''L’Écho des Savanes'' is a Franco-Belgian comics magazine founded in May 1972 by Claire Bretécher, Marcel Gotlib and

Nikita Mandryka Nikita Mandryka (20 October 1940 – 13 June 2021) was a French cartoonist. He started drawing in the '' Vaillant'' magazine, before moving to ''Pilote'' in 1967, and then created '' L'Écho des savanes'' along with Claire Bretécher and Marc ...

. It featured the work of French and international authors and graphic artists in mature-oriented

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

over the course of 34 years and temporarily ended publication in December 2006. It was relaunched in 2008.

History

The first issue of ''L’Écho des Savanes'' was published on May 1, 1972. It was the only issue that year, although popular demand caused it to be reprinted in several editions. All its pages (except for the cover) were in black and white and exclusively contained the work of its founders, Bretécher, Gotlib and Mandryka. Marked as a publication for adults, it staked a different course than ''

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'', '' ...

'' magazine, the family-friendly publication the founders had a long relationship with. Over the following two years, it was a quarterly publication. Only near the end of this period, work by other creators began to appear, such as Alexis,

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, and Moebius. In 1975, the magazine adapted a bi-monthly schedule, and from 1976 it became monthly. Although no longer labeled "for adults", the usual cover imagery suggested nothing about the contents had changed. During this period, contributions began to arrive from creators such as

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, Jeff Jones, Gérard Lauzier,

Jacques Lob Jacques Lob (19 August 1932 – 24 May 1990) was a French comic book creator, known for several comics creations, including '' Superdupont''. Biography Jacques Lob began his career as an illustrator of humorous cartoons that were published in var ...

, Masse, Georges Pichard, Jacques Tardi, Martin Veyron, Wallace Wood and

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. From the late 1970s, leading to 1982's suspension of publication, ''L'Écho'' continued a successful run, including frequent editions of ''L'Écho special U.S.A.'', and a side publication titled ''Virus'' (five issues in 1980–1981). The work by Bretécher, Gotlib, and Mandryka stopped appearing, and notable additions to the pool of contributors were Jean Michel Charlier, Guido Crepax, Jean-Claude Forest, Carlos Giménez, Tanino Liberatore and

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade'' and '' Ra ...

1982-2006

Purchased by publisher Albin Michel, ''L'Écho'' relaunched June 1 after a five-month pause, making alterations to the image of the magazine. Among the new contributors were

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Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was not ...

Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a Fumetti neri ...

, Frank Miller,

Jean-Marc Reiser Jean-Marc Reiser (; 13 April 1941 – 5 November 1983) was a French comics creator. Biography A prolific cartoon artist from 1959 until his death, Reiser made his debut in the publication ''La Gazette de Nectar'' for the Nicolas winery. His ...

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout ...

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and Alex Varenne. In addition to "adult" comic strips, issues contained articles featuring photographs of semi-naked women (imagery echoed on the covers). A weekly version, initially named ''L’Hebdo Écho des Savanes'', and later ''L’Ebdo'' was launched in 1984 in place of the monthly magazine for a few months. The December 2006 issue was to be the final release of ''L'Écho'', after a decision by Lagardère Active Media to cease publication.

2008

Glénat publisher restarted the publication from March 28, 2008, with issue number 267.

References

''L’Écho des Savanes'' publications by the year
BDoubliées Footnotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Echo des savanes 1972 comics debuts 2008 comics debuts 1972 establishments in France 2008 establishments in France Bi-monthly magazines published in France Comics magazines published in France French-language magazines Monthly magazines published in France Magazines about comics Magazines established in 1972 Magazines disestablished in 2006 Magazines established in 2008

History

1982-2006

2008

See also

References