Michel Vaillant

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Michel Vaillant ( miʃɛl vajɑ̃ ) is a comic book character created in 1957 by the French illustrator and author Jean Graton . The series has been published continuously to this day, but with a new team of artists since 2012.

History of the series

A Jordan EJ11 in the design of Michel Vaillant's Formula 1 car

The trained commercial and industrial draftsman Jean Graton had already worked as a comic artist for several years before he published the first short Vaillant stories in the Franco-Belgian comic magazine Tintin in 1957 . From 1958 adventures with a length of 62 pages were published. In the successful Tintin magazine, many adventure and crime series were printed at the time, which were designed for a young male readership and mostly - based on the Tintin series - were designed in the style of the Ligne Claire .

The series is about the adventures of the racing driver Michel Vaillant, who fights as a heroic figure against all kinds of opponents on and beyond the slopes. He competes in races all over the world. Vaillant starts for the racing team of the Vaillante works, which are run by his father Henri. His brother Jean-Pierre also appeared as a driver in the first albums and was later racing director, engineer and company boss. Michel Vaillant is usually supported by his closest friend, the American racing driver Steve Warson.

Especially in the 1950s and 1960s, the series was characterized by a strongly conservative worldview. Michel's father Henri, for example, was shown as an authoritarian company patriarch, the portrayal of women corresponded to traditional role models. As the zeitgeist changed, Graton weakened this ideological orientation significantly. In 1974, Michel Vaillant married - a novelty in the Franco-Belgian comic universe. Since this development met with a very negative response from readers, Graton later only rarely referred to the husband and later father of the family, Michel Vaillant. Only in the stories of season 2 (see below), which have been published since 2012, does Michel Vaillant's son play an important role.

In the 1960s in particular, Jean Graton regularly designed Michel Vaillant adventures that did not focus on racing. In these albums, Vaillant and Warson, for example, took out gangster organizations or fought a castle ghost in an eerie castle. They proved themselves as helpers in the fire of a chemical factory or clarified bomb attacks in the French provinces. Since the readers were primarily interested in racing adventures, Graton has rarely told stories of this kind afterwards. The Michel Vaillant stories are characterized by particularly extensive background research. As a rule, Graton visited all the racetracks and locations and created the corresponding photo documentation. For example, he traveled to the USA to produce a documentary about the Ford plants and American racetracks. The series is of interest today not least as a historical document.

The Michel Vaillant series was initially drawn by Jean Graton in the typical style of the so-called “clear line”, which had a strong influence on Franco-Belgian comics for around two decades. When it became apparent in the late 1960s that this drawing style was no longer up to date, he switched to a more relaxed, more modern style, which was also noticeable in the division of the pages. In the album Mach 1 for Steve Warson (1967), for example, he designed the page-long sequence in which Steve Warson piloted a rocket vehicle with unusual stylistic means and seemed to be based on the editing montages of movies.

Graton was supported by the staff of his drawing studio from the late 1960s. For example, there was a specialist for the representation of motorcycles, one for the representation of the racing cars and an assistant who drew the backgrounds. Jean Graton himself was responsible for the writing of the scenarios, the page layout, the graphic representation of the characters and for organizational matters. In the second half of the 1970s Graton worked for the German publisher Koralle-Verlag and often had to produce three albums a year - together with the secondary series Julie Wood . It was often criticized that the quality of the stories suffered greatly during this mass production. To this end, since the early 1970s, commercial comics with Michel Vaillant have been produced time and again, with which companies such as Bang & Olufsen are advertised.

From the 1980s, Jean Graton published the Michel Vaillant albums self-published by Graton Éditeur and was supported by his son Phillipe, an internationally renowned photographer. Philippe has also been writing the scenarios since the 1990s. Since Jean Graton fell ill in the late 1990s, the drawings were made by a drawing team until 2006, which Graton initially assisted with in an advisory capacity. Due to his age, the draftsman has now completely withdrawn. Today (as of 2019) he lives in an old people's home in Brussels .

Since then, Philippe Graton, who controls all activities with regard to Michel Vaillant, has been the determining figure in the Vaillant cosmos. At the end of 2012, the 71st album was released with a new series concept, as the start of season 2 with the new creative team Philippe Graton / Denis Lapière (scenario) and Marc Bourgne / Benjamin Benéteau (drawings). The series was thematically and visually realigned, the main characters were designed significantly changed by the draftsman Bourgne. The sons of the aged main characters Michel Vaillant and Jean-Pierre Vaillant now also play an important role in these new stories. Also involved are the “seniors” of the series, for example Henri and his brother Benjamin, a trucking company. Reference is made to current topics such as electromobility .

With the seventh album of season 2 , the previous background artist Benjamin Benéteau became the main illustrator of the series in 2018 and Marc Bourgne left as an illustrator. With the eighth album 13 jours , Michel Vaillant returned to Formula 1 in 2019 after a long break .

people

Michel Vaillant starts for the Vaillant works, one of the leading car manufacturers in France. He drives all racing classes, including Formula 1, endurance races such as the 24-hour race at Le Mans , the 12-hour race at Sebring , rallies , motorcycle races and motorboat races . He and his wife Françoise Latour have a son, Patrick, and his nephew Jean-Michel is his godson. Although Vaillant should be around 80 years old by now, in the current albums he seems to be around his mid-40s.

Jean-Pierre Vaillant was Michel's older brother. He was married to Agnès de Chanzy. Their child, Jean-Michel Vaillant, is Michel's godson. Jean Pierre used to be active as a racing driver, later he took over the management of the Vaillant works from his father. For controversy among readers be surprising caused suicide in the albums 4 and 5 of season 2 (2015/2016).

Henri and Elisabeth Vaillant are the parents of Jean-Pierre and Michel. After his training as a car mechanic, Henri Vaillant was active as a racing driver in the 1930s, later he founded the Vaillant works, which he chaired for a long time. He acts as a gnarled, albeit sympathetic, senior of the "old style" who occasionally gives his son Michel a lecture and who can no longer really cope with modern times. A running gag in the series shows the car designer Henri again and again as a cyclist, for example driving into the ditch or falling off his bike in the parking lot of his own factory.

Steve Warson is an American racing driver, he is a close friend of the Vaillant family and - with interruptions - is part of the permanent driver team of the Vaillante racing team. Warson is characterized by an erratic way of life and was often shown as the notorious Casanova in the 1970s, for example. In the 1990s he even took over the management of the hostile Leader group. He later returned to Vaillante. Warson is also often responsible for humorous interludes, for example when he repeatedly falls into streams or mud puddles with his motorcycle during motocross races.

The leader is the boss of the competing racing team and corporation of the same name. He appears as a charismatic and unscrupulous opponent who has fought the Vaillante team for years with all means. The Leader first appeared in 1967 in album # 14 Mach 1 for Steve Warson . Graton created the character based on various James Bond villains. In fact, the Leader operates several Bond- style underground bases , for example in a crater or a Tibetan mountain range. The Leader team is characterized by the use of the latest technologies and strategies. The racing drivers are required to be unconditionally committed and willing to take risks. After the leader's death, his daughter Ruth takes over the running of the racing team.

Julie Wood is an American motorcyclist who rides for Team Vaillant with her brother Jack "Indy" Wood. Between 1976 and 1980 the Graton studio produced eight independent albums under the name Julie Wood .

Publishers

Michel Vaillant was published from 1957 to 1976 in the large Belgian publishing house Le Lombard . After a few albums had been released by the French publisher Dargaud , Graton switched to the German Koralle publishing house in the late 1970s . When he stopped all comic activities in 1981, Graton founded the small publishing house Graton Éditeur , in which all Vaillant albums were published until 2007. This unusual form of publication proved to be out of date in the new century, as the production and distribution of a series like Michel Vaillant could no longer be handled by a small publisher.

The series has been published by the major publishing house Dupuis since 2010 , which began in the same year with a swift re-edition of the albums already published. Since 2008, Le Lombard has also published a bibliophile, 20-volume edition of the series, which is supplemented by editorial content. This complete edition is also being published today in a new edition by Verlag Dupuis, which coordinates all Vaillant activities in close cooperation with Philippe Graton and also took over the Verlag Graton Éditeur in 2020 .

With a total circulation of over 20 million albums, the series is particularly popular in France and the Benelux countries.

Publication in Germany

In Germany, Michel Vaillant first appeared in the magazine Mickyvision or MV-Comix from 1965 to 1972 , where his name was Michael Voss and was presented as a German racing driver. From 1972 to 1981 the series was published with great success in the comic magazine ZACK and its offshoots. During the 1970s, the series reached its greatest popularity. In 1999 and 2006, Vaillant albums were reprinted in sequels in the “new” ZACK .

Album editions were published by Koralle , Ehapa , Carlsen and Seven Island . Since June 2006, all Vaillant albums have been gradually published by Mosaik-Verlag , which also publishes ZACK magazine . First of all, all albums not yet published in Germany were released. After the existing gaps in the album edition were closed, since autumn 2010 Mosaik has been publishing in chronologically correct order and improved print quality as well as supplementing the Vaillant albums that were published decades ago by Koralle Verlag with editorial content. This new edition was completed in June 2020 with volume 64. However, the somewhat older mosaic albums are not reprinted in new editions, which is why they can often only be purchased in antiquarian versions at higher prices. According to the publisher, no new editions are planned.

The German-language editions of the albums are much lower today than in the 1970s. Like most classic comics from the Franco-Belgian area, the Vaillant series only has a relatively limited readership; many of today's readers grew up with the series and remain nostalgically connected to it. The view that the quality of the later Vaillant albums can no longer match the earlier stories is widespread. Since Philippe Graton has been working as a copywriter, the quality of the scenarios has generally been rated better again.

In Germany, the stories from season 2 have been appearing in sequels in ZACK magazine since 2013 . Usually, the corresponding album is published a year later.

Album releases

(As of June 2020)

Season 1 (1957-2007)

  • Albums 1–56: Text and drawing by Jean Graton
  • Albums 57–64: text by Philippe Graton, drawing by Jean Graton
  • Albums 65–66 and album 68–70: text by Philippe Graton, drawing by Studio Graton
  • Album 67: Text and drawing Philippe Graton, Jean Graton, Luc Besson, Gilles Malencon, Collectif
  1. Le Grand Defi (62 p., 1959) / Duel on the slopes (Carlsen, March 1989), The great challenge (Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2012)
  2. Le Pilot sans Visage (62 p., 1960) / Race with a phantom (Carlsen, June 1989), The driver without a face (Mosaik, Zack Edition, January 2013)
  3. Le Circuit de la Peur (62 p., 1961) / Death before eyes (Carlsen, September 1989), Fear on the track (Mosaik, Zack Edition, March 2013)
  4. Route de Nuit (62 pp., 1962) / Finale at midnight (Carlsen, December 1989), night trip (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2013)
  5. La 13 est au depart (62 p., 1962) / The mysterious 13 (Carlsen, March 1990), The 13 is at the start (Mosaik, Zack Edition, August 2013)
  6. Le Trahison de Steve Warson (62 pp., 1964) / Steve Warson's Secret (Carlsen, September 1990), Warson's Treason (Mosaic, Zack Edition, October 2013)
  7. Les Casse-Cou (62 p., 1964) / Teufel der Piste (Zack Comic Box 14, Koralle, February 13, 1975), Teufelskerle (Carlsen, January 1991), The Daredevils (Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2013)
  8. Le 8e Pilote (62 p., 1965) / Der Russe (Carlsen, March 1991), The Eighth Driver (Mosaik, Zack Edition, February 2014)
  9. Le Retour de Steve Warson (62 p., 1965) / Chase in Amsterdam (Carlsen, June 1991), The Return of Steve Warson (Mosaic, Zack Edition, April 2014)
  10. L'Honneur du Samouraï (62 pp., 1966) / The Honor of the Samurai (Carlsen, September 1991 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2014)
  11. Suspense a Indianapolis (62 pp., 1966) / Decision in Indianapolis (Carlsen, December 1991), Suspense in Indianapolis (Mosaic, Zack Edition, August 2014)
  12. Les Chevaliers de Königsfeld (62 p., 1967) / The Knights of Königsfeld (Carlsen, March 1992 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2014)
  13. Concerto pour Pilotes (62 pp., 1966) / Between Heaven and Earth (Carlsen, May 1992), Concert of the Pilots (Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2014)
  14. Mach 1 pour Steve Warson (44 p., 1968) / Hunt for Mach 1 (Zack Box 28, coral, August 12, 1977), Mach 1 for Steve Warson (Seven Island, November 1999 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, November 2016)
  15. Le Cirque Infernal (44 p., 1969) / The vicious circle (Seven Island, November 2000), Der Höllenzirkus (Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2016)
  16. km. 357 (44 p., 1969) / The secret of Kilometer 357 (Seven Island, May 2002), km. 357 (Mosaik, Zack Edition, April 2017)
  17. Le Fantome des 24 heures (44 p., 1970) / The Phantom of Le Mans (Zack Box 24, Koralle, November 4, 1976), The Phantom of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (Mosaik, Zack Edition, September 2010)
  18. De l'huille sur la Piste (44 p., 1970) / Oil on the Piste (Zack Comic Box 1, Coral, September 7, 1972 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2010)
  19. 5 Filles dans la Course (44 p., 1971) / Five girls in the race (Seven Island, November 1998), five women in the race! (Mosaik, Zack Edition, August 2017)
  20. Rodeo sur 2 Roues (44 pp., 1971) / Rodeo on two wheels (Seven Island, June 1996 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, November 2017)
  21. Massacre pour un Moteur (44 p., 1972) / Merciless Test (Zack Box 26, Koralle, March 17, 1977), Battle for an engine (Mosaik, Zack Edition, February 2011)
  22. Rush (44 p., 1972) / 23,000 kilometers through hell (Zack Comic Box 16, Koralle, June 12, 1975 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, April 2011)
  23. Series Noir (44 p., 1973) / The Curse of the Piste (Michel Vaillant 6, Koralle, January 19, 1978), Black Series (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2011)
  24. Cauchemar (46 p., 1973) / Nightmare without End (Seven Island, June 1995), Nightmare (Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2017)
  25. Des Filles et des Moteurs (46 p., 1974) / Girls and Motors (Seven Island, December 1998), Women and Motors (Mosaik, Zack Edition, March 2018)
  26. Champion du Monde (46 p., 1974) / Der Weltmeister (Michel Vaillant 8, Koralle, October 19, 1978 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, September 2011)
  27. Dans l'Enfer du Safari (46 p., 1975) / East African Safari (Michel Vaillant 7, Koralle, June 15, 1978), Safari through Hell (Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2011)
  28. Le Secret de Steve Warson (46 p. 1975) / Riddles about Steve Warson (Mosaik, Zack Edition, February 2009)
  29. San Francisco Circus (44 pp., 1975) / Focal Point San Francisco (Mosaik, Zack Edition, April 2009)
  30. Le Prince Blanc (44 p., 1977) / The White Prince (Mosaik, Zack Edition, 2009)
  31. Les Jeunes Loups (44 p., 1978) / The Young Wolves (Mosaik, Zack Edition, November 2009)
  32. La Revolte des Rois (44 p., 1979) / Uprising of the Champions (Mosaik, Zack Edition, January 2010)
  33. La Silhouette en Colere (48 pp., 1979) / The Hitzkopf (Mosaik, Zack Edition, March 2010)
  34. KO pour Steve Warson (44 p., 1979) / KO for Steve Warson (Michel Vaillant 9, Coral, July 12, 1979 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2011)
  35. Le Galerian (46 p., 1979) / A life for Formula 1 (Michel Vaillant 10, Koralle, February 14, 1980), Der Galeerensklave (Mosaik, Zack Edition, February 2012)
  36. Un pilote a disparu (46 p., 1980) / The Revenge of the Leader (Michel Vaillant 11, Koralle, October 1980), A driver has disappeared (Mosaik, Zack Edition, April 2012)
  37. L'inconnu des 1000 pistes (46 p., 1980) / The decision (Michel Vaillant 12, Koralle, March 1981), The unknown of the 1,000 pistes (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2012)
  38. Steve Warson versus Michel Vaillant (46 p., 1981) / The Great Duel (Michel Vaillant 13, Coral, May 1981), Steve Warson versus Michel Vaillant (Mosaik, Zack Edition, August 2012)
  39. Rallye sur on Volcan (46 p., 1981) / Rallye auf dem Vulkan (Die große Flieger- und Rennfahrer-Comics 1, Ehapa, 1981), Rallye auf dem Vulkan (Mosaik, Zack Edition, March 2015)
  40. Rififi en F1 (46 p., 1982) / Chaos in der Formel 1 (The great aviator and racing driver comics 3, Ehapa, 1982), Krach in der Formel 1 (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2015)
  41. Paris-Dakar (45 pages, 1982) / Rally of a Thousand Tears: Paris-Dakar! (The great aviator and racing driver comics 5, Ehapa, 1983), Paris-Dakar (Mosaik, Zack Edition, September 2015)
  42. 300 a l'heure dans Paris (45 p., 1983) / Super race: with 300 things through Paris (The great aviator and racing driver comics 7, Ehapa, 1983), With 300 things through Paris (Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2015)
  43. Rendez-vous à Macao (46 pp., 1983) / Race for Billions (Die Große Flieger- und Rennfahrer-Comics 11, Ehapa, 1984), Rendezvous in Macau (Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2015)
  44. Steve & Julie (45 p., 1984) / Shock for Steve - the serious accident of Julie Wood (The great aviator and racing driver comics 15, Ehapa, 1985), Steve & Julie (Mosaik, Zack Edition, April 2016)
  45. L'homme de Lisbonne (45 p., 1984) / Espionage - the man of Lisbon (The great aviator and racing driver comics 17, Ehapa, 1985), The man of Lisbon (Mosaic, Zack Edition, June 2016)
  46. Racing Show (46 p., 1985) / Racing Show (Mosaik, Zack Edition, February 2007)
  47. Panique a Monaco (46 p., 1986; drawn 1974) / Panik in Monaco (Mosaik, Zack Edition, August 2007)
  48. Irish Coffee (45 p., 1986) / Irish Coffee (Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2007)
  49. Categorie poids Lourds (45 p., 1987) / Heavy caliber (Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2007)
  50. Le Defi des Remparts (48 p., 1988) / The Challenge of the 4 Aces (Mosaik, Zack Edition, February 2008)
  51. Le Caïd de Francorchamps (33 pp., 1989) / Spa-Francorchamps (Seven Island, March 1998), Der Boss von Francorchamps (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2018)
  52. F 3000 (45 p., 1989) / F 3000 (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2006)
  53. La Nuit de Carnac (46 p., 1990) / The Night of Carnac (Mosaik, Zack Edition, August 2006)
  54. L'Affaire Bugatti (46 p., 1991) / The Bugatti Affair (Seven Island, June 1998), The Bugatti Affair (Mosaik, Zack Edition, August 2018)
  55. Une histoire de Fous (44 p., 1992) / Simply crazy (Seven Island, December 1999), A crazy story (Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2018)
  56. Le Maître du Monde (44 pp., 1993) / The Lord of the Leaders (Seven Island, June 2000), The Lord of the World (Mosaic, Zack Edition, December 2018)
  57. La Piste de Jade (45 p., 1994) / A Trace of Jade (Seven Island, June 2004 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, April 2019)
  58. Paddock (44 pages, 1995) / Paddock (Seven Island, May 1997), paddock (Mosaik, Zack Edition, May 2019)
  59. La Prisonnière (45 pp., 1996) / The Prisoners (Mosaik, Zack Edition, April 2007)
  60. Victoires oubliees (46 p., 1997) / Forgotten Siege (Seven Island, September 1997 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, August 2019) (an album with short stories from the 70s)
  61. La Fievre de Bercy (45 p., 1998) / The Fever of Bercy (Seven Island, October 1998 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2019)
  62. Le $ pon $ or 44 (44 pp., 1999) / The Sponsor (Seven Island, October 2001 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, November 2019)
  63. Cairo! (45 pp. / 2000) / Cairo! (Seven Island, October 2002), Cairo (Mosaik, Zack Edition, May 2020)
  64. Operation Mirage (45 pp. / 2001) / Operation Mirage (Seven Island, December 2002 / Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2020)
  65. L'Epreuve (45 p., 2003) / The Competition (Mosaik, Zack Edition, October 2006)
  66. $ 100,000,000 for Steve Warson (47 pp., 2004) / $ 100,000,000 for Steve Warson (Mosaik, Zack Edition, December 2006)
  67. Pour David (47 p., 2004) / For David (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2008)
  68. China Moon (46 p., 2005) / China Moon (Mosaik, Zack Edition, September 2008)
  69. Hors-piste en enfer (46 p., 2006) / Straight into Hell (Mosaik, Zack Edition, November 2008)
  70. 24 heures sous influence (44 p., 2006) / 24 hours under pressure (Mosaik, Zack Edition, June 2007)

Season 2 (from 2012)

  • Text: Philippe Graton, Denis Lapière
  • Drawing: Marc Bourgne and Benjamin Benéteau (volumes 1–6), Benjamin Benéteau (from volume 7)
  • Scope: 56 pages each

The first publication in Germany has been in the Zack comic magazine since 2013 . Subsequently, volumes 1 to 7 have been published in Mosaik Steinchen for Steinchen Verlag (Zack Edition) .

No. Original title German title Magazine imprint in Zack ISBN (of the German edition)
1 Au nom du fils (2012) In the name of the son (2014) # 164 - # 167 (Feb. to May 2013) ISBN 978-3-86462-070-6
2 Voltage (2013) Tension (2015) # 178 - # 180 and # 182 - # 183 (March to Sep. 2014) ISBN 978-3-86462-071-3
3 Liaison dangereuse (2014) Dangerous Liaison (2016) # 193 - # 197 (July to Nov. 2015) ISBN 978-3-86462-072-0
4th Collapsus (2015) Collapse (2017) # 204 - # 207 (June to Sep. 2016) ISBN 978-3-86462-073-7
5 Renaissance (2016) Rebirth (2018) # 216 - # 219 (June to Sep. 2017) ISBN 978-3-86462-074-4
6th Rebellion (2017) Rebellion (2019) # 224 - # 228 (Feb. to June 2018) ISBN 978-3-86462-075-1
7th Macau (2018) Macau (2019) # 240 - # 244 (June to October 2019) ISBN 978-3-86462-076-8
8th 13 jours (2019)

Palmarès Inédit

In the Palmarès Inédit series , in which older comic material by Jean Graton is published, two volumes of Vaillant short stories from the 1960s and 1970s have been published. However, this series will no longer be continued.

  • Palmares Inedit 1 - Retour à Königsfeld (46 p., 2000) / Special - Short Stories: Return to Königsfeld (Seven Island, May 2004)
  • Palmares Inedit 5 - Dossier V2001 (43 p., 2004) / no German album publication so far

Television and cinema

  • In 1967, a 13-part television series was shot with real actors in the setting of racing events.
  • An American animated series with the adventures of Michel Vaillant was made between 1986 and 1989.
  • In 2003 Luc Besson produced a movie with u. a. Diane Kruger , who was not a great success.

Web links

Commons : Michel Vaillant  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ What's next with MICHEL VAILLANT ?, Philippe Graton in an interview with Gerhard Förster Comic Radio Show, December 31, 2011. Accessed June 13, 2020.
  2. ↑ Dupuis prend le contrôle de Graton éditeur L'Echo, March 13, 2020. Accessed June 13, 2020.