Pierre-François "David" Beauchard (; born 9 February 1959), also known by the pen name David B., is a French
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 ...
artist and writer, and one of the founders of .
Biography
After studying advertising at the Duperré School of Applied Arts in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, Beauchard began working in comics in 1985 (''Pas de samba pour capitaine Tonnerre''), and wrote and illustrated stories in numerous magazines, including ''Okapi'', ''À suivre'', ''Tintin Reporter'', and ''Chic''.
His distinctive
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
style was influenced by
Georges Pichard
Georges Pichard (17 January 1920 – 7 June 2003) was a French comics artist, known for numerous magazine covers, serial publications and albums, stereotypically featuring partially exposed voluptuous women.
Biography
A native of Paris, he was ...
and
Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi (; born 30 August 1946) is a French comic artist. He is often credited solely as Tardi.
Biography
Tardi was born on 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. After graduating from the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon and the Éco ...
, among others.
In 1990, he co-founded the independent publisher
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house located in Paris which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït.
L'Association ...
, which became a major force in French small-press comics.
His comics appeared in the
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house located in Paris which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït.
L'Association ...
anthology magazine ''Lapin'' and in numerous small-format books. Much of his work in the 1990s was
dream art
Dream art is any form of art that is directly based on a material from one's dreams, or a material that resembles dreams, but not directly based on them.
History
The first known reference to dream art was in the 12th century, when Charles Coop ...
, collected in ''le Cheval blême'' and ''les Incidents de la nuit''.
From 1996 to 2003, he created the acclaimed six-volume
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
epic ''l'Ascension du Haut Mal'' (meaning, literally, "The Rise of the High Evil" but published in English as ''
Epileptic
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
'', "haut mal" indicating what is referred to in English as a
grand mal seizure
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and c ...
). It was the first of his long works to be translated into English, and is now considered to be among the masterpieces of recent
Franco-Belgian comics. The series has been repeatedly nominated for prizes at the
Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after ...
: in 2002, the fourth volume received the
Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Scenario
This Prize for Scenario is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
In the following list, the winner of the award is listed first, followed by the nominees.
1990s
* 1993: '' Saigon-Hanoï'' by Cosey, Dupuis
* 1 ...
and in 1998 and in 2004, volumes 2 and 6 were nominated for the
Prize for Best Comic Book.
Since 1997, he has also worked for publishers other than
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house located in Paris which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït.
L'Association ...
, and has collaborated with other authors such as
Joann Sfar
Joann Sfar (; born 28 August 1971) is a French comics artist, comic book creator, novelist, and film director.
Life and career
Sfar was born in Nice, the son of Lilou, a pop singer, who died when he was three, and André Sfar, a lawyer well kn ...
, Christophe Blain, and Emmanuel Guibert.
In 1998, he was named ''European Cartoonist of the year'' by
The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...
.
In 2005 Beauchard was awarded the
Ignatz Award
The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping ...
for Outstanding Artist.
With historical assistance by
Jean-Pierre Filiu, Beauchard published the 2012 graphic novel ''Best of Enemies: A History of US and Middle East Relations'' through
SelfMadeHero
SelfMadeHero is an independent publishing house which specialises in adapting works of literature, as well as producing ground-breaking original fiction in the graphic novel medium.
SelfMadeHero's books are distributed in the U.S. by Abrams Bo ...
. It was translated to English by Edward Gauvin.
Bibliography
* ''le Timbre maudit'' (
Bayard Presse
Bayard Presse is one of the oldest press and publishing companies of France, being founded in 1870. The company has various media outlets both in its native France and abroad. As of 2019, it reports approximately two thousand employees, two hundred ...
, 1986)
* ''les Leçons du nourrisson savant'' (
Le Seuil, 1990)
*# ''les Leçons du nourrisson savant'' (1990)
*# ''le Nourrisson savant et ses parents'' (1990)
* ''le Cheval blême'' (
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house located in Paris which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït.
L'Association ...
, 1992)
* ''le Cercueil de course'' (L'Association, 1993)
* ''le Livre somnambule'' (
Automne 67, 1994)
* ''le Messie discret'' in ''le Retour de Dieu'' (
Autrement, 1994)
* ''le Nain jaune'' (
Cornélius, 1993–1994)
*# ''Tome 1'' (1993)
*# ''Tome 2'' (1993)
*# ''Tome 3'' (1994)
*# ''Tome 4'' (1994)
*# ''Tome 5'' (1994)
* ''la Bombe familiale'' (L'Association, 1997)
* ''le Tengû carré'' (
Dargaud
Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943.
...
, 1997)
* ''les 4 Savants'' (Cornélius, 1996–1998)
*# ''le Démon à tête d'entrailles'' (1996)
*# ''la Circonvolution de la peur'' (1997)
*# ''le Paradis terrestre'' (1998)
* ''L'Association en Égypte'' (with
Golo,
Edmond Baudoin
Edmond Baudoin (born 23 April 1942 in Nice) is a French artist, illustrator, and writer of sequential art and graphic novels.
Biography
Baudoin left school at the age of 16 and went into military service.
He later worked as an accountant at the ...
,
Jean-Christophe Menu) (L'Association, 1998)
* ''Maman a des problèmes'' (with
Anne Baraou
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
) (L'Association, 1999)
* ''Hiram Lowatt et Placido'' (with
Christophe Blain
Christophe Blain (born 10 August 1970) is a French comic book author.
Life and career
Blain was born in Gennevilliers. He studied visual arts in Cherbourg and began drawing comics during his military service, first published by Albin Miche ...
) (Dargaud, 2000)
*# ''la Révolte de Hop-Frog'' (2000)
*# ''les Ogres'' (2000)
* ''la Ville des mauvais rêves'' (with
Joann Sfar
Joann Sfar (; born 28 August 1971) is a French comics artist, comic book creator, novelist, and film director.
Life and career
Sfar was born in Nice, the son of Lilou, a pop singer, who died when he was three, and André Sfar, a lawyer well kn ...
) (Dargaud, 2000)
*# ''Urani'' (2000)
* ''le Capitaine écarlate'' (with
Emmanuel Guibert) (
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines.
Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French ...
, 2000)
* ''la Lecture des ruines'' (Dupuis, 2001)
* ''les Incidents de la nuit'' (L'Association, 1999–2002)
*# ''Tome 1'' (1999)
*# ''les Traces du dieu Enn'' (2000)
*# ''l'Embuscade'' (2002)
* ''l'Ascension du Haut Mal'' (''
Epileptic
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
'') (L'Association, 1996–2003)
*# ''Tome 1'' (1996)
*# ''Tome 2'' (1997)
*# ''Tome 3'' (1998)
*# ''Tome 4'' (1999)
*# ''Tome 5'' (2000)
*# ''Tome 6'' (2003)
* ''les Chercheurs de trésors'' (Dargaud, 2003–2004)
*# ''l'Ombre de Dieu'' (2003)
*# ''la Ville froide'' (2004)
* ''Babel'' (
Coconino Press
Coconino Press is an Italian publisher of comic books, founded in 2000 in Bologna, Italy.
They are notable for their translations of comic books from around the world, including the Americans Daniel Clowes, Jason Lutes, Simon Hanselmann and A ...
, 2004)
*# ''Tome 1'' (2004)
*# ''Tome 2'' (2006)
* ''les Complots nocturnes'' (Futuropolis, 2005)
* ''Zèbre'' (Tartamudo, 2005)
* ''le Jardin armé et autres histoires'' (Futuropolis, 2006)
* ''2 Rêves'' (Brüsel, 2007)
* ''Par les chemins noirs'' (Futuropolis, 2007)
* ''Journal d'Italie 1,
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
-
Bologne
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nati ...
'' (2010
[http://livre.fnac.com/a2774694/Journal-d-Italie-T1-Trieste-Bologne-David-B?PID=1&Mn=-1&Ra=-1&To=0&Nu=-1&Fr=1 ])
* ''Best of Enemies: A History of US and Middle East Relations'' (SelfMadeHero, 2012)
Awards
* 2000:
Angoulême Festival
Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins' ...
,
Prize for Scenario, for ''L'ascension du Haut Mal'' Tome 4
* 2005:
Ignatz Award
The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping ...
,
Outstanding Artist, for ''Epileptic''
Notes
References
David Beauchard publications in ''(A SUIVRE)''BDoubliées
at Bedetheque
External links
*
on Lambiek Comiclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauchard, David
1959 births
French comics artists
French comics writers
Living people
People from Nîmes
Comic book letterers
Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Artist
French male novelists
French graphic novelists
Weird fiction writers