Didier Comès (11 December 1942 – 7 March 2013) was a Belgian

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

artist, best known for his

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s published in the magazine ''(

À Suivre ''À Suivre'' or ''(A SUIVRE)'' (English translation: "To Be Continued") was a Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house, and was preceded by a "0", or test, issue in October 1977. A ...

)''.

Biography

Didier Comès was born as Dieter Hermann Comès in Sourbrodt in 1942.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Comès". In België gestript, pp. 95–96. Tielt: Lannoo. Growing up in a small village in the

Hautes Fagnes The High Fens (; ; ), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of northwestern Germany, between the Ardennes and the Eifel highlands. The Hig ...

with a German-speaking father and a French-speaking mother, he defines himself as a "bastard of two cultures". He left school at 16 to start working as an industrial artist in a factory in

Verviers Verviers (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the cent ...

, making his debut in the newspaper ''

Le Soir ''Le Soir'' (, ) is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Émile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. Together with '' La Libre Belgique'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newsp ...

'' with the comic strip ''Hermann'' in 1969. Four years later he made his first typical long story, ''Le Dieu vivant'', the first part of the series ''Ergün l'errant'', for the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

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 ...

''. In this story, like in most of his later work, the cinematic images take precedence over the story, which is

fantastic Fantastic or Fantastik may refer to: Music * ''Fantastic'' (Toy-Box album) * ''Fantastic'' (Wham! album) * '' Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)'', an album by Slum Village * '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'', an album by Slum Village * ''Fantastic'' (EP), an EP by ...

, and centers around death and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. His breakthrough followed with ''Silence'', a harrowing story featuring a mute boy in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. All these elements, war, mythology, troubled relations, witchcraft, animals, and death, often placed in the Ardennes, the region where he is born and lived, are recurring themes in most of his later graphic novels, long unrelated stories in black and white. Comès was early on influenced by fellow Ardennais comic artists

René Hausman René Hausman (21 February 1936 – 28 April 2016) was a Belgian comic-book writer and artist, best known for his dark fairytales and watercolour drawings. Biography René Hausman was born in Verviers, Belgium in 1936.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "R ...

and

Paul Deliège Paul Deliège (21 January 1931 – 7 July 2005) was a Belgian artist and writer of comics. He is most famous for his series ''Bobo''. Biography Deliège was born in Olne. He started in the daily ''Le Soir'' with ''Père Bricole et Félici ...

, and would later become friends with his example

Hugo Pratt Ugo Eugenio Prat (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), better known as Hugo Pratt, was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as '' Corto Maltese''. He was indu ...

. He died, aged 70, in March 2013.

Bibliography

Awards

* 1980: Grand Prix Saint-Michel,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium
Last retrieved 18 October 2006 :: - Yellow Kid Award, Yellow Kid for best foreign artist at the Festival of Lucca, Italy Lucca 1980 website
Last retrieved 18 October 2006 * 1981: Best Comic Book at the

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* 1983: Best Comic 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 ...

Notes

External links

Biography at his publisher Casterman
Last retrieved 18 October 2006

Last retrieved 18 October 2006

Last retrieved 18 October 2006

Sources

* Béra, Michel; Denni, Michel; and Mellot, Philippe (1998): "Trésors de la Bande Dessinée 1999–2000".

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Les éditions de l'amateur. {{DEFAULTSORT:Comes, Didier 1942 births 2013 deaths Belgian comics writers Belgian comics artists Belgian fantasy artists People from Waimes Belgian graphic novelists Pilote