Frédéric Boilet
Encyclopedia
Frédéric BoiletFrédéric Boilet (born 16 January 1960, in Épinal
, France
) is a French
cartoonist
and a manga artist
.
Frédéric Boilet's debut in comic art was in 1983 with La Nuit des Archées.
He created Le Rayon vert in 1987, followed by 36 15 Alexia in 1990, two albums where he experimented with a method of working, that is still uniquely his today, in which he resorts almost exclusively to photographs and video.
His encounter with Benoît Peeters
in 1990 turned his work toward semi-autobiographical stories tinged with humour : Love Hotel (1993), Tôkyô est mon jardin (1997) and Demi-tour (1997).
Today, Frédéric Boilet lives in Japan where Tôkyô est mon jardin, meaning "Tokyo is my garden," was translated in 1998 and Demi-tour the following year. He started doing work for manga magazines in the late nineties, and is a rare example of a western comics artist
having some degree of success in the Japanese market.
In 2001, on the occasion of the simultaneous publication in France and Japan of the critically acclaimed Yukiko's Spinach, he launched the Nouvelle Manga
movement in Tokyo, which seeks to combine mature sophisticated daily life manga
with the artistic style of traditional Franco-Belgian comics
.
Boilet's final production work was L'apprenti Japonais. Boilet claims to have finished his editorial career with this work, a book of unused drawings from the twelve years spanning from 1996 to 2008 all concerning the time he had spent in Japan. He now resides again in his native France.
Épinal
Épinal is a commune in northeastern France and the capital of the Vosges department. Inhabitants are known as Spinaliens.-Geography:The commune has a land area of 59.24 km²...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and a manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
.
Biography
He created Le Rayon vert in 1987, followed by 36 15 Alexia in 1990, two albums where he experimented with a method of working, that is still uniquely his today, in which he resorts almost exclusively to photographs and video.
His encounter with Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters is a comics writer, novelist, and critic. He has lived in Belgium since 1978.His best-known work is Les Cités Obscures, an imaginary world which mingles a Borgesian metaphysical surrealism with the detailed architectural vistas of the series' artist, François Schuiten...
in 1990 turned his work toward semi-autobiographical stories tinged with humour : Love Hotel (1993), Tôkyô est mon jardin (1997) and Demi-tour (1997).
Today, Frédéric Boilet lives in Japan where Tôkyô est mon jardin, meaning "Tokyo is my garden," was translated in 1998 and Demi-tour the following year. He started doing work for manga magazines in the late nineties, and is a rare example of a western comics artist
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
having some degree of success in the Japanese market.
In 2001, on the occasion of the simultaneous publication in France and Japan of the critically acclaimed Yukiko's Spinach, he launched the Nouvelle Manga
La nouvelle manga
Nouvelle Manga is an artistic movement which gathers Franco-Belgian and Japanese comic creators together. The expression was first used by Kiyoshi Kusumi, editor of the Japanese manga magazine Comickers, in referring to the work of French expatriate Frédéric Boilet, who lived in Japan for much of...
movement in Tokyo, which seeks to combine mature sophisticated daily life manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
with the artistic style of traditional Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
.
Boilet's final production work was L'apprenti Japonais. Boilet claims to have finished his editorial career with this work, a book of unused drawings from the twelve years spanning from 1996 to 2008 all concerning the time he had spent in Japan. He now resides again in his native France.
External links
- Official website
- YUKIKO'S SPINACH Reviewed at PopImage - Reviewed, Plus Preview Pages
- Frédéric Boilet books published by ego comme x : Elles, L'Épinard de Yukiko, Love Hotel, 3615 Alexia. Interviews, texts, extracts.