Benoît Peeters (; born 28 August 1956) is a French comics writer, novelist, and comics scholar.

Biography

After a degree in Philosophy at Université de Paris I, Peeters prepared his Master's at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS‚ Paris) under the direction of

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 25 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popu ...

. He holds a '' habilitation à diriger les recherches'' (HDR), i.e. a supplementary PhD enabling him to supervise the work of PhD candidates (Université de Paris I, 2007). He published his first novel, ''Omnibus'', by

Les Éditions de Minuit Les Éditions de Minuit (, ''Midnight Press'') is a French publishing house. It was founded in 1941, during the French Resistance of World War II, and is still publishing books today. History Les Éditions de Minuit was founded by writer and ...

in 1976, followed by his second, ''La Bibliothèque de Villers'', Robert Laffont, 1980. Since then, he has published over sixty works on a wide variety of subjects. His best-known work is '' Les Cités obscures'', an imaginary world which mingles a Borgesian metaphysical surrealism with the detailed architectural vistas of the series' artist, François Schuiten. The series began with ''Les Murailles de Samaris'' (''The Walls of Samaris'') in 1983 and is still continuing. He has also worked with Frédéric Boilet on a series of comic albums, including ''Love Hotel'' (1993), ''Tokyo est mon jardin'' (1997), and ''Demi-tour'' (1997), and has collaborated on a series of photographic works with Marie-Françoise Plissart. He has written a number of books about the comics medium as well, including '' Le monde d'Hergé'' (1983), published in English as '' Tintin and the World of Hergé'' (1988), a biography of Hergé, ''Hergé, Son of Tintin'', a study of comics pioneer

Rodolphe Töpffer Rodolphe Töpffer ( ; ; 31 January 1799 – 8 June 1846) was a Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist. He is best known for his illustrated books (''littérature en estampes'', " graphic literature"), which are possibly ...

, and theoretical works such as ''Lire la bande dessinée'' (1998). His interest in the cinema has increased over the years. He is the author of three short films as well as several documentaries. He directed one feature film‚ ''Le Dernier plan'' (The Last Shot)‚ and long conversations with

Alain Robbe-Grillet Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the ''Nouveau Roman'' () trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simo ...

. He published the first biography of

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

. The book was translated into English by Polity Press in 2012. In 2015 Peeters was appointed as the UK's first ever comics professor at the

University of Lancaster Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

Notes

External links

A short biography

Fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peeters, Benoit French comics writers Comics historians French fantasy writers French graphic novelists 1956 births Living people Writers from Paris Comics critics Comics scholars 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists 20th-century French historians 21st-century French historians 20th-century French non-fiction writers 21st-century French non-fiction writers French biographers The Adventures of Tintin French male novelists Inkpot Award winners