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

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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

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

Biography

Bretécher was born in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and raised in a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

."Acrid Art", in ''Inklings'' no. 8 (Summer 1977); p. 6; "(...) she was raised in a convent, but her pen drips acid." She 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 ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...

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 and

Mandryka Nikita Mandryka (20 October 1940 – 13 June 2021) was a French comics artist. He started drawing in the ''Vaillant (magazine), Vaillant'' magazine, before moving to ''Pilote'' in 1967, and then created ''L'Écho des savanes'' along with Claire ...

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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 10 February 2020, after suffering for some years from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Awards

* 1975: Best French Author at the

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

, France * 1987: Adamson Award for Best International Comic Book Cartoonist,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

* 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, ) *' (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 comics artists French comics writers French female comics artists French female comics writers French women writers French political artists French humorists French women humorists French satirical comics writers French satirical comics artists French women satirists Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners Pilote