Gil Jourdan is a
Belgian detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
comic strip
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
created by
Maurice Tillieux. It is a combination of mystery, adventure and humour.
Origin and premise
In 1956 the
Belgian comic magazine Comic magazine or comics magazine may refer to:
* A comic book
* A comics anthology
* ''Comic Magazine'', a 1986 Japanese film
* Comic Magazines, the parent company of Quality Comics
* British comics
* List of Franco-Belgian comics magazines, Franc ...
''
Héroïc Albums'' ceased publication. ''Felix'', the adventures of a young bespectacled detective written and drawn by
Maurice Tillieux, was among the casualties, but returned in ''
Spirou'' magazine as ''Gil Jourdan'', though without the glasses.
Jourdan made his first appearance in a rather original manner: in issue 962 of ''Spirou'', the bungling police Inspector Crouton takes wisecracking burglar Libellule out of prison in order to proceed to a
reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
of a theft for which he has been arrested. Libellule is then snatched from right under Crouton's nose by a young man named Gil Jourdan. Jourdan is a
private investigator
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...
in need of a big break and he thinks that Libellule's burglary skills could be useful in exposing a gang of
popaïne icsmugglers.
Once the smugglers' ring had been captured, the trio of Jourdan, Libellule and Crouton would proceed to handle other cases which sometimes took them from
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 ...
to
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, Libellule and Crouton providing the comic relief which contrasted with Jourdan's earnest nature. Looking on was Queue-de-Cerise, Jourdan's
secretary
A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
who sometimes also helped out in the investigations.
Main characters
Publication and legacy
First appearing in ''Spirou'' magazine, Jourdan's adventures were then published in book form and even as omnibus editions which included short stories and other Tillieux detectives like
Bob Slide (an
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
man in the 1930s),
Felix (the original Jourdan) and
Marc Jaguar (another detective).
In later years the drawing was entrusted to the artist
Gos while Tillieux stuck to the writing. Tillieux' death in a car accident in 1978 brought an end to the series, though a number of short stories by other artists were drawn and published in homage to him and Jourdan some ten years later.
Notes on some of the stories
A short story ''La poursuite'' (''The Pursuit'') was published in issue 1316 of ''Spirou'' in 1963 and acted as a
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term ...
to the series. In it Crouton makes several desperate attempts to arrest Libellule. This story takes place before either of them meets Jourdan.
Jourdan's early adventures were banned in France by the censor, who objected to the portrayal of the French police, represented by Crouton, as bungling, incompetent no-hopers. Crouton later became a more efficient police officer, even if he was sometimes a bit slow on deductions. The ban was later lifted.
''La rue perdue'' (''The Lost Street''), published in 1978, was set in 1953 and was thus yet another prequel to the series. The story is also notable for being published in the quarterly magazine ''Tintin Special'' (see ''
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), ''Spirous main competitor. Sadly and ironically it was also Tillieux's final Jourdan adventure.
Stories
To date four of Jourdan's adventures have been published in English. Below is a list of the French titles, their year of publication, an English translation of the titles and a brief description. They are listed in order of publication.
By Tillieux
Post-Tillieux
The series ended in 1978 following Tillieux's death. Ten years later
Soleils Editions published the comic book
L'Hommage à Gil Jourdan - Les enquêtes de leurs amis ("Homage to Gil Jourdan - Their Friends' Cases") with the approval of Tillieux's family. It featured Jourdan and his colleagues in adventures written and drawn by other writers and artists, including several leading ones such as
Pierre Seron,
Turk,
Éric Maltaite and Tillieux's former assistant
Stephen Desberg. The stories also featured some of the crooks from the Tillieux period returning and seeking revenge. Tillieux had been notable for not using the same enemy twice. The cover was drawn by
François Walthéry.
English translations
In August 2011,
Fantagraphics
Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...
published a translated volume, collecting the third and fourth volume of the original series.
In popular culture
In the
Belgian Comic Strip Center
The Belgian Comic Strip Center (; ) is a museum in central Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to Belgian comics. It is located at 20, /, in an Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta, and can be accessed from Brussels-Congress railway station ...
in
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 ...
the permanent exhibition brings homage to the pioneers of
Belgian comics
Belgian comics are a distinct subgroup in the comics history, and played a major role in the development of European comics, alongside France with whom they share a long common history. While the comics in the two major language groups and r ...
, among them Maurice Tillieux and "Gil Jourdan".
Gil Jourdan is among the many Belgian comics characters to jokingly have a Brussels street named after them. The Rue des Bouchers/Lange Beenhouwersstraat has a
commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...
with the name ''Rue Gil Jourdan/ Guus Slim straat'' placed under the actual street sign.
In May 2009 a wall was dedicated to ''Gil Jourdan'' in the Leopold I-straat/Rue Leopold I 201 in
Laeken
(French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...
, Belgium as part of the
Brussels' Comic Book Route.
[http://www.brussel.be/dwnld/90422347/giljourdan.jpg] There are also two mural paintings dedicated to the series in
Auderghem
Auderghem ( French, ; former Dutch spelling) or Oudergem ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-eastern part of the region, along the Woluwe valley and at the entrance to the ...
, one in the Rue du Vieux Moulin/Oudemolenstraat and the other in the Rue Emile Idiers/Emile Idiers straat.
Sources
{{Reflist
External links
Dupuis page for Gil Jourdan collection (in French) Tillieux rarity books - Elan publisher - Editions de l'Elan (french)
Belgian comic strips
Bandes dessinées
Jourdan, Gil
Dupuis titles
Detective comics
Adventure comics
Jourdan, Gil
Jourdan, Gill
Jourdan, Gil
Belgian comics titles
1956 comics debuts
Jourdan, Gil
1978 comics endings
Jourdan, Gil
Jourdan, Gil
Comics set in Belgium