Pierre Culliford (; 25 June 1928 – 24 December 1992) was a Belgian comics writer and artist who worked under the pseudonym Peyo (). His best-known works are the comic book series ''
The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and i ...
'' and ''
Johan and Peewit'', the latter in which the
Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...
first appeared.
Biography
Culliford was born in 1928 in the Belgian municipality
Schaerbeek
(French and archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and ...
, and was the son of an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
father and a
Belgian mother.
[De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Peyo". In België gestript, pp. 148–149. Tielt: Lannoo.] In 1952, Culliford married
Nine Culliford
Janine Culliford (née Devroye; 29 March 1930 – 5 July 2016) was a Belgian colorist of comic strips.
Nine Culliford was the wife of the comic strip creator known as Peyo (the pseudonym of Pierre Culliford, 1928–1992). She colored his illust ...
. They have two children: Véronique and Thierry.
Career
Culliford took on the name "Peyo" early in his professional career, based on an English cousin's mispronunciation of Pierrot (a diminutive form of
Pierre
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translatio ...
).
After working briefly at the Compagnie Belge d'Actualités (CBA), a small and short-lived Belgian animation studio, Peyo began making comic strips for daily newspapers such as ''
Le Soir
''Le Soir'' (, "The Evening") is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. It is one of the most popular Francophone newspapers in Belgium, competing ...
'' shortly after
World War II. At the beginning of the 1950s, he brought his character Johan to the magazine ''
Spirou'', whom he soon gave a companion, the diminutive Peewit; the strip soon became a staple of the weeklies. Peyo introduced the Smurfs in the ''Johan and Peewit'' storyline ''The Magic Flute'' in 1958; the characters quickly supplanted Johan and Peewit in popularity and left them behind for their own series.
In 1960, Peyo founded a studio to accommodate his assistants such as
François Walthéry, Gos, and and created the series ''
Steven Strong'' and '. Peyo's output diminished in the 1970s, at first due to the time he invested in ''
The Smurfs and the Magic Flute
''The Smurfs and the Magic Flute'' (french: La Flûte à six schtroumpfs, lit. ''The Flute of Six Smurfs'') is a 1976 Belgian animated film starring the Smurfs, directed by their creator, Peyo. Although the film premiered in 1976 in Belgium, it ...
'' (1976), a film adaptation of the ''Johan and Peewit'' story "La flûte à six schtroumpfs"; in the 1980s, he put in more time, despite recurring health problems, into an American adaptation of ''The Smurfs'' as
an animated television series. After the series concluded, he left his publisher
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 ...
to found his own publishing house, Cartoon Creation, and a cartoon magazine, ''Schtroumpf!'', which soon folded due to management problems. He joined
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 Dupu ...
in 1992 but died a few months later. Since his death, Peyo's children have continued to promote his work under the brand "Peyo".
Peyo began work, fresh from his coursework at the
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, at the (CBA), a small Belgian animation studio, where he met a few of his future colleagues and co-celebrities, like
André Franquin
André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are ''Gaston (comics), Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to ...
,
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Mani ...
, 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 19 ...
. When the studio folded after the war, the other artists went to work for
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 ...
, but Peyo, a few years younger than the others, was not accepted.
[ He made his first comics for the newspaper '']La Dernière Heure
''La Dernière Heure'' (The Latest Hour) and ''Les Sports'' (sometimes referred to as ''La DH'') is a French-language daily newspaper published in Brussels, Belgium. The paper is known for news and sports.
History and profile
''La DH'' was esta ...
'' (The Latest Hour), but also accepted many promotional drawing jobs for income. From 1949 to 1952, he drew '' Poussy'', a gag-a-day comic about a cat, for ''Le Soir
''Le Soir'' (, "The Evening") is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. It is one of the most popular Francophone newspapers in Belgium, competing ...
''. For the same newspaper, he also created ''Johan''.
In 1952, Franquin introduced Peyo to '' Spirou'', a children's Franco-Belgian comics magazine published by 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 ...
.[ Peyo wrote and drew a number of characters and storylines, including ''Pierrot'', and ''Benoît Brisefer'' (translated into English as '' Steven Strong''). But his favourite was ''Johan et Pirlouit'' (translated into English as '' Johan and Peewit''), which was a continuation of the series ''Johan'' he had created earlier. He also continued ''Poussy'' in ''Spirou''.
Set in the ]Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
in Europe, ''Johan et Pirlouit'' stars a brave young page
Page most commonly refers to:
* Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book
Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to:
Roles
* Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation
* Page (servant), traditionally a young ma ...
to the king, and his faithful, if boastful and cheating, dwarf sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sh ...
. Johan rides off to defend the meek on his trusty horse, while Peewit gallops sporadically behind on his goat, named Biquette. The pair was driven by duty to their king and the courage to defend the underpowered. Peewit only appeared in the third adventure in 1954 but would stay for all later adventures.
Smurfs
The first Smurf appeared in '' Johan and Peewit'' on 23 October 1958 in the album ''La Flûte à Six Schtroumpfs'' (''The Six Smurfed Flute''). As the Smurfs became increasingly popular, Peyo started a studio in the early 1960s, where a number of talented comics artists started to work. Peyo himself supervised the work and worked primarily on ''Johan and Peewit'', leaving the Smurfs to the studio. The most notable artists to come out of this studio were Walthéry, , (Gos), Derib, , and .
In 1959, the Smurfs got their own series, and in 1960, two more began: '' Steven Strong'' and ''Jacky and Célestin''. Many authors of the Marcinelle school collaborated on the writing, or on the artwork, including Willy Maltaite (aka 'Will'), Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte (24 June 1928 – 5 March 2007) was a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of '' Spirou'' magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics. He is credited with seve ...
, and Roger Leloup. Peyo became more of a businessman and supervisor and was less involved in the actual creation of the comics. He let his son, Thierry Culliford, lead the studio, while his daughter Véronique was responsible for the merchandising (I.M.P.S. was established in 1985 by her).[
The merchandising of the Smurfs began in 1959, with the PVC figurines as the most important aspect until the late 1970s. Then, with the success of ]The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and i ...
records by Pierre Kartner, the Smurfs achieved more international success, with a new boom in toys and gadgets. Some of these reached the United States, where Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
created a Saturday morning animated series in 1981 for which Peyo served as story supervisor. Peyo's health began to fail. In 1989, after his partnership with Dupuis ended, he established Cartoon Creation to publish new Smurf stories. In late 1991, the company was forced to shut down due to mismanagement. The publishing rights were soon sold to Le Lombard.
Peyo died of a heart attack in Brussels on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipatio ...
1992, at the age of 64. His studio still exists, and new stories for various series are regularly produced under his name.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13878108]
In the 2011 film ''The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and i ...
'', Peyo was included in the plot as a researcher who studied the myths concerning the Smurfs, who were made to be real-life legendary creatures in the film's storyline.
Awards and honours
* He received the Youth Prize (9–12 years) award 1984 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 L ...
, France.
* The 50th anniversary of The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and i ...
and the 80th anniversary of the birth of its creator was celebrated by issuing a high-value collectors' coin: the Belgian 5 euro 50th anniversary of The Smurfs commemorative coin, minted in 2008.
Bibliography
Only those comics Peyo collaborated on are listed here: the comics made in those series after his death can be found in the articles for each series. Artist and writers mentioned are only those officially credited: unnamed studio collaborators are not listed here.
*''Jacky and Célestin'', 1960–1978: 10 stories in ''Le Soir'', 4 albums by 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 ...
: artwork by François Walthéry, Francis, Jo-El Azara and Mitteï, stories by Peyo, Gos, and Vicq
*'' Johan and Peewit'' (''Johan et Pirlouit''), 1952–1970: 13 albums by Dupuis
*'' Natacha'', 1992: 1 album by Dupuis, artwork by Walthéry, story by Peyo
*': 1991, 1 album by Cartoon Creation
*'' Poussy'', 1977–, 3 albums by Dupuis
*''The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and i ...
'' (''Les Schtroumpfs''), 1959–, 17 albums by Dupuis: additional artwork by Alain Maury and Luc Parthoens, additional stories by Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte (24 June 1928 – 5 March 2007) was a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of '' Spirou'' magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics. He is credited with seve ...
, Gos, Thierry Culliford
*''Spirou et Fantasio
''Spirou & Fantasio'' (french: Spirou et Fantasio, wa, Spirou eyet Fantasio) is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European humorous adven ...
'', 1969, 1 album by Dupuis, artwork by André Franquin
André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are ''Gaston (comics), Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to ...
and Jidéhem
Jean De Mesmaeker (21 December 1935 – 30 April 2017) known by the pseudonym Jidéhem ("JDM"), was a Belgian comics artist in the Marcinelle school tradition. He was best known for his series featuring a cute, playful and adventurous young girl ...
, story by Peyo and Gos
*'' Steven Strong'' (''Benoît Brisefer''), 1960–1978, 7 albums by Dupuis, additional artwork by 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
...
, Walthéry, Marc Wasterlain and Albert Blesteau, additional stories by Yvan Delporte, Gos, and Blesteau
References
External links
Peyo biography
on Lambiek Comiclopedia, lambiek.net
Peyo biography
dupuis.com
Peyo biography
''The Smurfs'' official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peyo
1928 births
1992 deaths
20th-century Belgian artists
20th-century Belgian writers
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts alumni
Artists from Brussels
Belgian animators
Belgian comics artists
Belgian comics writers
Belgian humorists
Belgian illustrators
Belgian people of English descent
Belgian satirists
Hanna-Barbera people
Pseudonymous artists