Jacques Tardi (; born 30 August 1946) is a French

comic artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

. He is often credited solely as Tardi.

Biography

Tardi was born on 30 August 1946 in

Valence, Drôme Valence (, ; oc, Valença ) is a commune in southeastern France, the prefecture of the Drôme department and within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhône, about south of Lyon, along the railway line ...

. After graduating from the

École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and the

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Profil ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, he started drawing comics in 1969, at the age of 23, in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

'', initially illustrating short stories written by

Jean Giraud Jean Henri Gaston Giraud (; 8 May 1938 – 10 March 2012) was a French artist, cartoonist, and writer who worked in the Bandes dessinées, Franco-Belgian ''bandes dessinées'' (BD) tradition. Giraud garnered worldwide acclaim under the pseu ...

and

Serge de Beketch Serge André Yourevitch Verebrussoff de Beketch (born 12 December 1946, Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France, died 6 October 2007 Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine) was a French journalist, story writer for cartoons and writer linked to the extreme-right. He was al ...

, before creating the

political fiction Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ...

story ''Rumeur sur le Rouergue'' from a scenario by

Pierre Christin Pierre Christin (; born 27 July 1938) is a French comics creator and writer. Biography Christin was born at Saint-Mandé in 1938. After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political science at SciencesPo and bec ...

in 1972. In the English language, many of Tardi's books are published by

Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

, edited and translated by Fantagraphics' co-founder Kim Thompson. In 2013, Tardi was nominated as a ''Chevalier'' in France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

, the country's highest distinction. However, he turned down the distinction, citing that he will "remain a free man and not be held hostage by any power whatsoever."

Awards

* 1974: Grand Prix PhénixBiography at Casterman
* 1975: Award for Best French Artist at the

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after ...

, France :: – Grand Prix for Black Humor * 1977: Best Foreign Artist at the

Prix Saint-Michel The Prix Saint-Michel is a series of comic awards presented by the city of Brussels, with a focus on Franco-Belgian comics. They were first awarded in 1971, and although often said to be the oldest European comics awards, they are actually the s ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

* 1982: Award for best comic by "l'Association 813" at the Festival du Polar in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

* 1985:

Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême The Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is a lifetime achievement award given annually during the Angoulême International Comics Festival to a comics author. Although not a monetary award, it is considered the most prestigious award in Franco-Be ...

, France :: – Knighted in the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

, France * 1986:

Adamson Award Adamson Awards is a Swedish award awarded to notable cartoonists, named after the famous Swedish comic strip "Adamson" (Silent Sam). They have been presented by the Swedish Academy of Comic Art (SACA) since 1965. There have been years in that t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

* 1990: Best German-language Comic/Comic-related Publication at the

Max & Moritz Prizes The Max & Moritz Prize is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials which has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984. It is open to all material published in Germany. 1984 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

* 1991: Special mention at the Best Promotional Comic Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival * 1994:

Audience Award An audience award is typically an award at a film festival (or some other type of cultural festival or similar competition) which is selected by the audience attending the festival, rather than by the festival jury or a group of critics. Example ...

at the Angoulême International Comics Festival :: – Best German-language Comic/Comic-related Publication at the

* 1998: nominated for the Award for Best Comic Book at the Angoulême International Comics Festival * 2002: Audience Award and Award for Artwork at the Angoulême International Comics Festival :: – nominated for the Prix de la critique and the Canal BD Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival * 2003: nominated for the Audience Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival * 2004: nominated for Best American Edition of Foreign Material at the

Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...

, U.S. * 2005: nominated for Award for a Series at the Angoulême International Comics Festival * 2006: nominated for the Award for Best Comic Book and the Audience Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival * 2006: Special Prize for outstanding life's work at the Max & Moritz Prizes, Germany :: – nominated for the Grand Prix Saint-Michel * 2007: nominated for the Grand Prix Saint-Michel * 2010: nominated for the Press Prize at the Prix Saint-Michel * 2011: winner of two

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

* 2021: winner of Einhard-Preishttps://www.einhard-stiftung.de/

Bibliography

Scenario and artwork

* ' followed by ''La Fleur au fusil'' (

Casterman Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Brussels, Belgium. History The company was founded in 1780 by Donat-Joseph Casterman, an editor and bookseller ...

, 1974) * ' (with characters by

Léo Malet Léo Malet (7 March 1909 – 3 March 1996) was a French crime novelist and surrealist. Biography Leo Malet was born in Montpellier. He had little formal education and began work as a cabaret singer at "La Vache Enragee" in Montmartre, Paris in 19 ...

) (Casterman, 1974), * ' (

Futuropolis ''Futuropolis'' is a 1984 American Short film, short Animation, animated/stop motion science fiction film written and directed by Steve Segal and Phil Trumbo. The film introduces Tom Campagnoli, Mike Cody, Stan Garth, Catherine Schultz and Cassan ...

, 1974) * ' ('' Yellow Submarine'', 1979) * ''Déprime'' (Futuropolis, 1981) * ' ( Imagerie Pellerin, 1984), * '' C'était la guerre des tranchées'' (Casterman, 1993), * '' Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec'' (Casterman, 1976–2022) *# "Adèle et la bête" (1976), *# "Le Démon de la tour Eiffel" (1976), *# "Le Savant fou" (1977), *# "Momies en folie" (1978), *# "Le Secret de la salamandre" (1981), *# "Le Noyé à deux têtes" (1985), *# "Tous des monstres !" (1994), *# "Le Mystère des profondeurs" (1998), *# "Le Labyrinthe infernal" (2007), *# "Le Bébé des Buttes-Chaumont" (2022). * ' (Casterman, 2008), * ''Moi, René Tardi, Prisonnier de guerre – stalag IIB'' (Casterman, 2012),

Adaptations

* ', based on novels by

(Casterman, 1982–2000) *# ' (Casterman, 1982), *# ' (Casterman, 1988), *# ''Une gueule de bois en plomb'' (Casterman, 1990), *# ' (Casterman, 1996), *# ' (Casterman, 2000), * ''Jeux pour mourir'' based on a novel by Géo-Charles Véran (Casterman, 1992), * ''Le Der des Ders'', based on a novel by

Didier Daeninckx Didier Daeninckx (born 27 April 1949 in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis) is a French author and left-wing politician of Belgian descent, best known for his '' romans noirs''. Works translated into English *' (''Meurtres pour mémoire'') by Melvill ...

(Casterman, 1997), * ', based on a novel by

Jean Vautrin Jean Vautrin (17 May 1933 – 16 June 2015), real name Jean Herman, was a French writer, filmmaker and film critic. Life and career After studying literature at Auxerre, he took first place in the Id'HEC competition. He studied French lite ...

(Casterman, 2001–2004) *# ''Les canons du 18 mars'' (2001), *# ''L'espoir assassiné'' (2002), *# ''Les heures sanglantes'' (2003), *# ''Le testament des ruines'' (2004), * ' (

Les Humanoïdes Associés Les Humanoïdes Associés (or simply Humanoïdes) is a Franco-American publishing house specializing in comics and graphic novels, founded in December 1974 by comic artists Mœbius, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet, and financial directo ...

, 2005), based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette * ' (

, 2006), based on a novel by Pierre Siniac * '' La Position du tireur couché'' (Futuropolis, 2010), based on a novel by Manchette * ' (Futuropolis, 2011), based on a novel by Manchette

Artwork

* ' (scenario by

) ( Gallimard, 1976) * ' (scenario by Philippe Picaret) (Futuropolis, 1977) * ' (scenario by Jean-Patrick Manchette) (Square, then

Dargaud Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

, then Casterman, 1978) * ' (scenario by Jean-Claude Forest) (Casterman, 1979), * ' (scenario by ) (Casterman, 1984), * ''Grange bleue'' (scenario by ) (Futuropolis, 1985) * ''Le sens de la houppelande'' (scenario by

Daniel Pennac Daniel Pennac (real name Daniel Pennacchioni, born 1 December 1944 in Casablanca, Morocco) is a French writer. He received the Prix Renaudot in 2007 for his essay '' Chagrin d'école''. Daniel Pennacchioni is the fourth and last son of a Corsic ...

) (Futuropolis, 1991), * ''Un strapontin pour deux'' (scenario by Michel Boujut) (Casterman, 1995) * ''L'évasion du cheval gris'' (scenario by Claude Verrien) (Sapristi, 1996) * ''Sodome et Virginie'' (scenario by Daniel Prevost) (Casterman, 1996), * ' (scenario by Didier Daeninckx) (L'Association, 1999), * ' (scenario by Daniel Pennac) (Futuropolis, 2000),

Scenario

* ''Le voyage d'Alphonse'' (artwork by Antoine Leconte) (Duculot, 2003)

Sketchbooks

* ''Mine de plomb'' (Futuropolis, 1985) * ''Chiures de gommes'' (Futuropolis, 1985) * ''Tardi en banlieue'' (Casterman, 1990), * ''Carnet'' ( JC Menu, 2001),

Illustrated novels

Céline Céline, sometimes spelled Celine, is a French female first name of Latin origin, coming from ''Caelīna'', the feminine form of the Roman cognomen ''Caelīnus'', meaning "heavenly".

adaptations: * ''Voyage au bout de la nuit'' (Futuropolis, 1988), * ''Casse-pipe'' (Futuropolis, 1989), * ''Mort à crédit'' (Futuropolis, 1991),

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

adaptations: * ''Un prêtre en 1839'' (Cherche Midi, 1992), * ''San Carlos'' (Cherche Midi, 1993),

Novel

* ''Rue des Rebuts'' (Alain Beaulet, 1990)

In English

* ''Adèle and the Beast'' – ''Adèle et la bête'' ( NBM Publishing 1990), * ''The Demon of the Eiffel Tower'' – ''Le Démon de la tour Eiffel'' (NBM Publishing, 1990), * ''The Mad Scientist and Mummies on Parade'' – ''Le Savant fou'' and ''Momies en folie'' (NBM Publishing, 1996), * ''The Secret of the Salamander'' – ''Le Secret de la salamandre'' (NBM Publishing, 1992) * ''The Bloody Streets of Paris'' – ''120, rue de la Gare'' ( iBooks, 2003), * ''West Coast Blues'' – ''Le petit bleu de la côte ouest'' ( Fantagraphics, 2009), * ''You Are There'' – ''Ici Même'' (Fantagraphics, 2009), * '' It Was the War of the Trenches'' – ''C'était la guerre des tranchées'' (Fantagraphics, 2010) * ''The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec Vol. 1: Pterror Over Paris and The Eiffel Tower Demon'' – ''Adèle et la bête'' and ''Le Démon de la tour Eiffel'' (Fantagraphics, 2010), * ''The Arctic Marauder'' – ''Le Démon des glaces'' (Fantagraphics, 2011) * ''Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot'' – ''La Position du tireur couché'' (Fantagraphics, 2011), * ''The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec Vol. 2: The Mad Scientist and Mummies on Parade'' – ''Le Savant fou'' and ''Momies en folie'' (Fantagraphics, 2011), * ''Goddamn This War'' – ''Putain de Guerre!'' (Fantagraphics, 2013), * ''Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell'' – ''Ô dingos, ô châteaux!'' (Fantagraphics, 2015), * ''Fog Over Tolbiac Bridge: A Nestor Burma Mystery'' – ''Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac'' (Fantagraphics, 2017), * ''I, Rene Tardi, Prisoner of War in Stalag IIB'' (Fantagraphics, 2018), * ''I, Rene Tardi, Prisoner of War in Stalag IIB Vol. 2: My Return Home'' (Fantagraphics, 2019), * ''I, Rene Tardi, Prisoner of War in Stalag IIB Vol. 3: After the War'' (Fantagraphics, 2020), * ''Streets of Paris, Streets of Murder: The Complete Noir Stories of Manchette & Tardi Vol. 1'' – Collects ''Griffu'' & ''West Coast Blues'' (Fantagraphics, 2020), * ''Streets of Paris, Streets of Murder: The Complete Noir Stories of Manchette & Tardi Vol. 2'' – Collects ''Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot'' & ''Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell'' (Fantagraphics, 2020), * ''Farewell, Brindavoine'' (Fantagraphics, 2021),

Notes

References

Tardi publications in ''Pilote''
an

BDoubliées

Bedetheque

External links

Tardi official site
on Casterman

on Lambiek Comiclopedia
Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec
Fan site, dead link {{DEFAULTSORT:Tardi, Jacques 1946 births Living people People from Valence, Drôme French comics artists French comics writers Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs alumni French male writers Légion d'honneur refusals