Charlier, Jean-Michel 1924–1989

PERSONAL: Born October 30, 1924, in Liège, Belgium; died October 7, 1989. Education: Attended the University of Liège Law School.

CAREER: Comic-book writer and illustrator. Worked as a pilot for Sabena Airlines; Spirou (magazine), illustrator, 1940s; Pistolin (magazine), editor-in-chief, 1955–58; Pilote (comic weekly), coeditor, 1959.

WRITINGS:

Chihuahua Pearl, illustrated by Jean Giraud, Epic Comics (New York, NY), 1989.

Young Blueberry: Blueberry's Secret, illustrated by Jean Giraud, Comcat Comics (New York, NY), 1989.

(With Jean Giraud, under name Moebius) Marshal Blueberry, translated by Jean-Marc L'Officier and Randy Lofficier, Epic Comics (New York, NY), 1991.

(With Jean Giraud, under name Moebius) Lieutenant Blueberry, translated by Jean-Marc L'Officier and Randy Lofficier, Epic Comics (New York, NY), 1991.

Author of novels; creator of comic strips and comic books, including (with illustrator Victor Hubinon) "Buck Danny"; (with Hubinon) The Demon of the Caribbean, (with illustrator Albert Uderzo) Michel Tanguy, and (with Jean Giraud) Fort Navajo (later Lieutenant Blueberry). Contributing writer for comic strips "Kim Devil," "Marc Dacier," "Jean Valhardi," and "Tiger Joe." Adaptor of "Michel Tanguy" stories for French television.

SIDELIGHTS: Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian writer and illustrator of comics who was best known in the United States for translations of Lieutenant Blueberry, a series that began in 1963. During the 1980s, the stories shifted to portray the life of Blueberry, a Wild West hero, as a younger man.

In the series, Blueberry is a bigoted Southerner who, during the U.S. Civil War, opposes the Northern effort to end slavery until he is framed for murder by another white man. He flees to the North, changes his name, and joins the Union army. His only hope of being cleared lies with a black slave he once treated badly. A Booklist contributor reviewed series compilation Young Blueberry: Blueberry's Secret, saying that Charlier "makes the dramatic turnaround in the young man's life believable and effective."

In reviewing Chihuahua Pearl, a story of espionage in the Old West, a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that although this plot is familiar to contemporary readers, it was an "unusual treatment" when it first appeared in 1970, in a French magazine.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Horn, Maurice, editor, The World Encyclopedia of Comics, Volume 1, Chelsea House (New York, NY), 1976.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 1990, review of Young Blueberry: Blueberry's Secret, p. 1080.

Publishers Weekly, April 28, 1989, review of Chihuahua Pearl, p. 73.

ONLINE

Lambiek.nethttp://www.lambiek.net/ (August 4, 2003), Jean-Michel Charlier bio.