Tiger Joe

Tiger Joe is a series of comics published the first time in 1950 in La Libre Belgique. Scenario: Charlier, Greg. Drawings: Hubinon, Forton, Pleyers. When the first pages appeared in La Libre Belgique in 1950 the country is still a colonial power since the Congo is attached to the flat country since 1908 after personal possession of the King of the Belgians. To this should be added since the end of World War I the Rwanda and Burundi German former colonies. Although the country is never mentioned by name, the first thumbnail indicates that the action is on the course of the tributaries of the Uele, which flows into the Ubangi which finally joins the river Congo. Furthermore it is also alluded to the locality of Mbura (2 e board) which would be located near the Lake Albert in the north-east. The writer gives other geographical indications including Blue Mountains (Plate 7). All this is coherent, particularly at the time, difficult to access. In short, the action takes place in a geographic area where the author can give free rein to his imagination without being (too) denied by the facts.

In creating this band Charlier adventures reproduces stereotypes which then during which the famous mysterious and wild Africa as envisioned by popular novels and films of the time. In this enthusiasm good child, he named his hero Tiger Joe, an experienced hunter who wanders from wealthy Europeans in search of thrills. Only problem there are no tigers in Africa and it is not clear therefore how the hero could have earned that nickname. By taking the series in the late 50 years Greg will not fool it by situating it in the Indian peninsula. Creating Hubinon Charlier and now includes 3 stories but in two cycles. For reasons albums published the first cycle has been split into two volumes of 45 pages each and is focused on finding the legendary elephant graveyard. Except Sheila Keeler, the last episode uses the same characters for an adventure of 46 boards. Note that Charlier will resume the principle of creating these exotic adventures shortly after for Spirou's character Kim Devil, this time the action is transposed in the Amazon. Gérald Forton will be the designer of this short series is also he who will resume following the adventures of Joe Tiger in 1958 on scenarios of Greg.

Buck Danny

Buck Danny is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a military flying ace and his two sidekicks serving (depending on the plots) in the United States Navy or the United States Air Force. The series is noted for its realism both in the drawings and the descriptions of air force procedures as part of the storyline. In particular the aircraft depicted are extremely accurate. Mixing historical references with fiction, Buck Danny is one of the most important 'classic' Franco-Belgian comic strips. Starting in 1947, the first albums were set against the backdrop of World War II, but from 1954 onwards, the series started to play in 'the present' and has so ever since. Like this, the series reads as a chronology of military aviation as well as the events that were catching people's imagination at the time of publishing, ranging from the Korean war, the cold war, UFO's international terrorism and drug running, the space race, rogue atomic bombs, the collapse of the Soviet bloc and recently the conflicts in Sarajevo and Afghanistan. True to the Franco-Belgian tradition the adventures are first published as a series in a weekly comic magazine. After a complete story has run its course, it is bundled and published as a book. In the case of Buck Danny, the story appeared in Spirou magazine in weekly installments of one page per issue and from 1947 to 2008, 52 albums have been published by Spirou's parent company Dupuis editions. All are still in print today.

From 1947 to 1979, the first 40 albums were a collaboration between writer Jean-Michel Charlier and artist Victor Hubinon. After the death of the latter in 1979, the series took a hiatus of 4 years before Charlier continued for 4 more albums with artist Francis Bergèse. After Charlier's death in 1989, Bergèse tried one album with a scenario by Jacques de Douhet before writing his own stories. After 1996, 7 more stories appeared, combining realistic penmanship with continuously complex scenarios.
Bergèse announced his retirement after the publication of album 52. Hence since 2008, production of new material ceased. Officially however, the series is not 'dead' but simply on hiatus while the production company is looking for a new artist and writer. In May 2010 it was announced that Dupuis commissioned writer Frédéric Zumbiehl and artist Fabrice Lamy to continue the Buck Danny franchise. With the publication of album no. 53 in November 2013 it turned out that writer Frédéric Zumbiehl was still in charge but drawings are now made by Francis Winis. If the new team proves to be successful, this would be the third artist and fourth scenarist for the series. With most of the Franco-Belgian comics belonging to strictly one team and dying with the departure of either artist or writer, this is a tribute to the importance of the series and the place Buck Danny has taken in popular culture for over 50 years and running.

Redbeard

Redbeard (French: Barbe-Rouge) is a series of Belgian comic books, originally published in French, created by writer Jean-Michel Charlier and artist Victor Hubinon in 1959. After their deaths the series was continued by other artists, including Jijé (Joseph Gillain), Christian Gaty, Patrice Pellerin, Jean Ollivier, Christian Perrissin and Marc Bourgne.

The series was very popular in France, Belgium and The Netherlands, but has not yet been published in English. In late seventies and early eighties, most of the classic episodes were also published in Yugoslavia (in the Serbian language) under the name Demon s Kariba (Demon of the Caribbean). In Croatia, the series was first published under the name Crvenobradi but later under the name Riđobradi (in the Croatian language). In Germany, the series is known under the name:Der rote Korsar, and in Denmark 5 albums have been published under the name Rødskæg. In the seventies two episodes were published in Finland, under the name Punaparta, and in Portugal 5 Barba Ruiva albums have been published.