Blueberry (comic)
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Blueberry is a French language comic strip created by Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean "Mœbius" Giraud. It chronicles the adventures of Mike Blueberry on his travels through the American Old West.
The story follows Michael Steven Donovan, nicknamed "Blueberry", a name he chose when fleeing from his Southern enemies (which was inspired when he looked at a blueberry bush), starting with his adventures as a lieutenant in the United States Cavalry shortly after the American Civil War. He is accompanied in many tales by his hard-drinking deputy, Jimmy McClure, and later also by Red Woolley, a rugged pioneer.
Donovan is the son of a rich Southern farmer and started as a dedicated racist. He was framed for a murder he did not commit, had to flee and was saved by an African-American. He became an enemy of discrimination of all kinds, fought against the Confederates (although he was a Southerner himself), and tried to protect the rights of Native Americans.
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[edit] Background
Blueberry has its roots in Giraud's earlier Western-themed works such as Frank et Jeremie, which was drawn for Far West magazine when he was only 18, and his collaboration on Jijé's Jerry Spring in 1961, which appeared in Spirou. When Charlier offered the scenario for a new western series, Jijé proposed his protégé Giraud as the artist.[1] Charlier and Giraud have also collaborated on another Western strip, Jim Cutlass.
Blueberry began in the 31 October 1963 issue of Pilote magazine. That first serial, "Fort Navaho", grew into 46 pages over the next few issues. Charlier and Giraud continued to add to the legend of Mike Blueberry in Pilote and other titles even into the 1990s. During that time the artistic style has varied greatly, much as with Giraud's other works. In the same volume, sweeping landscapes will contrast sharply with hard-edged action scenes and the art matches the changing mood of the story quite well. Like much of the Western genre, Blueberry touches on the constant conflict between violence and tranquility, nature and civilization, and the obligation of the strong to protect the weak. In addition to the comic strips, Blueberry and his fellow characters can be found on posters, clothing, and other items.
A "prequel" series, Young Blueberry, as well as the sequels Marshal Blueberry and Mister Blueberry have been published as well, with other artists and writers, most famously William Vance.
A few companies, particularly Egmont/Methuen, Epic Comics, Comcat and Mojo Press, have released collections of English translations of the Blueberry strips and stories. Opinions are mixed on these, as sometimes the artwork is shrunk to fit smaller book formats, and in the case of the first Mojo Press collection Blueberry: Confederate Gold (ISBN 1-885418-08-6), printed in black and white. The hardbound collections by Graphitti Designs are generally considered to be the best available to English-speaking fans, especially as they feature additional material and commentary by Giraud, but are difficult to find due to limited print runs.
A 2004 film adaptation, Blueberry (U.S. release title is Renegade), was directed by Jan Kounen and starred Vincent Cassel in the lead role. However, purists were appalled by this film. It arguably did not stay true to action-based, gritty comic, but rather featured an esoteric, trippy presentation of shamanism.
[edit] Awards
The series has received recognition in the comics community, including a Shazam Award for Best Foreign Comic Series in 1973 for the Lieutenant Blueberry books, and a nomination for the Squiddy Award for Favorite Reprint Volume in 1990.
[edit] Blueberry comics
[edit] Blueberry
Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean Giraud
- Fort Navajo
- Tonnerre à l'ouest (Thunder in the West)
- L'aigle solitaire (The Lone Eagle)
- Le cavalier perdu (The Lost Rider)
- La piste des Navajos (The Trail of the Navajos)
- L'homme à l'étoile d'argent (The Man With the Silver Star)
- Le cheval de fer (The Iron Horse)
- L'homme au poing d'acier (Steel Fingers)
- La piste des sioux (The Trail of the Sioux)
- Général tête jaune (General Golden Mane)
- La mine de l'allemand perdu (The Lost Dutchman's Mine)
- Le spectre aux balles d'or (The Ghost with the Golden Bullets)
- Chihuahua Pearl
- L'homme qui valait 500 000$ (The Half-A-Million Dollar Man)
- Ballade pour un cercueil (Ballad for a Coffin)
- Le hors-la-loi (The Outlaw)
- Angel Face
- Nez Cassé (Broken Nose)
- La tribu famtôme (The Ghost Tribe)
- La longue marche (The Long Walk)
- La dernière carte (The Last Card)
- Le bout de la piste (The End of the Trail)
- Arizona Love
- Mister Blueberry
- Ombres sur Tombstone
- Geronimo l'apache
- OK Corral
- Dust
[edit] Young Blueberry
Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean Giraud
- La jeunesse de Blueberry (Blueberry's Secret)
- Un Yankee nommé Blueberry (A Yankee Named Blueberry)
- Cavalier bleu (The Blue Coats)
Jean-Michel Charlier and Colin Wilson
- Les démons du Missouri (The Missouri Demons)
- Terreur sur le Kansas (Terror Over Kansas)
- Le raid infernal (The Train from Hell)
François Corteggiani and Colin Wilson
- La pousuite impitoyable (The Merciless Pursuit)
- Trois hommes pour Atlanta (The Three Men from Atlanta)
- Le prix du sang (The Price of Blood)
François Corteggiani and Michel Blanc-Dumont
- La solution Pinkerton
- La piste des maudits
- Dernier train pour Washington
- Il faut tuer Lincoln
- Le boucher de Cincinnati
[edit] Marshal Blueberry
Jean Giraud and William Vance, page layout by René Follet
- Sur ordre de Washington
- Mission Shermann
Jean Giraud and Michel Rouge
- Frontière sanglante
[edit] Translations
As of spring 2006, Egmont has started publishing a hardcover collected version translated into Norwegian, Danish, and German. The series is to total 12 volumes, with two to three single albums collected in each volume. The premise of these collected works is to publish the Blueberry stories in which Giraud has been involved - thus covering the original series, the first three albums of the "Young Blueberry"-cycle, and the "Marshall Blueberry"-cycle. As of February 2007, the first seven volumes have been published.
[edit] Further reading
- Erik Svane, Martin Surmann, Alain Ledoux, Martin Jurgeit, Gerhard Förster, Horst Berner: Blueberry und der europäische Western-Comic (Zack-Dossier 1; Berlin: Mosaik, 2003). ISBN 3-932667-59-X
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
[1] Comic Book Awards Almanac
