, including a cosmopolitan young wit named
René Goscinny.
[more inside]
posted by Skeptic
on Oct 29, 2009 -
37 comments
Fantomas Lives!
Fantômas is the Lord of Terror, the Genius of Evil, the arch-criminal anti-hero of a series of 32 pre-WWI French thrillers written by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain. He carries out the most appalling crimes: substituting sulfuric acid in the perfume dispensers at a Parisian department store, releasing plague-infested rats on an ocean liner, or forcing a victim to witness his own execution by placing him face-up in a guillotine.
In 1912, Apollinaire founded the
Societe des Amis de Fantomas which included prominent artists and writers.
Magritte considered Fantomas to be a major influence in many of his paintings. Fantomas was not only a comic book but also
spawned films, tv and radio shows and plays. (There is, of course, a modern
band as well)(I read the
Mexican comic book as a child)
posted by vacapinta
on Sep 14, 2002 -
6 comments
