22 - Chaland

Chaland YVES CHALAND Original cover of the Dutch magazine *Eppo 4 en 1* from 1983. A patch has been added to the character Sweep. Signed. India ink on paper 30 × 37.5 cm (11.81 × 14.76 in.) In the 1980s, Magic Strip, a young Belgian publishing house, was reissuing—like others—classics of Belgian comics—such as Jijé, Franquin, Tibet, Bob De Moor, Laudy, Lambil, Vandersteen…—that had been neglected by the major publishers. But this source soon dried up, as the major publishers had learned their lesson and now sought to preserve their legacy by publishing these “youthful indiscretions” themselves. Magic Strip then took a fundamental turn by seeking out young authors nostalgic for the golden age of Belgian comics: Yves Chaland, Serge Clerc, Daniel Torrès, Dupuy & Berberian… to create a collection—the Atomium collection—a blend of the comic book format and Lombard’s cloth-bound albums. This album—drawn in a month—is the result. What was the secret weapon of the Pasamonik brothers, the publishers of Magic Strip? Public relations (Chaland became a true star in Belgium) and their focus on the international market. Not only was *Freddy Lombard* published in co-edition with the Dutch publisher Rijperman, but the graphic novel was also translated into about ten languages. A few years later, Eppo magazine—one of the highest-circulation publications in the Netherlands—wanted to publish Freddy Lombard. Isabelle Chaland handled the coloring for the cover announcing the return of Chaland’s heroes to the Dutch magazine: *The Elephant Cemetery*.