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Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the
18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements, or administrative districts, of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as '' ...
. It was founded in 1936 by
Georges Dargaud Georges Dargaud (; 27 April 1911 – 18 July 1990) was a French publisher of comics, most famously ''Tintin'' magazine, ''Asterix'', and ''Lucky Luke'', through his Dargaud company. Biography Dargaud started out working as a broker for an advert ...
, publishing its first comics in 1943.


History

Initially, Dargaud published novels for women. In 1948, it started '' Line'', a "magazine for elegant women", as well as a French edition of the Belgian ''
Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...
'' magazine. In 1960, Dargaud bought the weekly ''
Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...
'' magazine from
René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...
,
Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo (), was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration wit ...
, and
Jean-Michel Charlier Jean-Michel Charlier (; 30 October 1924 – 10 July 1989) was a Belgian comics writer. He was a co-founder of the famed Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Pilote''. Life Charlier was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005) ...
. Goscinny continued as editor of the magazine, and Charlier was
comic album 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 indicat ...
editor for a period. In October 1961, Dargaud published the first ''
Asterix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...
''
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
. In 1967, Dargaud entered the animation production services by launching a division named Dargaud Films with the movie ''
Asterix the Gaul ''Asterix the Gaul'' () is a French comic story, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. First published by Dargaud as a serial for ''Pilote'' magazine in October 1959, it was later released as a comic album in 1961. The stor ...
''. Subsequently, the company produced or co-produced several Asterix, Lucky Luke and Tintin feature films. By 1972, Dargaud along with American production and distributor
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
produced the movie ''
Le Viager ''Le Viager'' is a 1972 French comedy film directed by Pierre Tchernia and starring Michel Serrault, Michel Galabru and Claude Brasseur, adapted from a script by René Goscinny, the creator of the Asterix comics. Plot In 1930 in Paris, Dr Léon ...
'' which was directed by
Pierre Tchernia Pierre Tcherniakowski (29 January 1928 – 8 October 2016), better known as Pierre Tchernia, was a French cinema and television producer, screenwriter, presenter, animator and actor. In France, he was known as ''"Magic" Tchernia'' and ''Monsieur ...
In 1974, Dargaud wanted to diversify. ''Pilote'' became a monthly magazine and spawned two other monthly magazines. The new magazines were ''Lucky Luke'' (a
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
themed magazine around the comics series ''
Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...
'') and ''Achille Talon'' (a humor based magazine around the comics series ''
Achille Talon ''Achille Talon'' is a Franco-Belgian comics series featuring an eponymous main character, created by Greg (the pseudonym of Michel Regnier). Starting publication in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Pilote'' in 1963, the series presents t ...
''). However, both magazines could not sustain a readership and folded within a year. The comics from these two magazines were put back into ''Pilote''. In that same year, Dargaud announced that they had joined forces with
René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...
and
Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo (), was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration wit ...
to create the Idéfix Studios, which only produced two feature films ''
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix ''The Twelve Tasks of Asterix'' (') is a French animated feature film, written and directed by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, produced by Dargaud Films and Studios Idéfix, and distributed by Gaumont. It is the third animated film based o ...
''. In 1988, after Georges Dargaud retired his company Dargaud was acquired by
Média-Participations Média-Participations () is a French media concern, controlled by a Belgian holding concern, specialized in Franco-Belgian comics. It has some forty publishers in its portfolio, including Dupuis, Dargaud, Le Lombard, Fleurus, La Martinière, a ...
. Two years later, it sold the weekly gardening and do-it-yourself magazine '' Rustica'' to Média-Participations as well. In 1992, the publisher
Le Lombard Le Lombard (), known as Les Éditions du Lombard () until 1989, is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when '' Tintin'' magazine was launched. Le Lombard became part of Média-Participations since 1986, alongside publishers Darg ...
became a part of Dargaud, followed in 1993 by Les Éditions Blake et Mortimer. Over the course of the 1990s, Dargaud subsequently acquired several audiovisual production companies, including Citel in 1994, Marina Productions in 1997, and Millésime Productions in 1998. The latter two, specialized in television animation, joined in 1999 to create Dargaud Marina, later renamed Dargaud Media. At the end of the 1990s, Dargaud created manga publisher
Kana are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , wh ...
, followed by Lucky Comics, centered on the series ''
Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...
''. In 2003, Dargaud acquired the production studio
Ellipsanime Ellipsanime Productions (formerly known as Le Studio Ellipse and Ellipse Programme) is a French animation studio that produces television programs. It was founded in 1987. In February 2000 it merged with Expand SA; Expand sold the company to Darg ...
, holder of one of the most extensive catalogues of European cartoons (including
Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...
and
Babar Babar (), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ''babr'' (Persian ...
). In 2008, Dargaud founded the foreign rights agency Mediatoon Licensing, and in 2015, it joined with twelve other European comics publishing actors to create
Europe Comics Europe Comics is a pan-European comics and graphic novel digital venture run by 13 European comics publishers from eight European countries. The project received funding in 2015 from the European Commission's Creative Europe Programme, and launche ...
, a digital initiative co-funded by the European Commission's
Creative Europe Creative Europe is a European Union programme for the cultural and creative sectors. In its first phase, going from 2014 to 2020, it had a budget of € 1.47 billion, which were expanded to € 2.44 billion in its second phase (2021-2027). His ...
program. In 2014, Dargaud acquired the assets of the now defunct Moonscoop Group, which includes the rights to series such as '' Hero: 108'' and ''
Code Lyoko ''Code Lyoko'' (; stylized as ''CODE: LYOKO'' in season 1 and in all caps in seasons 2–4) is a French anime-influenced animated series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo and produced by Antefilms Production (season 1) and MoonScoop ...
.''


Foreign imprints

Outside of France, imprints include Dargaud USA, Dargaud Canada, and Hodder-Dargaud in the United Kingdom.Hodder Dargaud
Openlibrary.org. Retrieved August 14, 2023.


Selected titles

* ''
Asterix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...
'' -
Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo (), was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration wit ...
and
René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...
* '' Barbe rouge'' -
Jean-Michel Charlier Jean-Michel Charlier (; 30 October 1924 – 10 July 1989) was a Belgian comics writer. He was a co-founder of the famed Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Pilote''. Life Charlier was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005) ...
,
Victor Hubinon Victor Hubinon (26 April 1924 – 8 January 1979) was a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series '' Buck Danny'' and '' Redbeard''. Biography Victor Hubinon was born in Angleur, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Victor Hu ...
etc. * '' Black Moon Chronicles'' -
Olivier Ledroit Olivier Ledroit (born 3 June 1969) is a French comic book artist, perhaps best known for his work on the '' Black Moon Chronicles'' series. He has also worked on art designs in the ''Might and Magic'' franchise. He has also provided the art for ...
and François Marcela-Froideval * ''
Blacksad ''Blacksad'' is a noir comic series created by Spanish authors Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), and published by publisher Dargaud in album format. Though both authors are Spanish, their main target audience for ''Blac ...
'' -
Juan Diaz Canales ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...
and
Juanjo Guarnido Juanjo Guarnido (born 1967) is a Spanish illustrator and the co-author of the comic book series '' Blacksad''. Early life Guarnido was born in Granada, Spain. He studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Granada. Career ...
* ''
Blake and Mortimer ''The Adventures of Blake & Mortimer'' is a Belgian comics series created by writer and comics artist Edgar P. Jacobs. It was one of the first book series to appear in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Tintin'' in 1946, and was subsequentl ...
'' -
Edgar Pierre Jacobs Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs (30 March 1904 – 20 February 1987), better known under his pen name Edgar P. Jacobs, was a Belgian comic book creator (writer and artist), born in Brussels, Belgium. He was one of the founding fathers of the Franco ...
etc. * ''
Blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...
'' -
Jean-Michel Charlier Jean-Michel Charlier (; 30 October 1924 – 10 July 1989) was a Belgian comics writer. He was a co-founder of the famed Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Pilote''. Life Charlier was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005) ...
,
Jean Giraud Jean Henri Gaston Giraud (; 8 May 1938 – 10 March 2012) was a French artist, cartoonist, and writer who worked in the Franco-Belgian comics, Franco-Belgian ''bandes dessinées'' (BD) tradition. Giraud garnered worldwide acclaim predomin ...
etc. * ''
Djinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...
'' - Jean Dufaux and
Ana Mirallès Ana Miralles (born 16 December 1959; also spelled as Ana Mirallès) is a Spanish comic books artist, known particularly for her treatment of erotic subjects. After a degree in fine arts, she became an illustrator for publishing houses Gregal, Tei ...
* ''
Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...
'' -
Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...
,
René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...
etc. ''(on , joint venture between Lucky Productions and Dargaud)'' * '' Philemon'' -
Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...
* ''
Tanguy et Laverdure ''Les Aventures de Tanguy et Laverdure'' is a Franco-Belgian comics (''bande dessinée'') series created by Jean-Michel Charlier and Albert Uderzo, about the two pilots Michel Tanguy and Ernest Laverdure, and their adventures in the French Air Fo ...
'' -
Jean-Michel Charlier Jean-Michel Charlier (; 30 October 1924 – 10 July 1989) was a Belgian comics writer. He was a co-founder of the famed Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Pilote''. Life Charlier was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1924.De Weyer, Geert (2005) ...
,
Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo (), was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration wit ...
,
Jijé Joseph Gillain (), better known by his pen name Jijé (; 13 January 1914 – 19 June 1980), was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' strip (and for having introduced the Fantasio character) ...
etc. * ''
The Vagabond of Limbo ''The Vagabond of Limbo'' (French: ''Le Vagabond des Limbes'') is a French science-fiction comic book series written by Christian Godard and illustrated by Julio Ribera, and published by Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éd ...
'' -
Christian Godard Christian Godard (24 March 1932 – 6 November 2024) was a French cartoonist of the series '' Martin Milan'' for ''Tintin'' magazine. Godard also worked on various other series, including '' The Vagabond of Limbo'', '' Norbert and Kari'', '' To ...
, Julio Ribera * '' Valérian'' -
Pierre Christin Pierre Christin (; 27 July 1938 – 3 October 2024) was a French comics creator and writer. Biography Christin was born at Saint-Mandé on 27 July 1938. After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political scie ...
and
Jean-Claude Mézières Jean-Claude Mézières (; 23 September 1938 – 23 January 2022) was a French Bande dessinée, ''bandes dessinées'' artist and illustrator. Born in Paris and raised in nearby Saint-Mandé, he was introduced to drawing by his elder brother and ...
* ''
XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a 2003 video game based on the comic b ...
'' -
Jean van Hamme Jean Van Hamme (born 16 January 1939) is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including ''Histoire sans héros'', '' Thorgal'', '' XIII'' and ''Largo Winch''. Biography ...
and
William Vance William van Cutsem (8 September 1935 – 14 May 2018), better known by his pen name William Vance, was a Belgian comics artist known for his distinctive realistic style and work in Franco-Belgian comics. Biography William van Cutsem was born ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control French companies established in 1936 Comic book publishing companies of France