Jean Van Hamme (born 16 January 1939) is a Belgian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including ''Histoire sans héros'', '' Thorgal'', '' XIII'' and ''

Largo Winch ''Largo Winch'' is a Belgian comic book series by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme, published by Dupuis. It started as a series of novels by Van Hamme in the late 1970s, but stopped due to a lack of success and the huge amount of work Van Hamme ...

''.

Biography

Early years

After studying business administration at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, he worked as a journalist and in the marketing department of

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

. In the meantime, he started writing, and one of his first scripts was adapted by

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 ...

in 1968. This erotic comic named ''

Epoxy Epoxy is the family of basic components or Curing (chemistry), cured end products of epoxy Resin, resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide fun ...

'' was published by the controversial publisher Éric Losfeld, who prior to that also had published similarly themed comics like Jean-Claude Forest's '' Barbarella'' and Robert Gigi's '' Scarlett Dream''. In 1976, Van Hamme became a full-time writer, and in the next few years he published seven novels and some movie scripts, e.g. for '' Diva''.

Thorgal, XIII and Largo Winch

Van Hamme's main breakthrough came in 1977, when he created the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

hero '' Thorgal'' for

Grzegorz Rosiński Grzegorz Rosiński (Polish: ; born 3 August 1941) is a Polish comic book artist, illustrator and painter. He is best known for providing the artwork for the series '' Thorgal''. His other notable work includes art drawn in the '' Hans'' and '' C ...

, a relatively unknown Polish comic artist. The mix of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

legends and

heroic fantasy Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of ...

soon became a huge success in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''

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 ...

''. The duo won major awards in the French and Belgian comic book industry. In the next decade, Jean Van Hamme created two new bestselling series, '' XIII'' with William Vance and ''

'' (based on his own novels) with Philippe Francq. Other series like ''Les maîtres de l'orge'' (lit. "The Masters of

Barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

") and '' Chninkel'' have received more critical acclaim but lower sales. The fame of Van Hamme as one of the major comic authors of Europe is quite established.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Jean Van Hamme". In België gestript, pp. 187–189. Tielt: Lannoo. The artists he works with draw the characters in a realistic style, even if the stories themselves tend to verge towards fantasy. ''Les maîtres de l'orge'' and ''

'' have both been made into TV series, and '' XIII'', Thorgal, and ''

'' have been adapted into video games.

Blake and Mortimer

After the death of Edgar Pierre Jacobs, the last unfinished '' Blake and Mortimer'' story was finished by

Bob de Moor Robert Frans Marie De Moor (20 December 1925 – 26 August 1992), better known under his pen name Bob de Moor, was a Belgian comics creator. Chiefly noted as an artist, he is considered an early master of the Ligne claire style. He wrote and ...

, and Van Hamme was approached by the publisher to write new stories. The first one, ''The Francis Blake Affair'', appeared in 1996 and was a huge success, and Van Hamme has since created two more ''Blake and Mortimer'' stories. In 2002, Jean Van Hamme announced his intention to write fewer comics, and to concentrate more on theatre and film scripts, but seems to have changed his mind again and has since created two new stories. In 2006, he ended his run on ''Thorgal'' with album 29, ''Le Sacrifice.'' He has also announced his intention to create a spin-off series of ''Thorgal'', focusing on his son Jolan. In fact, a new duo, Grzegorz Rosinski and Yves Sente continued the series with four more albums (#30 to #33) which constitute the "Jolan Cycle". Van Hamme is one of the best selling European comics writers, with many of his series in the comics bestseller lists each year. In 2006, Van Hamme's final volume of ''Thorgal'' placed fifth in the French list with 280,000 copies published, while ''Lady S.'', with Philippe Aymond, had 90,000 copies. In 2005, ''XIII'' and ''Largo Winch'' shared the fourth place with 500,000 copies each. In 2010, he was the second-bestselling author of comics in France, after Christophe Arleston but before

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

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 ...

, with 1.05 million copies sold.

Family

Thomas Van Hamme is one of his children.

Awards

* 1978: Best Story at the Prix Saint-Michel,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

* 1980: Best Story at the Prix Saint-Michel * 1983: Best Comic at the Prix Saint-Michel * 1989: Audience Award 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 ...

:: – nominated for Best Long Comic Strip at the Haxtur Awards,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

* 1990: Best Script at the Haxtur Awards :: – nominated for Best Long Comic Strip and Best Short Comic Strip at the Haxtur Awards * 1991: nominated for Best Short Comic Strip and Best Script at the Haxtur Awards * 1992: nominated for Best Long Comic Strip and Best Script at the Haxtur Awards * 1993: France Info Award at the

:: – nominated for Best Long Comic Strip at the Haxtur Awards * 1994: Best International Writer at the

Max & Moritz Prizes The Max und Moritz Award ( German:Max und Moritz-Preis), also known as the Max & Moritz Prize , is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials. It has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erla ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

:: – nominated for Best Script at the Haxtur Awards * 1996: Best Long Comic Strip at the Haxtur Awards :: – nominated for Best Script at the Haxtur Awards * 1997: Audience Award at the

* 2003: nominated thrice for the Audience Award at the

* 2004: nominated for Best Long Comic Strip, Best Short Comic Strip and Best Script at the Haxtur Awards * 2005: nominated for Best Short Comic Strip at the Haxtur Awards :: – nominated for the Audience Award at the

* 2006: nominated for the Audience Award at the

:: – nominated for the Grand Prix Saint-Michel and for Best Comic (Dutch language) at the Prix Saint-Michel :: – nominated for Favourite European Comic at the Eagle Awards,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

* 2007: nominated for the Grand Prix Saint-Michel and for Best Story at the Prix Saint-Michel * 2008: nominated for the Grand Prix Saint-Michel at the Prix Saint-Michel * 2009: Grand Prix Saint-Michel * 2010: nominated for Best Dutch Language Comic at the Prix Saint-Michel * 2011: Commandeur in the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

(the highest of the three ranks for that Order)

Bibliography

* ''Epoxy'': 1 album, 1968, artwork by

: Losfeld * ''Mr. Magellan'': 2 albums, 1970–1971, artwork by Géri:

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 ...

and

Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

* '' Corentin'': 2 albums, 1970–1974, artwork by Paul Cuvelier: Le Lombard and Dargaud * ''Michael Logan'': 4 albums, 1977–1981, artwork by André Beautemps: Thaulez * ''Histoire sans héros'': 2 albums, 1977–1997, artwork by Dany: Le Lombard and Dargaud * ''Domino'': 4 albums, 1979–1982, artwork by André Chéret: Le Lombard and Dargaud * ''Arlequin'': 3 albums, 1979–1985, artwork by Dany: Le Lombard and Dargaud * ''Tony Stark'': 4 albums, 1980–1982, artwork by : Fleurus, Novedi and Hachette * '' Thorgal'': 33 albums, 1980–2006, artwork by

: Le Lombard * '' XIII'': 18 albums, 1984–, artwork by William Vance: Dargaud * '' Le Grand Pouvoir du Chninkel'': 1 album, 1988, artwork by Grzegorz Rosiński:

Casterman Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, 90 kilometres southwest of the centre of Brussels, Belgium. History The company was founded in 1780 by Don ...

* ''S.O.S. Bonheur'': 3 albums, 1988–1989, artwork by :

Dupuis Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines. Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis is mostly famous for its comic comics album, albums and magazines. Initially a French language publisher, it now ...

* ''

'': 18 albums, 1990–, artwork by Philippe Francq: Dupuis * ''Les maîtres de l'orge'': 8 albums, 1992–1999, artwork by Francis Vallès: Glénat * '' Blake and Mortimer'': 4 albums, 1996–, artwork by Ted Benoît and René Sterne: Editions Blake et Mortimer * ': 13 albums, 2001–2003, 2009-, artwork by Christian Denayer: Dargaud * ''De telescoop'': 1 album, 2009, artwork by Paul Teng:

* '' Lady S'': 14 albums

References

Sources

Jean Van Hamme publications in English
www.europeancomics.net

External links

on Lambiek Comiclopedia * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Hamme, Jean 1939 births Living people Writers from Brussels Belgian knights Belgian writers in French Belgian comics writers Belgian fantasy writers Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Tintin (magazine) people Spirou (magazine) people