''Le Téméraire'' was a children's comic magazine in France 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 ...

, published by Les Editions Coloniales et Métropolitaines.Tufts, p. 23-24.

History

Established by French schoolteacher Jacques Bousquet, it was first published in January 1943, and received its foothold in the French press as other children's publications closed due to paper

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...

;Tufts, p. 23. the Nazi authorities officially allowed ''Le Téméraire'' to use paper,Tufts, p. 24. while other publications had not. Clare Tufts, the author of "Vincent Krassousky-Nazi Collaborator or Naïve Cartoonist?", stated that it had "quality graphics" and that the paper and ink used were "good". Therefore, it, according to Tufts, "made a significant impact" as it, especially in the

Paris metropolitan area The Paris metropolitan area () is a statistical area that describes the reach of commuter movement to and from Paris, France and its surrounding suburbs. Overview In 2020, France's national INSEE statistical bureau introduced the concept "ai ...

, had a "

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

" in the youth comics market. The founder had associations with the group ''Jeunes du Maréchal''. The writers and editors were all French, and the publisher, which was located in the same building as the publication of the Nazi occupying authorities,Tufts, p. 24. was, according to the accounting books, funded entirely with French capital. Author Pascal Ory in his book ''Le Petit Nazi Illustré'' stated that the Nazi occupying forces, in Tufts's words, "approved or at least tolerated" the publication even though its creators were French. The publication had 38 regular issues and three special issues, and its circulation was 200,000. Its comics fell in line with Nazi ideology, promoting racial purity, praising the Nazi Aryan ideal by making those characters protagonists, and denigrating the enemies of Nazi Germany, including Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as people of non-Aryan backgrounds, as they were made antagonists. The publication sponsored 70 clubs which organized recreational activities for children. One of them, "Le Cercle des Téméraires," had a membership in the thousands. From the beginning the comics of Vincent Krassousky, with the Vica sailor character, were published in ''Le Téméraire'', with all issues having full Vica stories except for Issue 12. According to Tufts, the Vica comics were "far less offensive" compared to much of the remaining content.Tufts, p. 25. Publication ended on August 1, 1944.

References

* Tufts, Clare (2004). "Vincent Krassousky-Nazi Collaborator or Naïve Cartoonist?" '' International Journal of Comic Art''. Volume 6, Number 1. Spring 2004. pp. 18–36.

History

References

Reference notes

Further reading