The BD screenwriter Raoul Cauvin, father of the “Blue tunics”, is dead – franceinfo

Belgian comic book writer Raoul Cauvin, father of the successful series The blue tunics and the youth series Cedric, died Thursday, August 19 at the age of 82, three months after announcing that he had an incurable cancer, announced Dupuis, his publishing house.

“It is with great emotion that we inform you of the death of Raoul Cauvin, one of the greatest men in the world of comics.“, the editor said early Friday, August 20 in a statement.”We are in thought with (…) the millions of readers who adored his humor and his situation comedy through the publication of his series“, he added.

Raoul Cauvin mainly owes his notoriety to Blue tunics, a successful series of rare longevity, which has sold millions of copies in half a century. She tells with humor the adventures of two American soldiers, a convinced militarist and another engaged in spite of himself, who fight the “Southerners“during the Civil War (1861-1865).

With more than 15 million albums sold in French – not counting translations into English, German, Dutch and other languages ​​- these Laurel and Hardy comics have introduced the American conflict to many Europeans.

And this popular success pushes Cauvin to become a prolific author for his publisher Dupuis, collaborating with many other designers: among others Berck (Sammy and Lou), Nic (Spirou and Fantasio) or Kox (Agent 212).

A follower of all forms of visual gagging, Cauvin evolved in the 80s towards more incisive productions, often close to black humor and parody. He thus illustrated himself in the series Funerary stone (with Hardy), Women in white on the universe of the hospital (with Bercovici in the drawing), and Cedric (with Laudec) – which has proven to be a success in children’s comics with 34 albums to date.

He had created The Blue Tunics in 1968, eight years after his debut at Dupuis, first conceiving his two heroes – Sergeant Cornelius Chesterfield and Corporal Blutch- with the designer Louis Salvérius, who died in 1972 and gave way to Willy Lambil.

The latter remains Cauvin’s inseparable accomplice until volume 64, the final album signed by the screenwriter, released by Dupuis in May 2021. These two veterans were nicknamed “comic book grandpas“, with the same graying mustache. Beginning of May 2021, a few days after the release of the last Blue tunics, Cauvin had announced on his blog that he was suffering from incurable cancer.

“Craftsman of a popular but quality comic strip (…) Raoul Cauvin has become a veritable statue of Commander of the screenwriters (…) he has permanently codified the mechanics of gagging and the canons of humorous adventure“, underlined Dupuis.