CHALAND

YVES CHALAND SPIROU Dupuis Original illustration created in 1982, cover of the Spirou Retrospective 1938-2004 exhibition catalog at the Jijé Museum in Brussels. The drawing was used for the certificates for the Spirou and Fantasio figurines published by Saint Emett in 1998 and 2013. India ink and colored inks on paper 23 × 22.9 cm (9.06 × 9.02 in.) Recruited by editor Alain De Kuyssche to work alongside Yann and Conrad, Yves Chaland drew his first illustrations for Spirou in 1981, before embarking on a new adventure as a bellboy for the journal de la belle humeur. This was something of a "Battle of Hernani", causing a scandal among the magazine's readers, some of whom didn't appreciate the "retro" style, others on the contrary perceiving the subversive relevance of his graphics. Although the series was abruptly interrupted to make way for the Tome & Janry option, the author of Freddy Lombard triumphs today by proxy, with artists such as Olivier Schwartz and Émile Bravo emerging as his heirs.