Michel Rabagliati (born 7 September 1961) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

cartoonist 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 ...

born and based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Quebec. He was published by

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic content, a ...

and is currently published by Conundrum Press in

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 ...

, and

La Pastèque La Pastèque is a French Canadian publisher of comics, based in Montréal, Québec. Overview La Pastèque ("The Watermelon" in English) was founded by Martin Brault and Frédéric Gauthier in Montréal, Québec in July 1998, and their first ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. Rabagliati has written and illustrated several

semi-autobiographical An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. B ...

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

each furthering the life story of his

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

Paul. The series includes '' Paul Up North'', '' Paul Has a Summer Job'', ''Paul Moves Out'', and '' Paul Goes Fishing,'' and ''The Song Of Roland''. In addition, Rabagliati has published shorter stories featuring Paul including "Paul in the Metro." In 2005, "Paul in the Metro" was reprinted along with other material as "The Adventures of Paul", one of Drawn & Quarterly's comics for

Free Comic Book Day Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...

. In 2006, he won the Doug Wright Award for Best Book for ''Paul Moves Out''. In 2010 he won the

Joe Shuster Award The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadians. The awards, ...

for Outstanding Cartoonist for ‘‘Paul à Québec’’. In 2015, his book ''Paul à Québec'' was adapted into the theatrical film '' Paul à Québec''. Rabagliati and director

François Bouvier François Bouvier is a Canadian film and television director from Quebec."A paradoxical people put on quite the show". '' The Globe and Mail'', June 15, 1985. His credits have included the films '' Jacques and November (Jacques et novembre)'', ''U ...

cowrote the film's screenplay. Although Rabagliati said in 2016 that he would go on hiatus from writing and illustrating any more books in the series, in 2017 he admitted that he is working on a new book: "He’s in his fifties, the weight of grief and of the trials of life show in his face and in his general appearance. He’s tired, disenchanted, and alone. This book will be the most autobiographical by far and definitely the most depressing of the series!" Rabagliati started drawing comics in his 40s, after working as a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

for many years. He cites the art style of

European comics European comics are comics produced in Europe. The '' comic album'' is a very common printed medium. The typical ''album'' is printed in large format, generally with high quality paper and colouring, commonly 24x32 cm (9.4x12.6 in), has around 48 ...

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 ...

'', ''

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

'' and Hergé's ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

'' as influences upon his work. Rabagliati has

cyclothymia Cyclothymia ( ), also known as cyclothymic disorder, psychothemia/psychothymia, bipolar III, affective personality disorder and cyclothymic personality disorder, is a mental and behavioural disorder that involves numerous periods of symptoms of ...

and

sleep apnea Sleep apnea, also spelled sleep apnoea, is a sleep disorder in which pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep occur more often than normal. Each pause can last for a few seconds to a few minutes and they happen many tim ...

References

External links

Rabagliati's site at Drawn & Quarterly

Rabagliati's official website
Canadian comics artists 1961 births Living people Harvey Award winners for Best New Talent Artists from Montreal Writers from Montreal Joe Shuster Award winners for Outstanding Cartoonist Quebec comics Canadian graphic novelists Canadian screenwriters in French People with bipolar disorder {{Canadian-comics-creator-stub