''Les Belles Histoires de l'oncle Paul'', and later ''Les Plus Belles Histoires de l'oncle Paul'', is a Belgian
comics
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
series of historical stories created by
Jean-Michel Charlier
Jean-Michel Charlier (; 30 October 1924 – 10 July 1989) was a Belgian comics writer. He was a co-founder of the famed Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Pilote''.
Life
Charlier was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005). ...
and
Eddy Paape
Edouard Paape (3 July 1920 – 12 May 2012), commonly known as Eddy Paape, was a Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the series ''Luc Orient''.
Biography
Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée (now a part of Liège), Belgium in 1920 ...
and published in the
Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''
Spirou'' from 1951 to 1982.
Theme
The series consists of various short stories relating the historical character's life, an invention, an historical event, or a story taking place in the past. A wise and learned man, the uncle Paul, use a pretext to tell a story to his two nephews, most of the time following a foolish remark or deed of the nephews. The purpose of the series was entirely educational and didactic, and served as a kind of illustrated history lessons for the young ''Spirou'' readers.
Publication history
The first strip appeared in the issue 668 of ''Spirou'' at the beginning of 1951, named ''Cap plein Sud''. The series was first drawn by Eddy Paape, who at that time was drawing the series ''
Valhardi''. In 1952,
Octave Joly
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
became the main writer of the series. This series, very popular, made it possible for a lot of newcoming authors to hone their skills and make themselves well-known, among them Paape,
Attanasio,
Jean Graton
Jean Graton (10 August 1923 – 21 January 2021) was a French comic book author and cartoonist. Graton created the famous character Michel Vaillant and the eponymous series in 1957.
Biography
Graton was born in Nantes, France, in 1923. He m ...
,
Mitacq
Michel Tacq, or Mitacq, (10 June 1927 – 22 May 1994) was an author of Belgian comics. He was involved in Scouting for most of his life.
Biography
Born in Uccle, Michel Tacq spent his childhood in Farciennes and Brussels. He went to study a ...
(''
La Patrouille des Castors
''La Patrouille des Castors'' (The Beaver Patrol) is a series of Belgian comics drawn by MiTacq and written by Jean-Michel Charlier. 30 albums were published between 1955 and 1993, by Dupuis, all relating the adventures of a Scout patrol.
Hist ...
''),
Hermann (''
Jeremiah
Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
'') and
Gérald Forton (''
Bob Morane
''Bob Morane'' is a series of adventure books in French, featuring an eponymous protagonist, created by French-speaking Belgian novelist Henri Vernes, the pseudonym of Charles-Henri Dewisme. More than 200 novels have been written since his int ...
''). Several albums grouping the strips were published between in the 1950s. In the 70s, the series appeared less frequently, and finally disappeared in the 80s. ''L'oncle Paul'' was parodied many times in ''Spirou'' as well as in other magazines. An album of parodies was published.
Albums
''Les Histoires vraies de l'Oncle Paul'' is a series of comics albums published by
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, 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 comics album, albums and magazines. It is ...
grouping the ''Belles Histoires de l'Oncle Paul'' stories previously published in ''Spirou''.
*Tome 1: ''Barbe-Noire'' (1953)
*Tome 2: ''Comment naquit la Marseillaise'' (1953)
*Tome 3: ''Cap plein sud - 7 histoires d'exploration'', 1953.
** Tacq and Joly - Saïd, ami fidèle.
** Paape and Charlier - Cap plein sud.
** Paape and Charlier - Martyrs du pôle sud.
** Paape and Charlier - Comment mourut Amundsen.
** Paape and Charlier - Médecin des noirs.
** Graton and Charlier - Le héros de Budapest.
** Graton and Charlier - Seul contre la barbarie.
*Tome 4: ''Guynemer - 7 histoires sur la conquête de l'air'', 1953.
** Graton and Joly - Les conquérants du ciel.
** Graton and Joly - Premier match aérien.
** Graton and Joly - Guynemer.
** Paape end Joly - Courrier sûr.
** Attanasio and Charlier - Guillaumet.
** Attanasio et Charlier - L'ange de la Cordillère.
** Paape and Charlier - Les sacrifiés du Canal Albert.
*Tome 5: ''Le Mystère du brick fantôme - 7 histoires de navigateurs'', 1953.
** Paape and Joly - Révolte sur le négrier.
** Tacq and Attanasio - Kon-Tiki.
** Graton and Joly - Le Toumelin.
** Graton and Joly - Le mystère de la "Marie-Céleste"
ic
** Graton and Joly - Le secret du Brick Fantôme.
** Graton and Charlier - La Vierge de la Grand-Porte.
** Graton and Joly - Forceur d'abîmes.
*Tome 6: ''Trois Enfants contre les indiens - 7 histoires d'enfants prodiges'', 1953.
** Follet and Joly - Mozart.
** Graton and Joly - Trois enfants contre les peaux-rouges.
** Attanasio and Dewinne - Le fils du boulanger.
** Follet and Joly - Sapeur de 10 ans.
** Graton and Joly - Tom, gosse impossible.
** Graton and Joly - Le Télégraphiste-Catastrophe.
** Tacq and Joly - Drame dans un phare.
*Tome 7: ''Héros d'épopée - 7 histoires de héros d'épopée'', 1954.
** Attanasio and Joly - La mort de Roland.
** Attanasio and Joly - Guillaume Tell.
** Paape and Joly - Boduognat contre César.
** Tacq and Joly - Dollard des Ormeaux.
** Dupuis and Goscinny - De Lattre.
** Graton and Joly - Trafalgar.
** Tacq and Joly - Rien à signaler, mon général.
*Tome 8: ''Combattant de la vie''- 7 histoires sur les combattants de la vie, 1954.
** Graton and Joly - Echec au feu du ciel.
** Graton and Attanasio - Le Brésil est malade.
** Graton and Attanasio - Gutenberg.
** Attanasio and Joly - Un étudiant nommé Louis.
** Attanasio and Joly - Tue-moi, mais ne brouille pas cela.
** Forton and Joly - Un voyage tragique.
** Forton and Joly - L'homme en blanc.
*Tome 9: ''Robert le Diable - 7 histoires fantastiques'', 1954.
** Graton and Joly - Le coup de Jarnac.
** Tacq and Joly - Le chien de Montargis.
** Graton and Joly - L'enfant, l'épée, le général.
** Graton and Joly - A la gueule du canon.
** Tacq and Attanasio - Robert le diable.
** Paape and Joly - Rois mages tragiques.
** Paape and Charlier - Paix sur la terre...
*Tome 10: ''Requins d'acier- 7 histoires sur les sous-marins'', 1954.
** Tacq and Joly - Fulton invente le premier sous-marin.
** Paape and Charlier - Noël sous la mer.
** Graton and Joly - Feu... 1... 2... 3!...
** Forton and Joly - Le torpillage du Lusitania.
** Graton and Joly - La fin d'un pirate.
** Forton and Joly - A l'Abordage en 44.
** Forton and Joly - Les hommes-grenouilles.
*Tome 11: ''Écumeurs des mers - 7 récits de marins'', 1955.
** Funcken and Joly - Le pirate magicien.
** Funcken and Joly - Le vaisseau fantôme.
** Funcken and Roquet - Le dernier voyage.
** Forton and Attanasio - Laffite, pirate patriote.
** Graton and Joly - L'exploit du "Vindictive".
** Graton and Joly - La fin d'un corsaire.
** Forton and Joly - Jonas moderne.
*Tome 12: ''Chasseurs de tombeau - 15 histoires sur des hommes remarquables'', 1955
** Hope and Charlier - Gouverneur malgré lui.
** Follet and Joly - Léonard de Vinci.
** Paape and Charlier - Le sculpteur de Florence.
** Graton and Joly - Le vrai Robinson.
** Dupuis and Gramberger - René Laënnec.
** Dehon and Joly - Le petit Louis.
** Dehon and Joly - Un gamin intelligent.
** Dehon and Joly - Le roi des railways.
** Paape and Roquet - Frédéric Sauvage.
** Dupuis and Dupuis S. - Jack London.
** Hidalgo and Charlier - Le hussard de la mors.
** Hidalgo and Charlier - L'oiseau blanc.
** Forton and Joly - Un kid de Londres.
** Forton and Joly - Carter, chasseur de tombeaux.
** Graton and Joly - John Ford.
In 1986, ''Les Histoires merveilleuses de l' Oncle Paul'' were published by
Vents d'Ouest
Vent or vents may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
*Vent, the cloaca region of an animal
*Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase
Geology
*Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...
() and EDS (). This was a
pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
and
hommage album, featuring stories by a.o.
Yves Chaland
Yves Chaland (; 3 April 1957 – 18 July 1990) was a French cartoonist.
During the 1980s, together with Luc Cornillon, Serge Clerc and Floc'h, he launched the ''Atomic style'', a stylish remake of the Marcinelle School in Franco-Belgian comics ...
,
Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
,
Frank Pé
Frank Pé, often signing solely as Frank (15 July 1956) is a Belgian comic book artist, best known for ''Broussaille'' and ''Zoo''.
Biography
Frank Pé was born in Ixelles in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Frank". In België gestript, pp. 112-113 ...
,
Dany,
Serge Clerc
Serge Clerc (born 12 October 1957) is a French comic book artist and illustrator.
Serge Clerc began his professional career in 1975 in the monthly magazine '' Métal Hurlant'', after having created his own fanzine, ''Absolutely Live''. Initially a ...
and
Philippe Bercovici
Philippe Bercovici is a French comics artist of Franco-Belgian comics. Having illustrated a wide range of series, Bercovici is perhaps most known for ''Les Femmes en Blanc'' written by Cauvin, started in 1981. Initially under the pseudonym Thél ...
.
Many stories were later republished by Dupuis and other publishers, either as thematic albums or by author in anthology series.
Sources
''L'oncle Paul'' publications in ''Le Journal de Spirou''On Jean-Michel Charlier website
* http://vaillantfanclub.free.fr/spirou.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oncle Paul
Dupuis titles
Belgian comics characters
Belgian comic strips
Fictional Belgian people
Fictional storytellers
Male characters in comics
1951 comics debuts
Comics characters introduced in 1951
1982 comics endings
Educational comics
Historical comics
Drama comics