Between rivalry in sports and a never-ending debate on the origin of the so-called “French” fries, Brussels and Paris have their lots of bones of contention. Still, out of many factors explaining the friendship between the French and the Belgians, one stands out: comic books.
Many countries have their own traditions when it comes to comic books and comic strips. The United States is famous for its representation of superheroes in paperback albums. Italy cannot be separated from the figure of Corto Maltese, the black-and-white cigarette-smoking sailor. When it comes to Belgian and French comic books, one cannot help but notice that they share a very similar style.
The connections existing between France and Belgium regarding comic books led to the creation of what we call in French “la bande dessinée franco-belge”, which translates into “the Franco-Belgian comic book” or even “BD”. Characters such as Astérix, Tintin, Iznogoud, Gaston Lagaffe, Lucky Luke, Blueberry, Corporal Blutch and Sergeant Chesterfield are all part of this family and they are as famous on one side of the border as the other.
After World War II, France and Belgium witnessed a surge of artistic creativity, and comic books were no exception. Between the 1940s and the 1980s, it was common to buy comic book journals where stories would be split between several issues. In Belgium, at the end of the 1940s, the Journal de Spirou, published by Dupuis and the Journal de Tintin, published by Lombard, began to achieve incredible success in the French-speaking part of the country.
During the early 1950s, the French market had become a serious source of income for both journals. The Journal de Tintin and the Journal de Spirou abandoned their long-lasting tradition to print American works alongside Belgian ones. This change produced an automatic rise in the number of French and Belgian authors associated with both journals, at a time when Brussels was the capital of the French-speaking comic book.
Inspired by Belgium, two French journals appeared in the 1940s and 1950s: Vaillant and Pilote. Alongside their Belgian counterparts, they formed the most influential comic book journals during the golden age of BD, which lasted until the 1970s. Each of them had a key character: Tintin, Spirou and Michel Vaillant for the eponym journals, and Astérix for Pilote. If these journals’ audience was rather large, the appearance of Astérix was a border-crossing phenomenon which increased the success of comic books.
Iconic drawers such as Franquin (Gaston Lagaffe, Spirou et Fantasio) and Lambil (Les Tuniques Bleues, called The Blue Jackets in English) were, and are, famous for their goofy drawings. Still, BD was never limited to children or young adults. Whether in their most famous series, or on other projects, these artists did not hesitate to commit to causes and defend them in their albums.
In Les Idées Noires (Franquin’s Last Laugh), published between 1977 and 1983, Franquin exposed his fears and his fights, in one-page-long strips, all of them black and white. The death penalty, suicide and torture, are among the themes represented in these short stories. Even though Franquin created some of the funniest and most colorful characters of BD, he was also a committed artist, who wrote for children and adults.
Lambil, on the other hand, adopted a different strategy to address a larger audience. In The Blue Jackets, which tells the story of two non-commissioned officers during the Civil War, he denounces racism and war. The main characters are built around a love-hate relationship. Corporal Blutch is a pacifist trying his best to desert the army. Sergeant Chesterfield is a patriot, convinced that he fights for the right cause. Their dialogues question the physical and psychological consequences of wars for soldiers and civilians. Lambil also makes a graphic distinction between the protagonists, and the other characters. Blutch and Chesterfield are characterized by a goofy nose and funny proportions, whereas the other soldiers, prone to be killed in battle, are drawn in a semi-realistic style.
Today, modern BD is very different from that of the golden age, except for the great classics like Astérix and Lucky Luke. New authors from the entire French-speaking world brought new themes, new issues, new concerns and of course new stories to this artistic heritage.
So, now you know what to do, go to the closest library, smuggle a cup of tea in the reading rooms, and get your fair share of laughs and tears with a good comic book.
Tanguy Gil
If you want to know more about BD, check out this great article from the Library of Congress: https://guides.loc.gov/french-literature-and-language-learning/bande-dessinee-graphic-novels.