Jacques Tardi

Jacques Tardi is a French comic strip artist born in 1946 in Valence. Often credited solely as Tardi.

Biography

After graduating in the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and in the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the age of 23, in the Pilote magazine. His very first album is Rumeur sur le Rouergue, published in 1971 in Pilote, on a scenario by Pierre Christin.

A highly versatile artist, Tardi successfully adapted novels by controversial writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline or crime novelist Léo Malet. He also created one of French comic-strips' most famous heroine, Adèle Blanc-Sec. This series recreates with great style the Paris of the early 20th century where the moody heroine encounters supernatural events, state plots, cults and cryogenics.

His obsession with the First World War and the pitfalls of patriotism have spawned many albums (Adieu Brindavoine, C'était la guerre des tranchées, Le trou d'obus...) and was brought on by his inability to get to terms with his grandfather's involvement in the day-to-day horrors of trench warfare. He also completed a four-volume series on the Paris Commune, Le cri du peuple.

His style can at times seem to be similar to Hergé's ligne claire style (clear line), paired with meticulous research and an asexual hero (Adèle Blanc-Sec is quite a misandrist at times), but Tardi's work endlessly satirises the concept of the flawless hero by using a series of inept, naive or anti-heroic main characters and his readership seems to mainly be a literary, French-speaking adult public.

Bibliography

Scenario and artwork

Adieu Brindavoine followed by La fleur au fusil (Casterman, 1974)
Le démon des glaces (with characters by Léo Malet) (Casterman, 1974), ISBN 2205008579
La véritable histoire du soldat inconnu (Futuropolis, 1974)
Mouh Mouh (Pepperland, 1979)
Déprime (Futuropolis, 1981)
Le trou d'obus (Imagerie Pellerin, 1984), ISBN 2862070734
C'était la guerre des tranchées (Casterman, 1993), ISBN 2203359056
Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (Casterman, 1976-1998)
1. Adèle et la bête (1976), ISBN 2203305010
2. Le démon de la Tour Eiffel (1976), ISBN 2203305029
3. Le savant fou (1977), ISBN 2203305037
4. Momies en folies (1978), ISBN 2203305045
5. Le secret de la salamandre (1981), ISBN 2203305061
6. Le noyé à deux têtes (1985), ISBN 220330507X
7. Tous des monstres! (1994), ISBN 2203305088
8. Le mystère des profondeurs (1998), ISBN 2203305096

Adaptations

Jeux pour mourir (based on a novel by Géo-Charles Véran) (Casterman, 1992), ISBN 2203359021
Nestor Burma, based on novels by Léo Malet (Casterman, 1982-2000)
1. Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac (Casterman, 1982), ISBN 2203334134
2. 120, rue de la Gare (Casterman, 1988), ISBN 2203343028
3. Une gueule de bois en plomb (Casterman, 1990), ISBN 220334802X
4. Casse-pipe à la Nation (Casterman, 1996), ISBN 2203399031
5. M'as-tu vu en cadavre? (Casterman, 2000), ISBN 2203399252
Le cri du peuple, based on a novel by Jean Vautrin (Casterman, 2001-2004)
1. Les canons du 18 mars (2001), ISBN 2203399279
2. L'espoir assassiné (2002), ISBN 2203399295
3. Les heures sanglantes (2003), ISBN 2203399309
4. Le testament des ruines (2004), ISBN 2203399317
Le petit bleu de la côte ouest, based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette (Les Humanoïdes associés, 2005)

Artwork

Rumeur sur le Rouergue (scenario by Pierre Christin) (Gallimard, 1976)
Polonius (scenario by Picaret) (Futuropolis, 1977)
Griffu (scenario by Jean-Patrick Manchette) (Le Square then Dargaud then Casterman, 1978)
Ici Même (scenario by Jean-Claude Forest) (Casterman, 1979), ISBN 2203334010
Tueur de cafards (scenario by Benjamin Legrand) (Casterman, 1984), ISBN 2203338032
Grange bleue (scenario by Dominique Grange) (Futuropolis, 1985)
Le sens de la houppelande (scenario by Daniel Pennac) (Futuropolis, 1991), ISBN 2737627397
Un strapontin pour deux (scenario by Michel Boujut) (Casterman, 1995)
L'évasion du cheval gris (scenario by Verrien) (Sapristi, 1996)
Sodome et Virginie (scenario by Daniel Prevost) (Casterman, 1996), ISBN 2207244873
Le der des ders (scenario by Didier Daeninckx) (Casterman, 1997), ISBN 2203399066
Varlot soldat (scenario by Didier Daeninckx) (L'Association, 1999), ISBN 2844140106
La débauche (scenario by Daniel Pennac) (Futuropolis, 2000), ISBN 2070788008

Scenario

Le voyage d'Alphonse (artwork by Antoine Leconte) (Duculot, 2003)

Sketchbooks

Mine de plomb (Futuropolis, 1985)
Chiures de gommes (Futuropolis, 1985)
Tardi en banlieue (Casterman, 1990), ISBN 2203380187
Carnet (JC Menu, 2001), ISBN 2844140998

Illustrated novels

Céline adaptations:

Voyage au bout de la nuit (Futuropolis, 1988), ISBN 2737626153
Casse-pipe (Futuropolis, 1989), ISBN 2737626587
Mort à crédit (Futuropolis, 1991), ISBN 2737627036

Jules Verne adaptations:

Un prêtre en 1839 (Cherche Midi, 1992), ISBN 2862742473
San Carlos (Cherche Midi, 1993), ISBN 2862742678

Novel

Rue des Rebuts (Alain Beaulet, 1990)

Books about Tardi

Olivier Maltret, Presque tout Tardi (Sapristi, 1996), ISBN 291142901X
Michel Boujut, Tardi par la fenêtre (Christian Desbois, 1996)

External links

1946 births | Living people | French comics artists | French comics writers

Jacques Tardi | Jacques Tardi | Jacques Tardi | Jacques Tardi

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