Jean-Claude Forest
Encyclopedia
Jean-Claude Forest
Jean-Claude Forest (11 September 1930, Le Perreux-sur-Marne
, France
- 29 December 1998, Paris
, France
) was a writer and illustrator of comics
and the creator of character Barbarella
.
, a Paris suburb and graduated from the Paris School of Design in the early 1950s and immediately began working as an illustrator
.
While at the Paris School of Design Forest drew his first comic strip
, Flèche Noire (The Black Arrow). After creating Le Vaisseau Hanté (The Ghost Ship) he illustrated several issues of Charlot, a popular French comic book
series loosely based on Charlie Chaplin. Forest eventually became the premier cover artist of French publisher Gallimard's leading French science-fiction paperback imprint, Le Rayon Fantastique, also drawing covers for numerous French newspapers and magazines including France Soir
. Together with renowned film director Alain Resnais
, Forest was one of the founders of the French Comic-Strip Club in the early 1960s.
Forest became world famous when he created the sexy sci-fi strip Barbarella
, which was originally published in France
in V-Magazine in 1962. The strip was an immediate bestseller and was soon translated into a dozen languages. In 1967 it was adapted by Terry Southern
and Roger Vadim
and made into a major motion picture, with Forest acting as design consultant.
Forest created many other cartoons and comic books, also writing scripts for comic strips and for French television.
He was awarded the Grand Prize at the 1984 Angoulême
Comics Festival and in Sierre
(Switzerland
) in 1986.
Jean-Claude Forest suffered from severe asthma for many years and died in 1998 at the age of 68.
Jean-Claude Forest (11 September 1930, Le Perreux-sur-Marne
Le Perreux-sur-Marne
Le Perreux-sur-Marne is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:...
, 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...
- 29 December 1998, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 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...
) was a writer and illustrator of comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
and the creator of character Barbarella
Barbarella (comic book)
Barbarella is a fictional heroine in the French science fiction comic book created by Jean-Claude Forest. He created the character for serialisation in the French magazine V-Magazine in spring 1962, and in 1964 Eric Losfeld later published these strips as a stand-alone book, under the title...
.
Biography
Jean-Claude Forest was born in Le Perreux-sur-MarneLe Perreux-sur-Marne
Le Perreux-sur-Marne is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:...
, a Paris suburb and graduated from the Paris School of Design in the early 1950s and immediately began working as an illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
.
While at the Paris School of Design Forest drew his first comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, Flèche Noire (The Black Arrow). After creating Le Vaisseau Hanté (The Ghost Ship) he illustrated several issues of Charlot, a popular French comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series loosely based on Charlie Chaplin. Forest eventually became the premier cover artist of French publisher Gallimard's leading French science-fiction paperback imprint, Le Rayon Fantastique, also drawing covers for numerous French newspapers and magazines including France Soir
France Soir
France Soir is a French daily newspaper that prospered during the 1950s and 1960s, but it has declined since then under various owners. It was re-launched as a populist tabloid in 2006.-History:...
. Together with renowned film director Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
, Forest was one of the founders of the French Comic-Strip Club in the early 1960s.
Forest became world famous when he created the sexy sci-fi strip Barbarella
Barbarella (comic book)
Barbarella is a fictional heroine in the French science fiction comic book created by Jean-Claude Forest. He created the character for serialisation in the French magazine V-Magazine in spring 1962, and in 1964 Eric Losfeld later published these strips as a stand-alone book, under the title...
, which was originally published in 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...
in V-Magazine in 1962. The strip was an immediate bestseller and was soon translated into a dozen languages. In 1967 it was adapted by Terry Southern
Terry Southern
Terry Southern was an American author, essayist, screenwriter and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style...
and Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and actor, who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman.-Early life:...
and made into a major motion picture, with Forest acting as design consultant.
Forest created many other cartoons and comic books, also writing scripts for comic strips and for French television.
He was awarded the Grand Prize at the 1984 Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
Comics Festival and in Sierre
Sierre
Sierre is the capital of the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of 14,355.It is situated on the French–German language border of the canton of Wallis...
(Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) in 1986.
Jean-Claude Forest suffered from severe asthma for many years and died in 1998 at the age of 68.
Awards
- 1968: Adamson AwardAdamson AwardsAdamson Awards is a Swedish award awarded to notable cartoonists, named after the famous Swedish comic strip "Adamson" .They have been presented by the Swedish Academy of Comic Art at the annual Gothenburg Book Fair since 1965...
for Best International Comic Book Artist, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... - 1980: Best AuthorAngoulême International Comics Festival Other awardsA number of awards was only presented at the Angoulême International Comics Festival for a short time.-Award for best French artist:* 1974: Alexis* 1975: Jacques Tardi* 1976: André Cheret* 1977: Moebius* 1978: Paul Gillon-Award for best foreign artist:...
at the Angoulême International Comics FestivalAngoulême International Comics FestivalThe Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
, France