HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jacques Van Melkebeke (12 December 1904 – 8 June 1983) was a Belgian
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
,
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
, writer, and
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 ...
writer. He was the first chief editor of Tintin magazine and wrote scripts and articles anonymously for many of their publications.Van Melkebeke entry
Lambiek's ''Comiclopedia''. Accessed 16 December 2013.
A friend of
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 comic strip artist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of T ...
, Van Melkebeke took part in a semi-official way in the development of some of the storylines of ''
The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...
'', adding a number of cultural references. He is also supposed to have contributed to certain elements of the '' Blake and Mortimer'' series, although Edgar P. Jacobs disputed this fact. Van Melkebeke's personality was one of the main sources of inspiration for the Blake and Mortimer character Philip Angus Mortimer.


Career

Born in Brussels, Van Melkebeke was a childhood friend of Edgar Jacobs and Jacques Laudy. He spent his twenties pursuing fine art painting. During the German occupation of Belgium during
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 ...
, Van Melkebeke was responsible for main articles in ''Le Soir Jeunesse'', the children's supplement of the daily 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 ...
''. During this period, when he first crossed paths with
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 comic strip artist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of T ...
,Farr, Michael. ''The Adventures of Hergé, Creator of Tintin'' (John Murray, 2007), p. 34. Van Melkebeke's strip ''Les Nouvelles Aventures du Baron de Crac'' ran in ''Le Soir'' as well. As a fine arts painter himself, Van Melkebeke encouraged Hergé's own interest in art, introducing him to art world figures of the time. Van Melkebeke painted a portrait of Hergé which hung in the cartoonist's home for many decades. Van Melkebeke co-wrote with Hergé two Tintin plays which were staged from 1941 to 1942: '' Tintin in India: The Mystery of the Blue Diamond'' and '' Mr. Boullock's Disappearance''.''Ce mysteriéux Monsieur Hergé'' ("That Mysterious Mister Hergé"), published by ''
La Dernière Heure ''La Dernière Heure'' () and ''Les Sports'' (), currently sold under the name ''La DH Les Sports+'', is a French-language daily newspaper published in Brussels, Belgium. The paper is known for news and sports. History and profile ''La Derni� ...
'' in 2003
Although he had primarily written cultural articles, after the war Van Melkebeke's position at ''Le Soir Jeunesse'' resulted in a 1945 judgment of
collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...
and of incitement of racial hatred. This suspicion of "incivism" prevented Van Melkebeke from continuing a regular career in journalism; for instance, after Van Melkebeke became the first editor of ''
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 1946, he was immediately forced to step down. From that point, Van Melkebeke worked under the pseudonym George Jacquet or as a
ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
, on such projects as ''Tintin'', Laudy's strip ''Hassan et Kaddour'', and
Paul Cuvelier Paul Cuvelier (22 November 1923 – 5 July 1978) was a Belgium, Belgian comics artist best known for the comic series ''Corentin (comics), Corentin'', published by Le Lombard, which first appeared in the first issue of ''Tintin (magazine), Tintin ...
's '' Corentin''. In the mid-1950s Van Melkebeke worked on a new children's comic strip called ''Les Farces de l'Empereur'' for '' Ons Volkske''/''Chez Nous''. In 1954, Van Melkebeke suggested to Hergé the idea of setting ''
Tintin in Tibet ''Tintin in Tibet'' () is the twentieth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from September 1958 to November 1959 in ''Tintin (magazine), Tintin'' magazine and publis ...
'' (1958–1960) in that country, possibly being influenced by the fact that he had set the play ''Mr. Boullock's Disappearance'' there.Lofficier, Jean-Marc and Lofficier, Randy (2002). ''The Pocket Essential Tintin''. Harpenden, Hertfordshire: Pocket Essentials, pp. 73-74. As a prank, Van Melkebeke once wrote a fake letter to ''
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 demanding that an insult
Captain Haddock Captain Archibald Haddock (French: ''Capitaine Archibald Haddock'') is a character in the comic book series ''The Adventures of Tintin''. He is Tintin (character), Tintin's best friend, a seafaring captain in the Merchant Navy or Merchant Mar ...
used – "
Pneumothorax A pneumothorax is collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and dyspnea, shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve is ...
" – be removed. (A pneumothorax is a medical emergency caused by the collapse of the lung within the chest). The letter was allegedly from a father whose boy was a great fan of ''Tintin'' and also a heavy
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
sufferer who had experienced a collapsed lung. According to the letter, the boy was devastated that his favourite comic made fun of his own condition. Hergé wrote an apology and removed the word from the comic.Thompson, Harry (1991). ''Tintin: Hergé and his creation'' (First ed.). Hodder & Stoughton. . Van Melkebeke spent his later years returning to the field of fine art painting.


Personal life

Van Melkebeke's daughter Chantal, a teacher, is married to the Japanese film critic and academic researcher Shigehiko Hasumi.Mouchart, Benoît (2002). ''À l'ombre de la ligne claire: Jacques Van Melkebeke, le clandestin de la B.D.'' Paris: Vertige Graphic. . He identified himself as an atheist.


Appearances in Tintin

When Hergé started working with collaborators such as Jacobs, he would herald their contribution by having them make cameo appearances in his albums. The ever-smiling Van Melkebeke thus appears in ''Tintin'' stories such as: * ''
The Secret of the Unicorn ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' () is the eleventh volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in , Belgium's leading francophone newspaper, from June 1942 to ...
'' (1943) – page 2, panel 14, where he is examining a book as a man calls out that his suitcase is being stolen * '' Tintin in the Congo'' (1946, color version) – page 1, panel 1, as one of the reporters seeing Tintin off on his adventure * '' King Ottokar's Sceptre'' (1947) – page 59, panel 6, when Tintin is about to be knighted * ''
The Seven Crystal Balls ''The Seven Crystal Balls'' () is the thirteenth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in ', Belgium's leading francophone newspaper, from December 1943 amidst th ...
'' (1948) – page 57, panel 2, in the background when
General Alcazar This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the main characters, the antagonists, and the supporting characters. ...
is boarding the steamer at
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
harbour


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Melkebeke, Jacques Belgian comics writers Belgian male journalists Belgian comics artists 20th-century Belgian illustrators Belgian collaborators with Nazi Germany 20th-century Belgian painters Belgian magazine editors Belgian newspaper editors Belgian writers in French Belgian art critics Belgian atheists 20th-century Belgian dramatists and playwrights Belgian male dramatists and playwrights The Adventures of Tintin Tintin (magazine) people 1904 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Belgian journalists