''Corentin'' is a series of comics created by Belgian artist Paul Cuvelier (1923-1978). Influenced by

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tr ...

, Cuvelier created the character of ''Corentin Feldoë'' in 1943. The character first appeared in a series of

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

that Cuvelier made for his own family.

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating '' The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

, convinced of the merit of these watercolors, commissioned Cuvelier to do a series of comic strips. Thus, ''Corentin'' first made its appearance in '' Tintin'' magazine on September 26, 1946. The final story was published in 1974, four years before Cuvelier's death.

Story

At the end of the 18th century, Corentin Feldoë, an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

of Breton origin, decides to flee the house of his uncle, an inveterate drunkard who has been abusing him. Corentin runs off to sea, only to be

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

ed onto a

desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereo ...

. Corentin befriends a

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...

named Belzébuth and a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

named Moloch, and subsequently befriends Kim, an

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n boy, and Sa-Skya, a beautiful princess.

Western-themed story

Seeing the need for a Western-themed comic in ''Tintin'', editor

Raymond Leblanc Raymond Leblanc (born 22 May 1915 – 21 March 2008) was a Belgium, Belgian comic book publisher, film director and film producer, best known for publishing works such as ''The Adventures of Tintin'' by Hergé and ''Blake and Mortimer'' by Edgar ...

asked Cuvelier to shift the focus of ''Corentin'' in 1949. Cuvelier situated his new adventures in the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

but made the hero a grandson of the original Corentin.

Animated series

In 1993 Media-Films TV and Saban International Paris made an animated TV series about the comic called ''Les Voyages de Corentin''.

envisioned this project since 1987. The series consisted of 26 episodes of 25 minutes each and was broadcast on

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow unde ...

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services prov ...

and the RTBF. It was broadcast in English as '' Journey to the Heart of the World''.

References

External links

*{{in lang, fr}
Paul Cuvelier: ''Corentin''
1946 comics debuts 1974 comics endings Adventure comics Belgian comic strips Belgian comics characters Male characters in comics Comics about orphans Comics adapted into animated series Comics set in the 18th century Drama comics Lombard Editions titles Western (genre) comics