Valhardi

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Comic
title Valhardi
country Belgium
author Jean Doisy
Eddy Paape
Yvan Delporte
Jean-Michel Charlier
Jijé
Philip
Guy Mouminoux
André-Paul Duchâteau
Jacques Stoquart
Illustrator Jijé
Eddy Paape
René Follet
publishing company Dupuis
magazine Spirou
First publication 1941-1984

Jean Valhardi is the title of a Franco-Belgian comic series created by author Jean Doisy and illustrator Jijé . On October 2, 1941, the first page of the series appeared in the Belgian comic magazine Spirou , in which a total of 26 mostly album-length adventures should appear before the series was discontinued in 1984. The series is considered to be one of the first European comics drawn in a realistic style.

History of the series

In the early phase of the series from 1941 to 1946, around 200 comic pages were created in collaboration between the duo Jijé and Doisy. During this time Valhardi was one of the most popular series in Spirou magazine and featured in almost every issue.

In order to be able to devote himself to other projects, Jijé gave the series to Eddy Paape in 1946 , who was to remain Valhardi's draftsman for the next 10 years. In the following year, screenwriter Jean Doisy got out and was initially replaced by Yvan Delporte . From 1951 onwards, Jean-Michel Charlier delivered the scenarios.

In 1956, Jijé took over the series again at the urging of his publisher Jean Dupuis . The second Jijé period marks the heyday of the series. The mature draftsman initially took on the design of the series on his own and also acted as a screenwriter for the following three adventures. With Gégène (German name: Ralf) he introduced a new, regularly appearing supporting character that allowed him to loosen up the pure adventure stories with comical elements. From 1958, Jijé's son Philip took over the role of scenario writer, and from 1963 Guy Mouminoux . When Jijé switched from Spirou to the French magazine Pilote in 1966 , that meant the temporary end of the Valhardi series.

For a good 15 years no new adventures by Valhardi appeared until René Follet tried to revive it in 1981, initially with a shorter episode. The following year Valhardi returned with an album-long adventure. As with the previous short story, the scenario was provided by the Rick Master author André-Paul Duchâteau . Follet then realized another album based on a script by Jacques Stoquart , after which the series was discontinued again.

action

Jean Valhardi is originally an insurance detective (which, however, increasingly fades into the background in later adventures). His investigations take him to exotic locations in all parts of the world and regularly involve him in exciting adventures.

main characters

  • Jean Valhardi (dt. Jack Valhardi), a handsome, muscular adventurer, is the prototype of the perfect hero. Helpful, humble and fearless, he embodies the archetype of the big brother or the ideal friend. Mostly against his will, he is repeatedly involved in exciting criminal cases. And once he has tracked down a crime, he persistently and purposefully pursues the perpetrators until they and those behind them are convicted.
  • The reporter Gégène ( Eng . Ralf) is Valhardi's friend. He accompanies Valhardi on several adventures. He tends to be cocky and gets into difficult situations from which Valhardi has to free him. Despite its imperfection, however, it is a reliable friend who does not let Valhardi down even in tricky situations.

Valhardi in Germany

Under the name Kouki, Valhardi Adventure appeared for the first time in various Kauka productions ( Lupo modern , Tip Top and Super Tip Top) in the mid-1960s . From 1985 Valhardi appeared as a separate comic series at Carlsen under the title Valhardi & Co, Adventurers . This series contains all the adventures in German translation that were also released as an album in Belgium for the new edition of the series.

Long stories

  • The mysterious castle (1951–1952)
  • The super gamma ray (1952–1953)
  • Jump into freedom (1953–1954)
  • The black sun (1956–1957)
  • The Diamond Gang (1957)
  • The Barnes Case (1957-1958)
  • An Agent in Trouble (1958)
  • The flowers of Neptune (1959–1960)
  • Two on a hot track (1961–1962)
  • Rally with Obstacles (1963)
  • The great race (1964)
  • The Duel of Idols (1965)
  • The Angel with Empty Eyes (1982-1983)
  • The Only Witness (1984)

literature

  • Jijé by Volker Hamann in Reddition, Zeitschrift für Graphische Literatur, No. 38, 2001.

Web links