Antoing Antoing (; pcd, Antweon) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Antoing, Bruyelle, Calonne, Fontenoy, Maubray, and Péronnes-lez-Antoing. Hi ...

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

Institut Saint-Luc The Institut Saint-Luc () is an arts school in Brussels, Belgium. It consists of six departments, with a total of 2,200 students and 430 employees, spread over five locations in Ixelles and Saint-Gilles. History The school was founded by members ...

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

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 ...

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals ...

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 int ...

Claire Bretécher Claire Bretécher (; 17 April 1940 – 10 February 2020)
on Lambiek Comiclopedia was a French

Eddy Ryssack Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linu ...

.

Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Centre sportif de Blocry - 53

When ''

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 ...

'', the successful, long-running

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 ...

series, moved from ''Spirou'' to rival magazine ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

'' magazine, Cauvin came up with ''

Les Tuniques Bleues ''Les Tuniques Bleues'' (Dutch: De Blauwbloezen) is a Belgian series of ''bandes dessinées'' (comic books in the Franco-Belgian tradition), first published in '' Spirou'' magazine and later collected in albums by Dupuis."Best of Belgium's Cart ...

'' (French for "The Blue Coats") which is set among the

U.S. Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one r ...

around the time of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It was at first drawn by Louis Salvérius who, upon his death, was replaced by

Lambil Lambil (born 14 May 1936) is a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series ''Les Tuniques Bleues'', which has been published in English as "The Blue Tunics" and "The Bluecoats". Biography Willy Lambillotte was born in Tamines, Belgium ...

, and has since become a major best-selling comic book series with more than 15 million albums sold. Cauvin added another success in 1972 with ''

Sammy Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy Davis Jr. ( ...

'', about

bodyguards A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, ...

in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

during the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

, drawn by

Berck Berck (), sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer (, literally ''Berck on Sea''), is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. It lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve. Geography Situa ...

. A short stint on '' Spirou and Fantasio'' (drawn by

Nic Broca NIC may refer to: Banking and insurance companies * National Insurance Corporation, Uganda * NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya Politics, government and economics * National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice a ...

) was not so successful. Cauvin continued to work for the animation studio as well, writing the scripts for the ''Musti'', ''Tip and Tap'' and ''The Pili's'' cartoons by

Ray Goossens Ray Goossens (14 August 1924 – 10 December 1998) was a Belgian artist, animator, writer, and director best known for creating the cartoon character Musti. Biography Ray Goossens was born in Merksem, Belgium in 1924. Interested in animation fr ...

. He lived in

Nivelles Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstre ...

since 1991. By November 1999, he had published over 237 albums, selling over 45 million in total. Cauvin, who suffered from cancer, died 19 August 2021

Themes

Cauvin's work was almost always humoristic, but he produced both long stories (i.e. 44 pages) and short gags (between half a page and 6 pages). He started mainly with historical series: ''Les Tuniques Bleues'' uses the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as background, while ''

Sammy Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy Davis Jr. ( ...

'' plays in the time of

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

and

Eliot Ness Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. H ...

, and ''Les Mousquetaires'' describes the adventures of three

musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

s in the 17th century. But with ''Agent 212'' (French for "Officer 212"), featuring a rather stupid cop, he started to make his stories more contemporary, and in the 1980s he breached increasingly

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

subjects and introduced more critical views with themes like nursing and hospitals in ''Les Femmes en Blanc'' ("The Women in White") with

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 ...

, ''Les

Paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

'' or gravediggers in ''

Pierre Tombal Pierre Tombal is a Belgian gag comic strip, drawn by Marc Hardy and written by Raoul Cauvin, about a gravedigger and the dead people at his cemetery. The series has been in syndication since 1983 and is published in the Belgian magazine Spirou b ...

''. Although best known for ''Les Tuniques Bleues'', he and

Lambil Lambil (born 14 May 1936) is a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series ''Les Tuniques Bleues'', which has been published in English as "The Blue Tunics" and "The Bluecoats". Biography Willy Lambillotte was born in Tamines, Belgium ...

also worked on a comics series called ''Pauvre Lampil'' ("Poor Lampil"), a semi-autobiographical account of the trials and tribulations of a

melancholic Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout History of medicine#Greece and Roman Empire, ancient, medieval medicine of Western Europe, medieval and Lear ...

comic strip artist and his love-hate relationship with his scriptwriter, caricatures of Lambil and Cauvin themselves. In fact, aside from Lambil (whose name is changed to "Lampil"), other characters, including their colleagues in the comic book industry, are referred to by their real or pen-names: Cauvin himself, Fournier, Franquin etc. Cauvin also took up more fantastic themes like that of a love angel in ''Cupido'' or the hard life of a vulture falling in love with an owl in ''Les Voraces''. Other more recent series include '' Cédric'', a domestic strip surrounding a pre-adolescent schoolboy, and ''Les Psy'' ("The Shrinks") about a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

whose patients' eccentricities often lead him to question his own sanity. A lot of Cauvin's characters are of the short-tempered sort, easily provoked and exploding in rage when things go wrong. He made his scripts in the form of a rudimentary comic, suggesting a page lay-out, and he also made a few comics completely on his own, but with limited success.

Critics and success

His works are often seen as more artisanal than artistic by the critics, while others consider him an uncontested master of the humoristic comic. Whatever the critics think of him though, he continues to be very successful with the public and sought after by artists, at one stage writing almost a dozen series at a time. In 2006 alone, he had six series in the list of best selling new comics of the ACBD, with ''Cédric'' securing the fourth spot with 288,900 albums and ''Les Tuniques Bleues'' at ten with 184,800 copies. His other most successful comics were ''Les Femmes en Blanc'' (78,000 copies), ''Agent 212'' (66,000 copies), ''Les Psy'' (51,500 copies) and ''Pierre Tombal'' (45,700 copies). In 2010, he was the 7th bestselling author of comics in France, with sales of 569,000 copies that year. As a thank you from the publisher

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 ...

, '' Spirou'' magazine no. 3676, published 24 September 2008, was, in connection to Cauvin's 70th birthday, made as a tribute to Cauvin, where nearly half of the magazine consists of tributes to Cauvin as comics, artwork or articles.

Selected bibliography

All stories originally appeared in '' Spirou'' magazine and published in album 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 ...

unless otherwise stated. * ''

Agent 212 Agent 212 is a humorous Belgian comic about a rotund police officer who usually suffers as a result of the people and situations he encounters. Created by writer Raoul Cauvin and illustrator Daniel Kox, the comic debuted in ''Spirou'' magazine ...

'' (artist:

Daniel Kox Daniel Kox (born 4 February 1952, Ottignies) is a Belgium, Belgian cartoonist and comics artist, best known for his comics series ''Agent 212''. Biography Early in his career, Kox worked as an assistant for Dino Attanasio. In 1970 began publishi ...

; 30 albums, since 1975) * '' Boulouloum et Guiliguili'' (artist:

Mazel Mazel is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Eugène Mazel (1828–1890), French amateur botanist * Ilya Mazel (aka Ruvim Mazel, 1890–1967), Soviet painter * Isaak Mazel (1911–1945), Soviet chess master * Judy Mazel (1943–20 ...

; 10 albums, between 1975 and 1988) * '' Cédric'' (artist: Laudec; 34 albums, since 1989) * '' CRS=Détresse'' (artist: Achdé; 12 albums published by

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. ...

, since 1993) * '' Cupidon'' (artist

Malik Malik, Mallik, Melik, Malka, Malek, Maleek, Malick, Mallick, or Melekh ( phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤊; ar, ملك; he, מֶלֶךְ) is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic duri ...

; 21 albums, since 1988) * ''

Les Femmes en Blanc Les Femmes en Blanc (Women in white) is a Belgian comics humor series of 42 album volumes, for which the script was created by Raoul Cauvin and whose design was directed by Philippe Bercovici. Colours were done by Leonardo. The series debuted in 1 ...

'' (artist:

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 ...

; 42 albums, since 1986) * '' Godaille et Godasse'' (artist: Sandron; 5 albums, between 1982 and 1988) * '' Les Grandes amours contrariées'' (artist: Philippe Bercovici; 1 album in 1982) * ''

Les Mousquetaires Les Mousquetaires, known as in Portugal, is a privately owned retailing symbol group based in France and operating internationally. Its head office is in Bondoufle, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country pri ...

'' (artist: Mazel; 8 albums, between 1972 and 1998) * '' Natacha'' (artist:

François Walthéry François Walthéry (born 17 January 1946 in Argenteau near Liège) is a Belgian comics artist, best known for his series featuring an adventurous flight attendant, '' Natacha''. Biography Walthéry began his career in 1962 during studies a ...

; Album #13 in 1988) * '' Les Naufragés'' (artist:

Claire Bretécher Claire Bretécher (; 17 April 1940 – 10 February 2020)
on Lambiek Comiclopedia was a French

Les Paparazzi'' (artist: Mazel; 10 albums, since 1996) * '' Pauvre Lampil'' (artist:

Lambil Lambil (born 14 May 1936) is a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series ''Les Tuniques Bleues'', which has been published in English as "The Blue Tunics" and "The Bluecoats". Biography Willy Lambillotte was born in Tamines, Belgium ...

; 7 albums, between 1973 and 1995) * ''

Pierre Tombal Pierre Tombal is a Belgian gag comic strip, drawn by Marc Hardy and written by Raoul Cauvin, about a gravedigger and the dead people at his cemetery. The series has been in syndication since 1983 and is published in the Belgian magazine Spirou b ...

'' (artist:

Marc Hardy Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

; 32 albums, since 1983) * '' Du côté de chez Poje'' (artist: Carpentier; 20 albums, since 1986) * '' Les Psy'' (artist: Bédu; 15 albums, since 1992) * ''

Sammy Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy Davis Jr. ( ...

'' (artist:

Berck Berck (), sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer (, literally ''Berck on Sea''), is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. It lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve. Geography Situa ...

, since 1995 Jean-Pol; 40 albums, since 1970) * ''

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 comics, European ...

'' (artist:

Nic Broca NIC may refer to: Banking and insurance companies * National Insurance Corporation, Uganda * NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya Politics, government and economics * National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice a ...

; Albums #30-#32, between 1983 and 1984) * ''

Taxi Girl Taxi Girl were a French New wave music, new wave band, adopting the New Romantic aesthetics of the time, such as clashing red and black clothing, synthesizer-led songs, and taking influence from mythology and literature. The group existed betwe ...

'' (artist: Laudec, 2 albums, between 1994 and 1996) * ''

Les Tuniques Bleues ''Les Tuniques Bleues'' (Dutch: De Blauwbloezen) is a Belgian series of ''bandes dessinées'' (comic books in the Franco-Belgian tradition), first published in '' Spirou'' magazine and later collected in albums by Dupuis."Best of Belgium's Cart ...

'' (artist: Salvérius, after his death Lambil; 65 albums, since 1968) * '' Le Vieux Bleu'' (artist: François Walthéry, 1 album, in 1980) * '' Les Voraces'' (artist: Glem; 5 albums, between 1986 and 1994)

Awards

* 1975: Best Comical Album at the

Prix Saint-Michel The Prix Saint-Michel is a series of comic awards presented by the city of Brussels, with a focus on Franco-Belgian comics. They were first awarded in 1971, and although often said to be the oldest European comics awards, they are actually the sec ...

,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium for ''Sammy'' * 1976: Best Foreign Author 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 Lu ...

,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

* 2001: Nomination for Best Youth Album at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, France for ''CRS = détresse'' * 2004: Prix Canal J for the best youth album for '' Cédric'' * 2005: Prix Canal J for ''Cédric'' * 2006: Nomination for Best Album at the Albert Uderzo Awards in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

, France for ''Les Tuniques Bleues'' *2008: Grand Prix Saint-Michel

Sources

* De Saeger, Kris (1995), ''Dossier Cauvin''. Arboris.
Cauvin publications in ''Spirou''
BDoubliées ;Footnotes

External links

at

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 ...

Cauvin biography
on Lambiek Comiclopedia

Top Game
Raoul Cauvin fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cauvin, Raoul 1938 births 2021 deaths People from Antoing Belgian comics writers Belgian humorists Spirou et Fantasio Walloon people