Jerry Spring
| Comic | |
|---|---|
| title | Jerry Spring |
| country | Belgium |
| author |
Jijé Maurice Rosy René Goscinny Jean Acquaviva Philip Daniel Dubois Jacques Lob Festin |
| Illustrator |
Jijé Franz |
| publishing company | Dupuis |
| magazine | Spirou |
| First publication | 1954-1990 |
Jerry Spring is a Franco-Belgian comic created by Jijé .
Jerry Spring has served as a model for numerous other western comics , in particular " Lieutenant Blueberry ". At the beginning of his career (1961), the young Jean Giraud worked temporarily as an assistant on the series and is even named as a co-author for the album “La Route de Coronado”.
History of origin
When Jijé returned to Europe in 1954 after a long stay in the USA and Mexico, other illustrators from Spirou magazine had taken over all of his earlier series ( Spirou and Fantasio , Valhardi ). In this situation, his publisher Jean Dupuis suggested he draw a new western series for Spirou magazine. Until then, apart from the funny western Lucky Luke , which debuted there in 1946, only westerns from American production - such as Red Ryder by Fred Harman - had been published in the magazine . A western comic penned by a Belgian draftsman was a daring experiment. But who seemed better suited for such a project than Jijé, who was still very much under the impression of his stay in the Mexican-American border area and had already proven his special talent for realistically drawn comics in the past?
Jijé had already gained his first experience with the western genre in 1940, when, due to the war, there was no supply of American comics for Spirou magazine and he had to continue a Red Ryder story that Fred Harman had begun to end the episode that had already started in the magazine to be able to bring. Dupuis gave Jije a free hand in developing the framework. A story emerged in which the fundamentally different worlds of the USA and Mexico collide. Jerry Spring is a mixture of western and detective history. The actual plot of most of the episodes is quite simple and only moderately exciting. The quality of the narrative lies more in the atmosphere that Jijé managed to create with his coherent images.
Jerry Spring was an instant hit with Spirou readers. Up until 1967, the magazine published about one adventure a year, which was later also released as an album with some delay. When album sales fell rapidly from the mid-1960s, Dupuis decided to forego further album releases.
Thereupon Jijé left the Dupuis publishing house in dispute and hired the French Pilote magazine, where he drew the series Mick Tanguy from then on . It was not until 1974 that Dupuis succeeded in bringing Jijé back to Spirou - with the offer to re-publish the now out of print Jerry Spring series in an attractive edition. As part of this new edition, the stories that were not reprinted in the 1960s were published in album form for the first time. In the following years, Jijé drew three new Jerry Spring adventures for Spirou magazine, but the response from the readership once again fell short of the expectations of the author and publisher. In 1977 Jijé stopped working on Jerry Spring again. With the death of Jijé in 1980, hopes for another sequel to the series were finally dashed. In 1990 the draftsman Franz tried to revive the series based on a Festin scenario . But this attempt did not get beyond one volume.
Subject
With Jerry Spring, Jijé has created a western series that is not based on the cinema clichés of the 1950s. The series is realistic not only in terms of its drawing style, but also because of its concern for authenticity. Jijé tries to describe the real living conditions of real cowboys and tries to give an objective representation of the Indians. All details, such as the clothing of the actors, have been well researched. The landscapes are also implemented in magnificent pictures and correspond to real models. The human side of his stories is of great importance to Jijé. The emergency situation of the Mexican rural population in particular is a recurring topic. Jerry Spring is always on the side of the disenfranchised and stands up for their concerns, be it Mexican farmers, former black slaves or the Indian people.
A special feature of the series is the lack of a historical classification. In contrast to other western series, there are no dates in Jerry Spring.
main characters
- Jerry Spring is the flawless title character of the series and has all the attributes of the classic western hero. He is quick with the Colt and extremely accurate. Even so, he prefers to solve problems with his mind rather than with a gun. However, when it comes to taking action against injustice, he does not hesitate to side with the weak and oppressed. Little is known about its origin. His father was a judge who was murdered by bandits. Because his father was found with an arrow in the back, the Apaches were believed to be the culprits in his death, until Jerry Spring can reveal the identity of the real murderer in the first volume.
- Jerry has a loyal and intelligent horse: Ruby . The red stallion does not tolerate any rider other than Jerry Spring and sometimes actively intervenes in the action because he senses when his master is in mortal danger.
- In his first adventure, Jerry meets the Mexican Pancho , who quickly becomes his loyal friend and constant companion. The somewhat corpulent Mexican likes the siesta and the tequila, but proves to be wide awake and agile when Jerry needs his help in difficult situations. In later adventures, he sometimes also plays the role of the joker, who uses slapstick interludes for occasional comic elements in the series.
- Another recurring person is the Apache Lone Arrow . A chief's son helps Jerry find his father's real killer. Thanks to the influence of Jerry Spring, he realizes that the traditional Indian way of life has no future. Unlike his tribal brothers, he is ready to adapt to a society dominated by white people.
Publication in Germany
The series has been published temporarily by various German publishers. The popularity of other western series such as Comanche or Lieutenant Blueberry could never reach it. In Germany, Jerry Spring was first published by Bastei in 1971 as a separate series. The series brought it to a total of 16 volumes and even managed a second edition from 1978. In 1984 the series was published briefly by Condor Verlag , but was discontinued after only two volumes. In 1987 the series finally found a new home at Carlsen Verlag . In 1990 it was discontinued there after 10 volumes. From 2010 to 2012, Ehapa Verlag finally published all of Jijé's stories in a five-volume complete edition in German. Only the story Colère apache drawn by Franz has not yet appeared in German.
Stories
- Golden Creek (1954)
- Yucca Ranch (1954)
- Silbermond (1955)
- Arms Smuggler (1955)
- The passport of the Indians (1955-1956)
- The Trail to the Far North (1956)
- Old Lender's Gold (1956)
- The unlucky ranch (1956–1957)
- Investigation in San Juan (1957)
- Uncle Tom's Testament (1957)
- The three bearded ones by Sonoyta (1957-1958)
- Fort Red Stone (1958)
- The Lord of the Sierra (1960)
- The Road to Coronado (1961)
- El Zopilote (1962)
- Pancho the Bandit (1963)
- The Broncos of Montana (1963-1964)
- My Friend Red (1964)
- The Lone Wolf (1964)
- The Avengers of Sonora (1965)
- The Ku Klux Klan (1966)
- The duel (1966–1967)
- The mine on the Rio Santana (1974)
- The Canyon Girl (1976)
- A Lady in the Wild West (1977)
- Colère apache (1990)
literature
- Volker Hamann: Reddition 38 , Journal for Graphic Literature, 2001.