René Follet

Infobox Comics creator


name = René Follet
imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1931|4|10
location = Brussels, Belgium
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = Belgian
area = artist
alias = Ref
notable works = "Les Zingari" "Yvan Zourine" "Steve Severin" "Terreur"
awards = full list

René Follet (born April 10, 1931), sometimes known by the pen name Ref, is a Belgian illustrator, comics writer and artist.

Biography

René Follet was born in Brussels in 1931.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "René Follet". In België gestript, pp. 110-111. Tielt: Lannoo.] His first publication appeared when he was 14, illustrating a promotional issue of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" for Aiglon, a chocolate factory. In 1949, he started working for the two main Belgian comics magazines of that time, "Tintin" and "Spirou". For both, he collaborated on the series of 4 page historical stories which functioned as a starting point for many young artists like Jean Graton and Hermann Huppen. He also provides numerous illustrations for both magazines and books for Casterman publishing.

In his long cartooning career, spanning over 50 years, Follet never had a long-running or particularly successful series, but his many shorter series and one-shots have earned him the acclaim of many of his peers. [http://zozolala.com/ZL128_Follet.html Interview with ZozoLala magazine] nl_icon] He has worked for the Dutch magazine "Eppo", and for the major publishing houses in Belgium and France, including Dupuis, Le Lombard, and Glénat. He has also worked as the main penciller for artists Mitacq and William Vance, and has made a long promotional comic for Citroën. At the beginning of his career, he was asked by Edgar Pierre Jacobs to help him draw "Blake and Mortimer", but Follet refused because Jacobs didn't want Follet's name to included in the credits.

As an illustrator he works in pencil, acrylic, and other materials, and as a cartoonist is considered a master of the realistic and picturesque drawing style, or as he has been dubbed, "the 'most famous unknown' great master of the 9th art". [ or as the website [http://www.evene.fr/celebre/biographie/rene-follet-16862.php Evene] puts it:

"le plus 'célèbre méconnu' des grands maîtres du 9e art."

]

His major influences are Jijé, whose series "Valhardi" he continued for two albums, and the Dutch comics artist Hans G. Kresse (known for his American Indian series 'Les Peaux-Rouges' published by Casterman).

Bibliography

Comics

Book illustrations

According to Follet, illustrations are too short in comics ; so he makes a lot of illustrations for novels or history books :
* 1949 : "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson
* 1962 : "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper (Golden Pleasure Books)
* 1962 : "The Silver Skates" by Mary Mapes Dodge
* 1965 : "The Wonderful Life of the Uganda Martyrs" by P.Laridan (G. Chapman Editor)
* 1967-1969 : Les Grecs, La chevallerie, Cordées Souterraines (Dupuis editor)
* 1980 : "Tom Sawyer Abroad" by Mark Twain
* 1983-1986 : Petite histoire de France, Guerres de Vendées, Colonnies françaises with Henri Servien (ed. de Chiré)
* 1988 : "Searching for Tutankhamun" by Francis Youssef ("Blake and Mortimer" Editor for Edgar P. Jacobs)
* several covers for Henri Vernes's novels (Lefrancq editor)

He has also worked:
* in Scouts de France with Pierre Joubert (illustrator of boys' adventure novels, particularly the Signe de Piste (Trail Sign) line),
* in "Plein Jeu" for Belgian scouting publications.
* in White Fathers publications : "Caravane", John Bosco, Charles de Foucauld, Charles Lavigerie...
* in "Spirou" and its supplement "Le trombone illustré" with Mitacq and Franquin
* in "Tintin": "Rocky Bill" with Yves Duval, "Texas Slim" from Paul Cuvelier, "Samourai of black sun" and "Hurricane at West" with Jean-Michel Charlier
* in "Bonnes Soirées" with Jijé ("The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas, père...)
* in "Pep" and "Eppo" (two Dutch magazines): ("The Call of the Wild" by Jack London...)
* with William Vance for "Bob Morane" and "Bruno Brazil"

Awards

* 1975: Revelation of the year at the Prix Saint-Michel, Brussels
* 1998: Tournesol Award, for "Ikar 2" at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, France
* 2003: Grand Prix for drawing of the Chambre belge des Experts en Bande Dessinée (Belgian Chamber of Comics Experts) [ [http://www.bedetheque.com/auteur-1084-BD-Follet-Rene.html Biography at Bédétheque] ]
* 2006: Nominated for the best artwork at the Prix Saint-Michel

ources

* Béra, Michel; Denni, Michel; and Mellot, Philippe (2002): "Trésors de la Bande Dessinée 2003-2004". Paris, Les éditions de l'amateur. ISBN 2-85917-357-9
* Peeters Jozef (2006) : "René Follet, un rêveur sédentaire" (éd.l'Age d'Or)
* [http://bdoubliees.com/tintinbelge/auteurs2/follet.htm René Follet publications in Belgian "Tintin"] , [http://bdoubliees.com/journaltintin/auteurs2/follet.htm French "Tintin"] and [http://www.bdoubliees.com/journalspirou/auteurs2/follet.htm "Spirou"] BDoubliées fr_icon
* [http://www.bedetheque.com/auteur-1084-BD-Follet-Rene.html René Follet albums] Bedetheque fr_icon;Footnotes

External links

* [http://lambiek.net/artists/f/follet_rene.htm René Follet biography] on Lambiek Comiclopedia