Willy Maltaite (; 30 October 1927 – 18 February 2000), better known by the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Will (), was a Belgian

comics creator developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is un ...

and

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 ...

in the Franco-Belgian tradition. In the genre known in

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

countries as

bande dessinée (singular ; literally 'drawn strips'), abbreviated BDs and also referred to as Franco-Belgian comics (), are comics that are usually originally in French and created for readership in France and Belgium. These countries have a long tradition ...

, Will is one of the young cartoonists trained by

Jijé Joseph Gillain (), better known by his pen name Jijé (; 13 January 1914 – 19 June 1980), was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' strip (and for having introduced the Fantasio character) a ...

, who made them live and work with him in his studio in Waterloo. He is considered one of la Bande des Quatre (''the Gang of 4,'' which also included

André Franquin André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are '' Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period s ...

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, Manitob ...

, and

himself), and a founding member of the

Marcinelle school The term "Marcinelle school" (french: École de Marcinelle) or "Charleroi school" (''École de Charleroi'') refers to a group of Belgian cartoonists formed by Joseph Gillain (known as Jijé) following World War II. The first generation, known as ...

Work

Over a long association with the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ' ('' Spirou'' magazine) starting in 1947, Will created, illustrated and wrote several series, including ''

Tif et Tondu Tag Image File Format, abbreviated TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is widely supported by image scanner, scanning, FAX, faxi ...

'' (as main artist, taking over from creator

Fernand Dineur Fernand Dineur (Anderlecht, Belgium, May 17, 1904– April 1956) was a Belgian cartoonist, famous for creating "Tif et Tondu Tag Image File Format, abbreviated TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular a ...

), and '' Isabelle''. He wrote scripts for, among others, ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Benoît Brisefer ''Benoît Brisefer'' (French language, French for "Benedict Ironbreaker", published as "Benny Breakiron" in English, Dutch language, Dutch: ''Steven Sterk'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, Belgian comic strip created in 1960 by Peyo (best known for ...

''. During the period of 1958–60, Will also acted as artistic director of ''Spirous rival publication ''

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, ...

'' magazine.

Awards

*2008: Hommage to Comics Award at the Festival of Solliès-VilleNews at Dupuis
/ref>

Partial bibliography

* ''

'', 39 albums with various collaborators, Dupuis. * '' Isabelle'', 12 albums with

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

Raymond Macherot Raymond Macherot (30 March 1924 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian cartoonist. Although not nearly as famous as fellow Belgian cartoonists such as Hergé or André Franquin, Macherot's work, both as artist and writer, remains highly regarded a ...

(story),

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 ...

, 1972-1995. * ''L'Île d'outre-monde'', '' Natacha'' n°10 (art), with

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 ...

(art) and Marc Wasterlain (story), Dupuis, 1980. * Contribution to collective ''Il était une fois les belges'' (''Once Upon a Time There Were the Belgians''),

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 ...

, 1980. * ''L'ogresse des carpartes'', with Yann (story), in ''Les Histoires merveilleuses des oncles Paul'', Vents d'Ouest, 1986. * ''Le jardin des désirs'' (''The Garden of Desires''), with Stephen Desberg (story), Dupuis, coll. " Aire Libre ", 1988. * ''La 27e lettre'' (''The 27th Letter''), with Stephen Desberg (story), Dupuis, coll. " Aire Libre ", 1990. * ''L'appel de l'enfer'' (''Appeal in Hell''), with Stephen Desberg, P&T Productions, 1993. * ''Isabelle'' in the collective ''Brel'' n°2, Vents d'Ouests, 1997. * ''L'arbre des deux printemps'' (''The Tree of the Two Springs''), with

Rudi Miel Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spir ...

(story), Le Lombard, collective "Signé", 2000. Will could not finish the last 4 pages prior to his death.

Notes

Sources

Will publications in ''Le journal de Spirou''
an

BDoubliées

Bedetheque

External links

on Lambiek Comiclopedia
Will site
on euroBD
Biography of Will
on Éditions Dupuis
Maltaite family official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Will 1927 births 2000 deaths People from Namur (province) Belgian humorists Belgian illustrators Belgian comics artists