Buddy Longway is a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

written by the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

comic book writer

Derib Derib (born Claude de Ribaupierre on August 8, 1944, in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland) is a Swiss francophone comics creator. He is most well known for creating the comics Buddy Longway and Yakari. Awards * 1974: ''Best Comic'' at the Prix Saint ...

. It is published under the

Le Lombard ''Le Lombard'', known as ''Les Éditions du Lombard'' until 1989, is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when ''Tintin'' magazine was launched. Le Lombard is now part of Média-Participations, alongside publishers Dargaud and Dupuis ...

publishing house. The first issue came out in 1972, and 16 issues were published until 1987. Derib restarted the series in 2002, continuing with four further issues until 2006,Derib biography
; Official website, retrieved 13 March 2008 when he announced that the 20th issue, ''La Source'', would be the last. Both the story arcs and the drawings are praised for the realistic portrayal of the simplistic, rough life as a trapper.

Overview

The series is a

family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...

which centers around the eponymous character Buddy Longway, a

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

who lives in the wilderness. He lives married to a

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

Native American woman called Chinook. In the course of the series, they have two children, Jeremy and Kathleen. Main topics of the series, which is set in the 19th century, are living in the wilderness,

interracial relationships Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 19 ...

,Un Indien dans la ville: Interview de Derib
/ref> Native American culture, coming of age (Jeremy and Kathleen) and age (Buddy Longway).

Background

Longway is described as a brooding, vulnerable character who visibly ages during the course of the series.
; Official website, retrieved 13 March 2008 Derib commented: "I am someone very emotional and I believe to know how to transfer this dimension into a comic book." Derib deliberately chose this slant, which was unusual compared to contemporary Western comics like ''

Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western ''bande dessinée'' series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their par ...

'' or ''

Blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

'': "I wanted to renew the narrative modes in comics, especially the notion that a hero should be perfect, invincible or immortal (e.g. ''Lucky Luke'' or ''Blueberry''), so my idea was to write about a simple man."Le Saga
; Official website, retrieved 13 March 2008 Derib said he was extremely fond of Longway, so much that he almost regarded him like a son.

References

External links

Official website

Buddy Longway Buddy Longway is a Western (genre), western comic book written by the Swiss people, Swiss comic book writer Derib. It is published under the Le Lombard publishing house. The first issue came out in 1972, and 16 issues were published until 1987. Der ...

Western (genre) comics characters Comics characters introduced in 1972

{{Comics-stub