Henri Gillain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henri Gillain

Born	1913
Died	August 10, 1999 (aged 72)
Nationality	Belgian
Area(s)	writer
Pseudonym(s)	Jean Darc, Luc Bermar
Notable works	Spirou et Fantasio

Henri Gillain (1913 - August 10, 1999) was a Belgian teacher and comics enthusiast who on several occasions wrote scripts for Franco-Belgian comics publications in the segment known as Bande Dessinée. He was also the brother of Joseph Gillain, famous by the pseudonym Jijé.

[edit] Contributions

Although committed to his career as a math teacher, Henri Gillain followed with interest the early developments of comic strips in Belgium, and the artistic evolution of his brother, eventually considered by many the second pioneer of Belgian comics.^[1]

In the late 40s he turned contributor when he submitted a script to André Franquin, his brother's protegé, in the shape of a thick notebook which contained the ideas that would result in the Spirou serialised story, Il y a un sorcier à Champignac, and serve as a platform for the entire series Spirou et Fantasio.^[2] Upon publication in 1950, Henri Gillain took the pseudonym Jean Darc, a play on the name Jean d'Arc (Joan of Arc).

In 1952, Henri Gillain submitted another script to Will, another young artist nurtured by his brother, a scenario for Tif et Tondu, Le Trésor d'Alaric, and would on this occasion use the pseudonym Luc Bermar. During this time he was also an anonymous contributor to his brother's story Nègre Blanc.