21 - Chaland

Chaland YVES CHALAND BOB FISH Les Humanoïdes Associés 1981 Original artwork no. 22, previously published in *Métal Hurlant* no. 56, October 1980. Signed. India ink on paper 32 × 43.8 cm (12.6 × 17.24 in.) Yves Chaland is one of the most influential creators of the 1980s, distinguished by the elegance of his style and the intelligence of his artwork. Along with Joost Swarte and Floc'h & Rivière, he is one of the founders of the Ligne claire, a postmodern movement inspired by the classics of the comic book. “Comics have a past that has given rise to a culture,” Chaland told Jean-François Douvry in 1989. Today, you can’t draw a single line without thinking about what’s already been done. Even if you’re tackling a new and exciting subject—because there are no longer any new and exciting subjects today. Over the past hundred years, several generations of artists have covered all the ground. Our modern world is amazing, because this legacy allows us, for the first time, to create a comic that isn’t naïve—and we couldn’t have said that ten years ago. ” This is clearly evident in this historic panel, as it depicts the first encounter between Young Albert and his idol, Bob Fish. Chaland plays with the graphic conventions of the 1950s, unrealistically blending the 1950s pin-up doll, Cousteau’s diving suit, masks from the Belgian Congo colony, Hergé’s angelic and diabolical figures, and a copy of *Noir & Blanc*, the famous magazine covering “the lives of celebrities.” The whole is drawn with a lively, sweeping brushstroke, richly saturated with ink, in the style of Jijé, Franquin, and Will Eisner, who were his mentors. With barely a dozen albums to his name, Chaland’s influence is profound and international. “Yves Chaland: Visionary of Europe’s Atomic Age,” read the headline in *The Comics Journal* upon his death. “He leaves behind stories marked by clarity, grace, and wit,” wrote Ken Steacy about him. Didier Pasamonik