The Blueberry biography Blueberry (comics)

—giraud, on firm conviction that, due biography, blueberry ages, , how has allowed blueberry universe expand beyond boundaries of main series.

in 1974 charlier had sixteen-page background article added ballade pour un cercueil (oclc 893750651), when book first released. article concerned fictitious biography of mike steve donovan, alias mike s. blueberry, detailing life birth death, , written historic, journalistic point of view. when asked decade later, charlier clarified once became clear him blueberry had become central character of series had conceived, postulated in mind broad strokes of complete life , works of creation, including reasons blueberry s broken nose , odd alias. time ballade pour un cercueil ready book release, charlier deemed moment had arrived entrust musings paper. there had been practical reason this. story ran 16 pages over-length , contemporary printers printed 8 double-sided comic book pages on 1 sheet of print paper, addition of 16-page biography not of bother production process. ballade pour un cercueil therefore became 1 of first franco-belgium comic albums break mold of hitherto standard 48-page count format.

charlier s young, anonymous officer on far left, presented known photo of blueberry on page 10 of biography. photo depicts union general francis c. barlow.

currently of staple in european comics, @ time inclusion of informative background section in comic book of size , wealth of detail hitherto unheard of , complete novelty, , charlier had not foreseen many in pre-internet era mistook biography real, factual history, propagating such in other outside media well. charlier, investigative journalist , documentary maker solid reputation thorough documentation, had written several, shorter historical old west background editorials 1969-1970 super pocket pilote series (issues 4-9) companion pieces jeunesse de blueberry shorts, historically accurate – and, incidentally, working of material contained therein, photographs, biography post-war era – , , readers therefore assumed biography likewise.

still, having written biography within historical context postulated in comic, expecting readership understand such, charlier had not intention perform prank @ expense of readers, despite him later presenting such in above statement, mischievously poking fun @ respectable , eminent , gullible, believers – , in concordance biographer ratier s observation of author taking liberties actual events dramatic effect, aside fact meant statement implied original intent , incongruous circumstance had left employ of dargaud , pilote in 1972 mentioned. have written fictitious biography on blueberry, accompanied photographs found in american archives, , whole world went it! , declared baffled charlier previously, having stated on earlier occasion, day, because of ballade pour un cercueil in gave blueberry photographs illuminated biography, still receive letters readers – not kids mind you, grownups – asking how on earth have managed track down real blueberry. there people take real fact. photos indeed authentic, though captions not. complete appearance of bonafide in-universe biography, civil war-era style group portrait, featuring blueberry , flanked by charlier mentioned comic artists, included, ostentatiously discovered , hand of american artist peter glay, in reality created pierre tabary under pseudonym. tabary, brother of jean, french book illustrator of renown himself, working pilote illustrator magazine editorials @ time. incidentally, salient detail events, related in biography, in blueberry s life directly upon war s end, before arrived in far west, became of jim cutlass, other giraud/charlier western.

j.m. lofficier has translated biography in english, inclusion in graphitti designs anthology collection (it not featured in epic editions), published in fourth volume of collection, moebius #4. lofficier however, took upon himself edit charlier s original text in order reflect blueberry s life featured in post-1974 publications (despite being reprinted numerous times, not in french in other languages well, charlier himself has never revisited original text again), , such not entirely faithful translation elements added, whereas others omitted, such aforementioned notion of blueberry heading unit of apache scouts.