André Juillard

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 1996, French author and illustrator André Juillard is a leading figure in French-language historical comic art of the 1980s and 1990s, best known for his series Les 7 Vies de l’Épervier (The Seven Lives of the Sparrowhawk, 1983–1991, Glénat), Masquerouge (Red Mask, 1984, Glénat), and Plume aux vents (Feather in the Wind, 1995–2002, Dargaud), all written by Patrick Cothias. After launching the ancient-themed series Arno (1983–1987, Glénat) with Jacques Martin, the creator of Alix, André Juillard established himself as a complete author and broke away from the historical genre by writing and illustrating the two-part series Le Cahier bleu (The Blue Notebook, 1994–1998, Casterman), the first volume of which won the Alph’Art Award for Best Album at Angoulême. In 2000, he teamed up with writer Yves Sente to revive the adventures of Blake and Mortimer (Dargaud), the famous saga created by Edgar P. Jacobs. He published seven titles of this saga between 2000 and 2016: La Machination Voronov (The Voronov Machination), Les Sarcophages du 6^e continent (The Sarcophagi of the Sixth Continent, vols.1 & 2), Le Sanctuaire du Gondwana (The Gondwana Shrine), Le Serment des cinq lords (The Oath of the Five Lords), Le Bâton de Plutarque (The Staff of Plutarch) and Le Testament de William S (The Testament of William S.). In addition to his artwork on the Blake and Mortimer series, he collaborated with renowned writers such as Pierre Christin (Léna—3 volumes) and Yann (Mezek and Double 7). Editions Daniel Maghen dedicated two art books to him: Entracte in 2006 and Carnets Secrets (Secret Notebooks, 2004–2020) in 2020. In 2024, Signé Olrik (Signed Olrik) was published, the final installment of the Blake and Mortimer series illustrated by André Juillard. This album would be the last of his prolific career. He passed away in July 2024 in Brittany, a region dear to his heart where he had settled permanently with his wife, Anne Juillard, in 2020.