Yakari

"Yakari" is a Franco-Belgian comic book series, aimed at a younger audience, written by (the Swiss francophone) Job and illustrated by (the Swiss francophone) Derib.

The books have been translated into at least 17 languages including German, Scandinavian languages, Finnish, Breton, Indonesian, Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Inuktitut, English and Catalan etc. Yakari has been adapted to a cartoon series on television.

Concept

Yakari is a young Sioux Native American who has the particularity to be able to understand and speak animal languages. During his adventures, he meets all sorts of North American animals. His best friends are a girl Sioux, "Rainbow", and his pony "Little Thunder". He has a totem animal, "Great Eagle".

The setting is the North American Great Plains, mainly. Horses have already been introduced by the Spanish, but there is no mentioning of white man whatsoever in the series (In one book, there's even a mention by an old tribesman that there's a mystery how the horse came to the land, and that it hasn't always been there). It can therefore be assumed that Yakari's adventures take place long before the settling rush in the late 18th/19th century.

Characters

"Humans:"
* Yakari : the main character.
* Rainbow : a Sioux girl and Yakari's best friend. She is increasingly accompanying him on his adventures as the series progresses.
* The-One Who Knows : chief and shaman of Yakari's village.
* Little Bison : a Sioux boy and friend of Yakari's, who dreams of becoming a great hunter.
* Slow Caribou : a man from Yakari's village. As his name points out, he is very slow.
* Broth Eye : a man from Yakari's village. He smokes all the time, lying in front of his tipi, and gets exhausted after one step.
* Tranquil Rock : a sage from Yakari's village.
* Bold Gaze : Yakari's dad. At first quite sceptical about his son's claims that he can talk to animals, he is eventually convinced that his son has indeed a special gift.
* Strained Bow: a wandering warrior who sees himself destined (but is actually driven to) hunt and bring down the rarest and most unusual of animals. He has clashed with Yakari on several occasions and considers him a serious nuisance.

"Animals:"
* Great Eagle : a great bald eagle and Yakari's totem who aids Yakari with his wisdom and advice.
* Little Thunder : a white-and-black checkerd poney, who is Yakari's steed and closest friend.
* Nanabozo : a rabbit capable of doing magical feats, and Rainbow's totem. He has revealed himself to Rainbow and Yakari on numerous occasions and taken them to educative journeys, including on a stint into prehistoric times.
* Double Teeth : a beaver and artist.
* Tilia : Young beaver, he is a joker and is adventurous.
* Wild Rose Plant : a beaver, and Tilia's mother.
* Rough Bark : a beaver, and Tilia's father.
* Thousand Mouths : a beaver and builder.
* Wood of a Bed : a beaver and a serious sleeper.
* Snowball, a white-furred baribal.

Animals Yakari met

In the course of the series, Yakari encounters (and often befriends) members of any animal species found on the North American continent. These include (but are as yet not limited to):
*bisons
*bears
*beavers
*eagles
*rabbits
*ponys
*a pelican
*wolves
*caribous
*prairie dogs
*mountain goats
*coyotes
*hawks
*snowy owls
*lynxs (always villain)
*flying squirrels
*belugas
*antilopes
*diatryma
*wolverines
*alligators
*crowes
*elks
*a white whale
*a donkey
*appaloosas

Albums

"Only the original publication is indicated."
#"Yakari "(Dargaud, 1973)
#"Yakari et le bison blanc" (Casterman, 1976)
#"Chez les Castors "(Casterman, 1977)
#"Yakari et Nanabozo "(Casterman, 1978)
#"Yakari et le grizzly "(Casterman, 1979)
#"Le secret de petit tonnerre "(Casterman, 1981)
#"L'étranger "(Casterman, 1982)
#"Au pays des loups "(Casterman, 1983)
#"Les Prisonniers de l'Ile" (Casterman, 1983)
#"Le grand terrier "(Casterman, 1984)
#"La toison blanche "(Casterman, 1985)
#"Yakari et le coyote " (Casterman, 1986)
#"Yakari et les seigneurs des plaines" (Casterman, 1987)
#"Le vol des corbeaux "(Casterman, 1988)
#"La rivière de l'oubli" (Casterman, 1989)
#"Le premier galop" (Casterman, 1990)
#"Le monstre du lac" (Casterman, 1991)
#"L'oiseau de neige "(Casterman, 1992)
#"la barrière de feu " (Casterman, 1993)
#"Le diable des bois" (Casterman, 1994)
#"Le souffleur de nuages" (Casterman, 1995)
#"La fureur du ciel" (Casterman, 1996)
#"Yakari et les cornes fourchues" (Casterman, 1997)
#"Yakari et l'ours fantôme" (Casterman, 1998)
#"Le mystère de la falaise" (Le Lombard, 1999)
#"La vengeance du carcajou" (Le Lombard, 2000)
#"Yakari et longues-oreilles" (Le Lombard, 2001)
#"Le chêne qui parlait" (Le Lombard, 2002)
#"Le réveil du géant" (Le Lombard, 2003)
#"Le marcheur de nuit" (Le Lombard, 2004)
#"Yakari et les Appaloosas" (Le Lombard, 2005)
#"Les Griffes de l'Ours" (Le Lombard, 2006)
#"Le marais de la peur" (Le Lombard, 2007)

References

http://www.bedetheque.com/serie-2127-BD-Yakari.html

External links

* [http://www.yakari.fr Yakari official website]
* [http://www.cinebook.com Cinebook website for new English translations of Yakari]
* [http://www.helsinki.fi/~lakoma/comics/yakari.html Yakari in Finnish] fin