William Vance
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William van Cutsem (8 September 1935 – 14 May 2018), better known by his
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
William Vance, was a Belgian
comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...
known for his distinctive realistic style and work in Franco-Belgian comics.


Biography

William van Cutsem was born in
Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
near
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 ...
in 1935. After his military service in 1955–1956, he studied for four years at the
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels (french: Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts - École supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Bruxelles (ARBA-ESA), nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel), is an art school established in Br ...
in Brussels. Originally from Flanders, he worked most of his life in France, and moved later to
Santander, Spain Santander () is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. It is a port city located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao with a population of 172,000 (2017). It is believed to ...
. William Vance started drawing for the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''
Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
'' in 1962. After drawing complete real-life stories of four pages for a few years, he started work on his first series, '' Howard Flynn'', written by
Yves Duval Yves may refer to: * Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France * Yves (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona * ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 Fren ...
. Three albums followed, before he created other short-lived series such as the Western '' Ringo'' and '' Roderik''. His first success followed with the series about secret agent ''
Bruno Brazil ''Bruno Brazil'' is a Franco-Belgian comics series written by Greg, under the pseudonym Louis Albert, and drawn by William Vance. It was initially serialised in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Tintin'', first appearing on January 17, 1967. ...
'', written by ''Tintin''s editor-in-chief
Greg Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...
, as one of the comics that started the revival and repositioning of ''Tintin'' as a more adult-oriented magazine. From 1967 on, he continued the stories of ''
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 ...
'' in ''Femmes d'aujourd'hui'', a magazine aimed at adult women. This science fiction series, based on the novels by
Henri Vernes Charles-Henri-Jean Dewisme (16 October 1918 – 25 July 2021), better known by his pen name Henri Vernes (), was an author of action and science fiction novels. He published over 200 titles in the action and science-fiction genre. He was most ...
, was started by
Dino Attanasio Dino Attanasio (real name Edoardo Attanasio, born 8 May 1925) is a Belgian author of comics. Biography Attanasio was born in Milan. After studies at the Academy of Arts of Milan, Dino Attanasio started to work in illustration and animation in ...
and continued by Gerald Forton before Vance took over and made it a success. Between 1969 and 1979, 18 albums with his artwork were published. A few years later, the series moved to ''Tintin'' as well, and Vance was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Felicisimo Coria. Vance meanwhile started two new series, ''
Ramiro Ramiro is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ramiro I of Asturias (c. 790–850), king of Asturias * Ramiro II of León (c. 900–951), king of Leon * Ramiro III of León (961–985), king of Leon * ...
'', with stories set in medieval Spain, and from 1976 onwards, '' Bruce J. Hawker'', his personal favourite, starring a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. His final breakthrough and largest commercial success came in 1984, when writer
Jean Van Hamme Jean, knight Van Hamme (born 16 January 1939) is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including ''Histoire sans héros'', ''Thorgal'', ''XIII'' and ''Largo Winch''. Biogr ...
proposed a new series, ''
XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a 2003 video game based on the comic b ...
''. First serialised in '' Spirou'' magazine, this series of contemporary adventures with action, violence, and complicated intrigues, let Vance draw upon his talent for realistic drawings, action scenes and exotic settings. By 2007, he had drawn 18 albums in the series, which sold more than 14 million copies in more than 20 countries, and was twice adapted into a TV series. The series was coloured by his wife Petra Coria, with whom he lived in
Santander, Spain Santander () is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. It is a port city located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao with a population of 172,000 (2017). It is believed to ...
. In 2010, Vance announced his retirement due to
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
. He died of the disease on 14 May 2018.


Style

Vance worked in a highly detailed realistic style which has been described as "precise and nervous", an "inimitable" style resembling no other author. An article in ''
Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...
'' discussing his series ''Bruno Brazil'' called his early work already "meticulous" and "sophisticated", but describes how in the early 1970s it drifted away from the more typical realistic style common in Belgian comics at the time, and became influenced by Dutch comics artist
Hans G. Kresse Hans G. Kresse (Amsterdam, 3 December 1921–Doorwerth, 12 March 1992) was a Dutch cartoonist. He was the winner of the 1976 Stripschapprijs. Biography Hans G. Kresse, born in the Netherlands in 1921, started his career as a comics artist in 1938 ...
. He also started experimenting with the page layout, with large central panels, and with the colouring, which showed influences of
psychedelic art Psychedelic art (also known as psychedelia) is art, graphics or visual displays related to or inspired by psychedelic experiences and hallucinations known to follow the ingestion of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. The word "p ...
.


Awards

* 2005:
Bronzen Adhemar The ''Bronzen Adhemar'' (Dutch for "Brass Adhemar") is the official Flemish Community Cultural Prize for Comics, given to a Flemish comics author for his body of work. It is awarded by the Flemish Ministry of Culture during Strip Turnhout, the maj ...
in
Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...
, Belgium * 2009: Honorary citizen of the City of
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 ...


Bibliography

These are the comic albums drawn by William Vance published until 2007. Between 2001 and 2011 most of his older work was republished in ''Tout Vance'' by
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 ...
and 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. ...
.


Notes


Sources


William Vance publications in Belgian''Tintin''
an

BDoubliées


External links


Belgian Comic Book Artist William Vance Dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, William 1935 births 2018 deaths Belgian comics artists People from Anderlecht Neurological disease deaths in Spain Deaths from Parkinson's disease