- Robert Velter
Infobox Comics creator
name = Rob-Vel
imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Robert Velter
birthdate = birth date|1909|2|9|mf=y
location =Paris ,France
deathdate = death date and age|1991|4|27|1909|2|9
deathplace =
nationality = French
area =
alias = Robvel, Bozz
notable works = "Spirou, Spip"
awards =François Robert Velter (
February 9 ,1909 –April 27 ,1991 ), known by his pen-name Rob-Vel, was a Frenchcartoonist . He is best known for creating the character "Spirou" in 1938.Biography
Like "Spirou", Velter began his career as an
elevator operator at age 16, in the London Ritz Charlton. He later learned the trade as an assistant to American cartoonistMartin Branner on the "Winnie Winkle " strip from 1934-1936.In 1938, Velter created the title character for the launch of a new magazine by Belgian publisher Éditions Dupuis, "Le Journal de Spirou". Signing by the pen-name Rob-Vel, the story was titled "Groom au Moustic–hôtel" ("Bellboy at the Hotel Moskito"). Later the same year, he created Spirou's inseparable companion, the brave squirrel Spip, for the story "L’héritage".
When Velter was drafted and wounded in 1940, his wife Davine (Blanche Dumoulin) took over the strip for a while. Due to the increasing difficulty of getting the strips from Paris to Belgium, Velter sold his rights to the publisher in 1943, and
Jijé took over the strip.Fact|date=February 2007After the war, Velter published a number of strips, including "Le Père Pictou", "Les Tribulations du Chien Petto", "Bibor et Tribar" and "M. Subito", but he was never able to reach the broad popularity of "Spirou" again.
References
* [http://bdoubliees.com/journalspirou/auteurs5/robvel.htm Rob-Vel publications in "Le Journal de Spirou"] BDoubliées fr_iconExternal links
* [http://lambiek.net/artists/r/rob_vel.htm Rob-Vel biography] on Lambiek Comiclopedia
* [http://spiroutj.free.fr/hist/robv.htm Rob-Vel biography] on non-official Spirou site fr_icon
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