''Michel Vaillant'' is a French

car racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

series created in 1957 by 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 comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Jean Graton Jean Graton (10 August 1923 – 21 January 2021) was a French comic book author and cartoonist. Graton created the famous character Michel Vaillant and the eponymous series in 1957. Biography Graton was born in Nantes, France, in 1923. He m ...

and published originally 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 ...

. Later, Graton published the albums by himself when he founded

Graton éditeur Graton Editeur is a French publishing house created by comics drawer and writer Jean Graton in 1982. It is owned by Jean Graton and his son Philippe. Graton Editeur have published the works of Jean Graton, among them the famous comics series ''Miche ...

in 1982. Michel Vaillant is the main character of the eponymous series, a French racing car driver who competes mainly in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

. The feature first appeared in ''

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, where Jean Graton had already published a number of short stories about real-life sporting heroes. The series appeared in ''Tintin'' between 1957 and 1976, in France as well as in Belgium. An estimated 17 million copies of the series' albums have been sold worldwide.

Publication history

On February 7, 1957, Jean Graton created the character Michel Vaillant, with five short stories published in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

'', with publication beginning June 12, 1957. With their positive reception, a full-length adventure was written and drawn by Graton, published in ''Tintin'' in 1959. The titles were first published in album format by

until 1976, then 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. ...

until 1979, by

Fleurus Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

in 1979 and 1980, by Novedi in 1981 and 1982, and finally by Graton editeur, created and owned by Philippe and Jean Graton from 1983 on. In 1995, a new series was launched, the ''Dossiers Michel Vaillant'' series, with stories and information on important figures in motorsports and the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

industry. In 2000, the ''Palmarès Inedit'' series was created, with early works and stories previously unpublished in books. In 2007, Studio Graton translated three titles into

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 ide ...

: "The Great Challenge" (Tome 1), "China Moon" (Tome 68), "24 Hours Under the Influence" (Tome 70). In 2008, a new collection was launched by Le Lombard, named ''Integrale Michel Vaillant''. This series plans to reprint all past adventures in 20 volumes of 200 pages, each volume grouping several stories. All the titles of the original series are to be reprinted, and many comments, dossiers and unpublished strips added. Jean Graton later left the writing to his son Philippe, gradually leaving the artwork to the Studio Graton, which he established. Since Graton stopped drawing the series himself, the graphic style has evolved, with Philippe Graton continuing with the writing and three artists providing the artwork. Philippe Graton admitted that the draftsmanship isn't as rigorous as it once was.

Series overview

Vaillante Vaillante is a fictional French company of which most of the activity is related to automobile. Vaillante is featured in the French comic book series ''Michel Vaillant''. Vaillante was founded by Henri Vaillant. Fictional subsidiaries Vaillan ...

'' is a family-run French business which, in the beginning, was a transporting company. They also create their own

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s and cars and so decide to enter

racing competition. In 1939, Henri Vaillant, a young driver, creates this new team. In the next seventy plus adventures, Michel Vaillant and the Vaillante race team compete in numerous races in Formula One and other driving competitions such as

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

enduro Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a ...

challenges. Michel, Henri's son, is the main driver, his usual team-mate being the American, Steve Warson. The team is first managed by Henri Vaillant, then by Michel's older brother Jean-Pierre. Henri has remained the chairman of the Vaillante firm, but was replaced by Jean-Pierre when he retired. As the Vaillante firm grows, Vaillante's drivers, among them Michel, accumulate victories, but their success is either disrupted by rivals, by internal problems in the Vaillante team or by the "Leader", the greatest of Vaillante's enemies. Most of the adventures deal with motor racing life, but they also deal with the Vaillante team drivers' private lives, with concerns in the Vaillante firm and with various outside problems.

Realism

The comic is notable for depicting real-life motor racing background, featuring many real-life drivers, teams and personalities. Michel Vaillant competes in existing motor races and

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

on real-life circuits. In the course of the series, the background in which the characters are featured evolves: the series' environment has always been updated, so that cars, teams and personalities have constantly changed. Graton's graphic style also aims at being realistic, as the illustrations are very technically accurate. Notably, Graton is recognized for the meticulous

details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

he provides on

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

illustrations. The numerous depictions of cars and circuits featured in the series are very specific and detailed; Graton used to personally attend races and circuits to take notes. Philippe Graton later continued this practice. Michel Vaillant's name is very similar to that of the birth name of automotive pioneer

Karl Benz Carl Friedrich Benz (; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929), sometimes also Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and fir ...

, which was ''Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant''. Realism is also expressed in the fictional background. Vaillant's factories and property are prominently featured in the series. The

firm is run as a real company, it has financial problems, must launch

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

campaigns and search for sponsors. It owns factories, which employs several

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

s and

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

s that are realistically described and is shown employing several real-life drivers. The Vaillants own the familial domain "La Jonquière", located a short drive / cycle ride from the factory, and is home throughout the series to Henri and Elisabeth Vaillant. Michel and Jean Pierre lived there in the early books, before striking out on their own. As the context in which the characters evolved, Michel also is shown getting older. While he looked like a young man of about twenty years at the beginning of his adventures, he is seen progressively reaching middle-age. Recently his appearance is younger than previously. Other fictional characters are also shown getting older. In recent years, their general appearance has become steady. In spite of this he is still depicted as quite young for a man who has competed against drivers of multiple generations, including

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

and

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers fro ...

Characters

Michel Vaillant is the main character of the series. Michel Vaillant is a complete driver and sportsman. His main occupation is to drive in the Formula 1 Championship. Michel is named

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in four different albums. He also twice won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

and the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

four times. He also competed in rally races, winning the East

African Safari ''Rivers of Fire and Ice'', alternatively titled ''African Safari'', is a Crown International Pictures 1969 motion picture filmed in documentary format. Directed, written and produced by wildlife photographer Ron Shanin, the film is an account o ...

and the

Paris-Dakar The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...

. He participated in several stock-car, F2, F3 and GT races. He is also able to drive

s and

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s, and practice

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

very well. As a kind, serious, helpful, attentive, honest and generous man, Michel is very popular. His many abilities, his courage and his values, his kindness and his physical appearance make him a practically perfect hero, without any flaws. Françoise Vaillant is Michel's wife. She first appeared in 1963, as a teenager. At that time, she was a journalist for a newspaper owned by her father Louis Latour, a good friend of Henri Vaillant. In 1966, she appeared again, but as an older, attractive young woman. From that time on, she appeared in every album of the series and saw Vaillant more and more, until his family urged him to marry her. They married in 1974. Françoise has an important role in the series, and in some adventures she is the main character. Jean-Pierre Vaillant is Michel's older brother by six years. Like Michel, he started as a driver for the Vaillante team. He married Agnès de Chanzy, the daughter of Henri Vaillant's friend living in Argentina, in the very first album. But rapidly, he became more and more interested in managing the family team and to elaborate strategies for

Formula One racing A Formula One Grand Prix is a sporting event which takes place over three days (usually Friday to Sunday), with a series of practice and qualifying sessions prior to the race on Sunday. Current regulations provide for two free practice sessions ...

. He soon became the leader of the Vaillante society, replacing his father. Able to make difficult decisions, he also does not hesitate to launch ambitious projects. He has a son, Jean-Michel Vaillant, who is Michel's

godson In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

. Steve Warson is an American driver and Michel's best friend. He first appeared in the series in 1957. Steve has a different personality than Michel: he smokes, drinks, flirts, fights, and defies other drivers. Despite his several flaws, he is a good driver for the Vaillante team and a faithful teammate to Michel, even if his romantic adventures sometimes caused him to be Vaillante's occasional rival. His numerous girlfriends have included Ruth and Julie Wood. As good driver as Michel, he outdoes him in most rallying and American races. The "Leader" is a mysterious character who is the worst enemy of Vaillante and owner of the Leader team. The Leader team uses modern and advanced technology to compete against the Vaillante team in motor races. The team resorts to aggressive strategies to win races and uses dangerous drivers, such as Vince Hummer, Bob Cramer, Dan Hawkins and Donald Payntor. The leader was brought up by Buddhist monks. An ambitious and cruel man, he studied a form of Buddhism that gives him amazing powers, which he uses to try to dominate the motor industry. His first appearance was in the album "Mach 1 pour Steve Warson". Ruth alias Jo Barett is the Leader's daughter and was briefly Steve Warson's girlfriend. Before knowing her real origin, Ruth was a kind girl and friendly towards the Vaillante team. She became cruel and mean, taking over as the new Leader at her father's death, and tried to avenge him by fighting against his enemies. Henri Vaillant is Michel and Jean-Pierre's father. He began as a

, then became a driver, created his own team and then became chairman of Vaillante. Rather authoritarian, he gave his two children a strict education. Later, he let his son Jean-Pierre take over as the leader and retired. His way of life remains modest, as chairman he went to work on a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

. A respectable man, close to his

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

s, he is very appreciated by them. Elisabeth Vaillant is Henri Vaillant's wife. She married him when he was a simple mechanic, but does not know anything about cars,

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

, or mechanics. Julie Wood is an American

racer and at one time Steve Warson's girlfriend. An orphan, she was brought up by her uncle Chris, in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, with her two brothers, Indy and Phil. She is at ease in any kind of motorcycle race. Before her appearance in the Michel Vaillant series (in the album "Paris-Dakar"), she starred in her own series, '' Julie Wood'', which ran for eight volumes, from 1976 to 1980. Yves Douleac is a driver for the Vaillante team. He lost his father, a truck driver for Vaillante at

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, at 7. He was brought up by his mother and he was very admirative of Michel Vaillant, getting to know him personally and being employed as a driver. Courageous and proud, he later fell in love with Gabriele Spangenberg, and succeeded in marrying her despite his modest origin. Gabriele Spangenberg is a German female driver for the Vaillante team and Yves Douléac's girlfriend. Her father, of noble heritage, first opposed such a union, due to Yves's poor origin, but later gave his permission, in the face of Gabriele's determination. Bob Cramer is an American driver, Vaillante's enemy and a driver for the Leader team along with his friend and partner Dan Hawkins. A drunkard and a brawler, he is also aggressive in motor races where he caused a lot of crashes. Non-fictional characters
As a driver evolving in the motor racing background, Michel Vaillant competes with many existing drivers, some of whom play an important part in the stories.

Pierre Dieudonné Pierre Dieudonné (born 24 March 1947 in Brussels) is a Belgian auto racing driver and motoring journalist. Career He spent a large part of his career competing in touring car racing. He twice finished third in the European Touring Car Championshi ...

appeared in some adventures as a driver for the Vaillante team. Drivers, most notably French and Belgians like Vanina and

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...

François Cevert Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver who took part in the Formula One World Championship. He competed in 48 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one win, 13 podium finishes and 8 ...

Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay (25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice. Between 1977 and 198 ...

Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Boutsen (born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One. He competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix (163 starts), winning three rac ...

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fi ...

Jean-Pierre Beltoise Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at th ...

and

Éric Bernard Éric Bernard (born 24 August 1964) is a retired French Formula One racing driver, who drove in Formula One from 1989 to 1994 for the Ligier, Larrousse and Lotus teams. His best finish in Formula One was third place at the German Grand Prix in ...

, have made appearances in the storylines.

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances. An enthusiast of ...

and

are portrayed as good friends of Michel's as is

Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981 ...

, and are the most recurring drivers of the series.

played an important part in the album: Un pilote a disparu (1980). Non-fictional team managers and journalists also appear regularly, as do some statesmen and celebrities. Michel himself is often seen being interviewed by real-life journalist Gérard "Jabby" Crombac.

Publications

* Volume 1 : ''Le Grand défi'' (1959) * Volume 2 : ''Le Pilote sans visage'' (1960) * Volume 3 : ''Le Circuit de la peur'' (1961) * Volume 4 : ''Route de nuit'' (1962) * Volume 5 : ''Le 13 est au départ'' (1963) * Volume 6 : ''La Trahison de Steve Warson'' (1964) * Volume 7 : ''Les Casse-cou'' (1964) * Volume 8 : ''Le 8e pilote'' (1965) * Volume 9 : ''Le Retour de Steve Warson'' (1965) * Volume 10 : ''L'Honneur du Samouraï'' (1966) * Volume 11 : ''Suspense à Indianapolis'' (1966) * Volume 12 : ''Les Chevaliers de Königsfeld'' (1967) * Volume 13 : ''Concerto pour pilotes'' (1968) * Volume 14 : ''Mach 1 pour Steve Warson'' (1968) * Volume 15 : ''Le Cirque infernal'' (1969) * Volume 16 : ''Km. 357'' (1969) * Volume 17 : ''Le Fantôme des 24 heures'' (1970) * Volume 18 : ''De l'huile sur la piste !'' (1970) * Volume 19 : ''5 filles dans la course !'' (1971) * Volume 20 : ''Rodéo sur 2 roues'' (1971) * Volume 21 : ''Massacre pour un moteur !'' (1972) * Volume 22 : ''Rush'' (1972) * Volume 23 : ''Série noire'' (1973) * Volume 24 : ''Cauchemar'' (1973) * Volume 25 : ''Des filles et des moteurs'' (1974) * Volume 26 : ''Champion du monde'' (1974) * Volume 27 : ''Dans l'enfer du safari'' (1975) * Volume 28 : ''Le Secret de Steve Warson'' (1975) * Volume 29 : ''San Francisco Circus'' (1976) * Volume 30 : ''Les Jeunes Loups'' (1977) * Volume 31 : ''La Révolte des rois'' (1978) * Volume 32 : ''Le Prince blanc'' (1978) * Volume 33 : ''La Silhouette en colère'' (1979) * Volume 34 : ''KO pour Steve Warson'' (1979) * Volume 35 : ''Le Galérien'' (1980) * Volume 36 : ''Un pilote a disparu'' (1980) * Volume 37 : ''L'Inconnu des 1000 pistes'' (1980) * Volume 38 : ''Steve Warson contre Michel Vaillant'' (1981) * Volume 39 : ''Rallye sur un volcan'' (1981) * Volume 40 : ''Rififi en F1'' (1982) * Volume 41 : ''Paris-Dakar'' (1982) * Volume 42 : ''300 à l'heure dans Paris'' (1983) * Volume 43 : ''Rendez-vous à Macao'' (1983) * Volume 44 : ''Steve et Julie'' (1984) * Volume 45 : ''L'Homme de Lisbonne'' (1984) * Volume 46 : ''Racing show'' (1985) * Volume 47 : ''Panique à Monaco'' (1986) * Volume 48 : ''Irish coffee'' (1986) * Volume 49 : ''Catégorie poids lourds'' (1987) * Volume 50 : ''Le Défi des remparts'' (1988) * Volume 51 : ''Le Caïd de Francorchamps'' (1989) * Volume 52 : ''F3000'' (1989) * Volume 53 : ''La Nuit de Carnac'' (1990) * Volume 54 : ''L'Affaire Bugatti'' (1991) * Volume 55 : ''Une histoire de fous'' (1992) * Volume 56 : ''Le Maître du monde'' (1993) * Volume 57 : ''La Piste de jade'' (1994) * Volume 58 : ''Paddock'' (1995) * Volume 59 : ''La Prisonnière'' (1997) * Volume 60 : ''Victoires oubliées'' (1997) * Volume 61 : ''La Fièvre de Bercy'' (1998) * Volume 62 : ''Le $pon$or'' (1999) * Volume 63 : ''Cairo'' (2000) * Volume 64 : ''Opération Mirage'' (2001) * Volume 65 : ''L'Épreuve'' (2003) * Volume 66 : ''100.000.000$ pour Steve Warson'' (2004) * Volume 67 : ''Pour David'' (2005) * Volume 68 : ''China Moon'' (2006) * Volume 69 : ''Hors-piste en enfer'' (2006) * Volume 70 : ''24 heures sous influence'' (2007) New series * Volume 1 : ''In the name of the Son'' (2012) * Volume 2 : "Charge" (2013) * Volume 3 : "Beyond Control (2014) * Volume 4 : "Colapsus" (2015) * Volume 5 : "Renaissance" (2016) * Volume 6 : "Rebellion" (2017) * Volume 7 : ''Macau'' (2018) * volume 8 : " 13 Days" (2019) *volume 9 : " Duels" (2020) *volume 10 : " Pikes Peak" (2021) *volume 11 : "CANNONBALL" (2022) In 1986, the album ''Irish coffee'' was awarded the Avoriaz Festival's Grand Prix (

Morzine Morzine (; frp, Morzena) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. A traditional market town in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is dominated by chalets spread across a rive ...

, France).

In other media

In 1967, French TV broadcast a live-action adaptation of the series, ''

Les Aventures de Michel Vaillant ''Michel Vaillant'' is a French car racing comics series created in 1957 by French cartoonist Jean Graton and published originally by Le Lombard. Later, Graton published the albums by himself when he founded Graton éditeur in 1982. Michel V ...

''. It ran for 13 episodes and featured stories written and filmed around a real-life world sportscar championship, documenting Henri Grandsire driving an

Alpine A110 The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1963 to 1977. The car was styled as a " berlinette", which in the post-WWII era refers to a small enclosed two-door berline, better-known as a coupé. The ...

, interspersed with dramatic interludes acted by Grandsire himself. Episodes offer rare close-up contemporary footage of races and cars that year at the Rallye Du Nord,

Magny Cours Magny-Cours () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous motor racing circuit (whose name is often abbreviated to 'Magny-Cours'). It formerly hosted the Formula O ...

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Rouen-Les-Essarts Rouen-Les-Essarts was a motor racing circuit in Orival, near Rouen, France. From its opening in 1950, Rouen-Les-Essarts was recognized as one of Europe's finest circuits, with modern pits, a wide track, and spectator grandstands. The street ci ...

, Sebring and

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. The series was also adapted into a ''Michel Vaillant'' animated series. 65 episodes of 26 minutes were produced in 1990 in France by

la Cinq La Cinq () was France's first privately owned free-to-air television network. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the network broadcast from 1985 to 1992. The contract for France's fifth terrest ...

. It was released in the U.S. in 1991-1992 as ''Heroes on Hot Wheels'', produced by

Jetlag Productions Jetlag Productions was an American animation studio that, like the similar studio Golden Films, has created a number of animated films based on different, popular children's stories, while creating a few original productions. Produced mainly for t ...

and the former Family Channel, sponsored by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

's ''

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have ...

'' franchise (hence the title) and distributed by France 3 Video and Pacific Media Ventures. Michel's name was anglicized to "Michael Valiant". It was broadcast again in France in 1993 and 1998 by

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...

, and sold in more than 30 countries. A Michel Vaillant film was made in 2003, and the soundtrack to the movie composed by the band

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

was released at the same time.

In popular culture

The series has been influential in the world of

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. Some famous

Formula One drivers Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheel car, open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rul ...

have admitted that their passion for automobile racing originated from reading the ''Michel Vaillant'' comics series, among them four- time Formula One champion

Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Mich ...

. In 1969,

Henry Ford II Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...

and

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italians, Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari ...

personally wished Michel Vaillant a happy 20th birthday. The

circuit Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...

, in Belgium, in which several well-known motorsport races take place, have paid tribute to the series, naming the biggest building of the circuit "Michel Vaillant club". Many real cars were adapted from automobile designs from the series. Cars bearing the logo

ran in

in 1997 and 2003: A

Courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

in 1997, while in 2003, Vaillante cars have been designed to be used in the Luc Besson's movie. Some fans have built a real Vaillante Grand Defi, a model which appeared several times in the comics series. The car has participated in real races, under the brand

. A model was marketed in Belgium, the Honda Civic Vaillante, of which 50 models have been produced. Automobile designer

Luc Donckerwolke Luc Donckerwolke (born 19 June 1965) is a Belgian automotive designer, president, and chief creative officer of the Hyundai Motor Group and the Genesis automotive brand. Prior to joining the Hyundai Motor Group, he was the design director at Vo ...

(current designer of

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

, previously of

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

) has drawn his inspiration from cars drawn by Jean Graton to design some real car models. He also designed the SEAT Ibiza Vaillante, exhibited at the

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...

in 2006. It was also Luc Donckerwolke who transformed a

Lola B98/10 The Lola B98/10 was a Le Mans Prototype built by Lola Cars, Lola Cars International for use in the FIA Sportscar Championship, International Sports Racing Series, American Le Mans Series, and 24 Hours of Le Mans. It would be the first internat ...

– Judd into a Vaillante and a

Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S The Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S (sometimes referred to as simply the Panoz LMP-1) was a Le Mans Prototype built for Panoz in 1999. The car was a successor to the Esperante GTR-1 which had competed in the Grand Tourer categories internationally. Foll ...

into a Leader car in 2003 for the Besson movie. Donckerwolke also collaborated with Studio Graton on the latest titles of the series, drawing some cars featured in the albums. Many commercial products have been derived from the series, among them figurines, collected by automobile fans as well as comics fans. There's also a video game featuring Michel Vaillant which has ranked first in the auto racing video games in

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

, and has been the top download on commercial websites. Vaillante Chevrolet

In June 2012, Swiss racing driver

Alain Menu Alain Menu (born 9 August 1963) is a Swiss racing driver who is currently working for Team BMR as a driving coach. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice ...

competed in the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

Race of Portugal with a Vaillante-themed livery. Menu won the second feature race of the event (round 14) under the name M. Vaillant, even dying his hair and shaving his beard to resemble the look of the character. In 2017

Rebellion Racing Rebellion Racing is a Swiss racing team that competes in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams' title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season. The team started as an association ...

entered the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the

as "Vaillant Rebellion" using Vaillant colours on cars #13 and #31.

Reception

The series is very popular among fans of automobiles, because it features real-life cars, including renowned and prestigious models. The series have fans throughout several countries, though it has not translated into other languages except for English,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

(with Michel Vaillant renamed Mark Breton in the two latter),

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, Serbian, Croatian,

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. It has above all fans in France and Belgium, including Dutch-speaking Belgium, given that ''Michel Vaillant'' albums have been translated into Dutch. The series has received various tributes as a masterpiece of the

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 traditio ...

genre. A stamp representing Michel Vaillant was published in Belgium, a rare privilege granted only to the greatest comics series'. It was made available from January 1, 2007 with a face value of 0.50 euros, in all Belgian post offices. Celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the series took place in 2007, among them

Strip Turnhout Strip or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...

, at the bi-annual official Flanders comics festival, organizing a retrospective exhibition. The series also ranks high on the collector's market, with original editions ranking among the most valuable. Graton's original art pages have fetched high prices at auctions. In January 2006, a

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

from "Le 13 est au départ" was sold for 4,800 euros at an auction in Paris. In April 2006, in Paris again, an original page from "L'Honneur du Samourai" was auctioned for 12,384 euros (whereas its original value was 3,500 euros), breaking the record of the time. In 2008, an original page from "De l'huile sur la piste" was sold for 11,520 euros at auction in 2008 at

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 ...

among other works previously published by ''

'' magazine, establishing the record sale of that day.

References

External links

Michel Vaillant official page

Michel Vaillant
on Lelombard.com *

, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''
Michel Vaillant (TV series)
on Internet Movie Database

on the Internet Movie Cars Database
Michel Vaillant race cars in 3D

Errors in ''Michel Vaillant''
on jim-on-the-web.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaillant, Michel

Michel Vaillant ''Michel Vaillant'' is a French car racing comics series created in 1957 by French cartoonist Jean Graton and published originally by Le Lombard. Later, Graton published the albums by himself when he founded Graton éditeur in 1982. Michel V ...

Fictional French people French comics characters Fictional racing drivers Comics characters introduced in 1957

Male characters in comics