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

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

ist, known particularly for her portrayals of women and gender issues. Her creations included '' Les Frustrés'', and the unimpressed teenager '' Agrippine''.

Biography

Bretécher was born in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

and got her first break as an illustrator when she was asked to provide the artwork for ''Le facteur Rhésus'' by

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

for ''L'Os à moelle'' in 1963. She went on to work for several popular magazines and in 1969 invented the character "Cellulite". In 1972 she joined

Gotlib Marcel Gottlieb (14 July 1934 – 4 December 2016), known professionally as Gotlib, was a French comics artist/writer and publisher. Through his own work and the magazines he co-founded, ''L'Écho des savanes'' and ''Fluide Glacial'', he was a ke ...

and Mandryka in founding the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

L'Écho des savanes ''L’Écho des Savanes'' is a Franco-Belgian comics magazine founded in May 1972 by Claire Bretécher, Marcel Gotlib and Nikita Mandryka. It featured the work of French and international authors and graphic artists in mature-oriented comics over ...

''. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she published successful collections, such as ''The Destiny of Monique'' (1982). In 2001, Bretécher's series ''Agrippine'' was adapted into a 26-episode TV series by

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

. Claire Bretécher was the widow of French constitutionalist with whom she had a son. She died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 10 February 2020, after suffering for some years from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Awards

* 1975: Best French 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 * 1987:

Adamson Award Adamson Awards is a Swedish award awarded to notable cartoonists, named after the famous Swedish comic strip "Adamson" (Silent Sam). They have been presented by the Swedish Academy of Comic Art (SACA) since 1965. There have been years in that ti ...

for Best International Comic Book Cartoonist,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

* 1999: Humour Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival * 2002: nominated for the Dialogue Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival

Bibliography

*''Les états d'âme de Cellulite'' (1972,

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. ...

, ), part of the ' series *' (1973, Dargaud, ) *''Les angoisses de Cellulite'' (1974, Glénat, ), part of the ' series *' (1974, Dargaud, ) *'' Les Frustrés'' (5 albums, 1975–80, Bretecher) *' (1976, Bretecher, ) *' (1976, Glénat, scénario de

Raoul Cauvin Raoul Cauvin (26 September 1938 – 19 August 2021) was a Belgian comics author and one of the most popular in the humorist field. Biography Raoul Cauvin was born in Antoing, Belgium in 1938.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Raoul Cauvin". In België ges ...

, ) *' (1977, Glénat, ) *' (1980, Glénat, ) *' (1980, Bretecher, ) *' (1982, Bretecher, ) *' (1983, Bretecher, ) *' (2 albums 1985–86, Bretecher/Hyphen) *'' Agrippine'' (8 albums 1988–2009, Bretecher/Hyphen/Dargaud) *' (1989, Bretecher, ) *' (1996, Bretecher, ) *''Une Saga génétique'' (2006, Dargaud, ) *' (2006, Glénat, ) *' (2006, Glénat, ) *' (2006, Glénat, scénario de Hubuc, ) *''Inédits'' (2007, Dargaud, )

Notes

References

Bretécher publications in ''Pilote''
an

BDoubliées

External links

Claire Bretécher official site

Claire Bretécher official art gallery

on Lambiek Comiclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Bretecher, Claire 1940 births 2020 deaths 20th-century French women artists 21st-century French women artists Artists from Nantes French cartoonists French women cartoonists French comics artists French comics writers French female comics artists Female comics writers French women writers Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners