Joann Sfar
Encyclopedia
Joann Sfar is a French
comics artist
, comic book creator
and film director
.
. He is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of Franco-Belgian comics
. Many of his comics were published by L'Association
which was founded in 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu
and six other artists. He also worked together with many of the new movement's main artists, e.g. David B. and Lewis Trondheim
. The Donjon
series which he created with Trondheim has a cult following in many countries.
Some of his comics are inspired by his Jewish heritage as the son of Jewish parents (an Ashkenazi mother whose family was from the Ukraine
and a Sephardic father). He himself says that there is Ashkenazi humor in his Professeur Bell series (loosely based on Joseph Bell
), whereas Le chat du rabbin is clearly inspired by his Sephardic side. Les olives noires is a series about a Jewish child in Israel
at the time of Jesus
. Like Le chat du rabbin, the series contains a lot of historical and theological information.
His main influences are Fred
and André Franquin
as well as Marc Chagall
, Chaim Soutine
, Will Eisner
, Hugo Pratt
and John Buscema
.
From 2009 to 2010, Sfar wrote and directed 'Serge Gainsbourg: Une Vie Heroique', a biopic of the illustrious French songwriter and singer, of whom Sfar is a self-confessed fanatic. The film, which draws substantially on Sfar's abilities as a comic book artist through its extensive use of fantasy artwork, animation and puppetry, was released in 2010 to general critical acclaim.
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...
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...
, comic book creator
Comic book creator
A comic book creator is someone who creates a comic book or graphic novel.The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Life and career
Sfar was born in NiceNice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. He is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of 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...
. Many of his comics were published by L'Association
L'Association
L'Association is a French publishing house which publishes comic books. It was founded in May 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Mattt Konture, Patrice Killoffer, Stanislas, and Mokeït, who left soon thereafter...
which was founded in 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu
Jean-Christophe Menu
Jean-Christophe Menu is a French underground cartoonist, graphic designer, writer and publisher best known for being one of the founders of L'Association, an influential comic book and art book publishing company from France often regarded as one of the key figures in the independent comic...
and six other artists. He also worked together with many of the new movement's main artists, e.g. David B. and Lewis Trondheim
Lewis Trondheim
Lewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
. The Donjon
Dungeon (comics)
Dungeon is a series of satirical fantasy comic books created by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim, with contributions from numerous other artists and writers...
series which he created with Trondheim has a cult following in many countries.
Some of his comics are inspired by his Jewish heritage as the son of Jewish parents (an Ashkenazi mother whose family was from the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and a Sephardic father). He himself says that there is Ashkenazi humor in his Professeur Bell series (loosely based on Joseph Bell
Joseph Bell
Joseph Bell, JP, DL, FRCS was a famous Scottish lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is perhaps best known as an inspiration for the literary character Sherlock Holmes....
), whereas Le chat du rabbin is clearly inspired by his Sephardic side. Les olives noires is a series about a Jewish child in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
at the time of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Like Le chat du rabbin, the series contains a lot of historical and theological information.
His main influences are Fred
Fred (comics)
Fredéric Othon Theodore Aristidès, known by his pseudonym Fred, is a French comics artist and comic book creator in the Franco-Belgian comics tradition...
and André Franquin
André Franquin
André Franquin was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best known comic strip creations are Gaston and Marsupilami, created while he worked on the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1947 to 1969, during a period seen by many as the series' golden age.-Franquin's beginnings:Franquin was...
as well as Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Chaim Soutine
Chaim Soutine
Chaïm Soutine was a Jewish painter from Belarus. Soutine made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living in Paris....
, Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
, Hugo Pratt
Hugo Pratt
Hugo Eugenio Pratt was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese...
and John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
.
From 2009 to 2010, Sfar wrote and directed 'Serge Gainsbourg: Une Vie Heroique', a biopic of the illustrious French songwriter and singer, of whom Sfar is a self-confessed fanatic. The film, which draws substantially on Sfar's abilities as a comic book artist through its extensive use of fantasy artwork, animation and puppetry, was released in 2010 to general critical acclaim.
In English
- Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East, First Second BooksFirst Second BooksFirst Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism.-History:...
, New York, 2006. - Vampire Loves, First Second BooksFirst Second BooksFirst Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism.-History:...
, New York, 2006. - Sardine in Outer Space, 6 volumes, with Emmanuel Guibert, First Second Books, New York, 2006-2008.
- The Professor's Daughter, with Emmanuel Guibert, First Second Books, New York, 2007.
- The Rabbi's Cat, Pantheon, 2007.
- The Rabbi's Cat 2, Pantheon, 2008.
- Little Vampire, First Second Books, New York, 2008.
- DungeonDungeon (comics)Dungeon is a series of satirical fantasy comic books created by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim, with contributions from numerous other artists and writers...
(since 1998, with Lewis TrondheimLewis TrondheimLewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
and collective)
In French
- Petrus Barbygère (with Pierre Dubois, scenario)
- L'elficologue (1996, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-082-2)
- Le croquemitaine d'écume (1997, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-136-5)
- Les Potamoks (with José-Luis Munuera, art)
- 1. Terra Incognita (1996, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-088-1)
- 2. Les fontaines rouges (1996, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-110-1)
- 3. Nous et le désert (1997, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-147-0)
- La Fille du professeur (1997, with Emmanuel Guibert (art), Dupuis, ISBN 2-8001-2481-4)
- Published in English by First Second BooksFirst Second BooksFirst Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism.-History:...
as The Professor's Daughter (2007), ISBN 159643130X
- Published in English by First Second Books
- DonjonDungeon (comics)Dungeon is a series of satirical fantasy comic books created by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim, with contributions from numerous other artists and writers...
(since 1998, with Lewis TrondheimLewis TrondheimLewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
and collective)
- Le petit monde du Golem (1998, L'Association, ISBN 2-909020-98-3)
- Troll (with Olivier Boiscommun, art)
- 3. Mille et un ennuis (1999, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-276-0)
- Professeur Bell (from #3, with Hervé Tanquerelle, art)
- 1. Le mexicain à deux têtes (1999, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-257-4)
- 2. Les poupées de Jérusalem (2000, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-432-1)
- 3. Le cargo du Roi Singe (2002, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-752-5)
- 4. Promenade des Anglaises (2003, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84789-187-0)
- 5. L'Irlande à bicyclette (2006, Delcourt, ISBN 2-7560-0013-2)
- Urani (2000, with David BDavid BeauchardPierre-François "David" Beauchard , who uses the pen name David B., is a French comic book artist and writer, and one of the founders of L'Association.-Biography:...
, Dargaud, ISBN 2-2050-4795-7)
- Grand Vampire
- 1. Cupidon s'en fout (2001, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-526-3)
- 2. Mortelles en tête (2002, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-809-2)
- 3. Transatlantique en solitaire (2002, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84055-941-2)
- 4. Quai des brunes (2003, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84789-000-9)
- Books 1-4 published in English as Vampire Loves (2006, First Second, ISBN 1596430931)
- 5. La Communauté des magiciens (2004, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84789-262-1)
- 6. Le peuple est un Golem (2005, Delcourt, ISBN 2-84789-494-2)
- Les olives noires (with Emmanuel Guibert, art)
- 1. Pourquoi cette nuit est-elle différente des autres nuits? (2001, Dupuis, ISBN 2-8001-3149-7)
- 2. Adam Harishon (2002, Dupuis, ISBN 2-8001-3220-5)
- 3. Tu ne mangeras pas le chevreau dans le lait de sa mère (2003, Dupuis, ISBN 2-8001-3378-3)
- Le chat du rabbin
- 1. La Bar-Mitsva (2002, Dargaud, ISBN 2-205-05207-1)
- 2. Le Malka des Lions (2002, Dargaud, ISBN 2-205-05369-8)
- 3. L'exode (2003, Dargaud, ISBN 2-205-05497-X)
- Books 1-3 published in English as The Rabbi's Cat (2005, Pantheon, ISBN 0-375-42281-1)
- 4. Le Paradis Terrestre (2005, Dargaud, ISBN 2-205-05725-1)
- 5. Jérusalem d'Afrique (2006, Dargaud, ISBN 2-205-05868-1)
- Books 4-5 published in English as The Rabbi's Cat 2 (2008, Pantheon, ISBN 0-375-42507-1)
- Klezmer
- 1. Conquête de l'Est (2005, Gallimard, ISBN 2-07-057309-5)
- 2. Bon anniversaire Scylla (2006, Gallimard, ISBN 2-07-057552-7)
- 3. Tous des voleurs! (2007, Gallimard, ISBN 2-07-057868-2)
Filmography as a director
- Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) (2010)
- The Rabbi's CatThe Rabbi's CatThe Rabbi's Cat is a 2011 French animated film directed by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux, based on volume one, two and five of Sfar's comics series with the same title. It tells the story of a cat which obtains the ability to speak after swallowing a parrot, and its owner who is a rabbi in...
(2011), released June 2011 (French title: Le Chat du Rabbin)
Awards
- 1998: Award for First Comic BookAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for First Comic BookThis Prize for First Comic Book is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival between 1985 and 1988, when it was replaced by the Coup de Coeur, an award for the best comic book by authors with at most three publications...
and René Goscinny AwardAngoulême International Comics Festival René Goscinny awardThe René Goscinny award, named after the writer of Asterix and Lucky Luke, is awarded to comic writers at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. It was first awarded in 1988 and again every year since 1995. The award is given in order to encourage young comic writers, those whose comic...
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 - 2000: Nominated for Best Comic BookAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Comic BookThe Prize for Best Album , also known as the Golden Wildcat , is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival....
and for the Youth Award (9 to 12 years)Angoulême International Comics Festival Prix Jeunesse 9-12 ansThe Prix Jeunesse 9-12 ans is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. It rewards the best album for a 9 to 12 years old targeted public.The award started in 1981 as the "Alfred enfant", without the distinction in age groups....
at the Angoulême International Comics Festival- Nominated for the Best Long Comic Strip at the Haxtur AwardHaxtur AwardThe Haxtur Award is a Spanish award for comics published in Spain. It is awarded annually at the Salón Internacional del Cómic del Principado de Asturias ....
s SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - Nominated for Best International Writer at the Max & Moritz PrizesMax & Moritz PrizesThe Max & Moritz Prize is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials which has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Nominated for the Best Long Comic Strip at the Haxtur Award
- 2001: Nominated for Best ScenarioAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for ScenarioThis Prize for Scenario is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.As is the customary practice in Wikipedia for listing awards such as Oscar results, the winner of the award for that year is listed first, the others listed below are the nominees.-1990s:* 1993:...
and for the Humour AwardAngoulême International Comics Festival Humour awardThe Humour award was presented to a comic at the Angoulême International Comics Festival from 1989 until 2001.-1990s:* 1990: Raoul Fulgurex: Le secret du mystère by Tronchet and Gelli* 1991: Le pauvre chevalier by F'Murr...
at the Angoulême International Comics Festival - 2002: Nominated for Best ArtworkAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for ArtworkThis Prize for Artwork is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.As is the customary practice in Wikipedia for listing awards such as Oscar results, the winner of the award for that year is listed first, the others listed below are the nominees.-2000s:* 2002: Le...
and the Canal BD AwardAngoulême International Comics Festival Media awardThis media award was presented at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. It was given by different media over the years, with sometimes different awards in one year...
at the Angoulême International Comics Festival - 2003: Oecumenic Jury AwardAngoulême International Comics Festival Religious awardA variety of religious awards has been presented to comics at the Angoulême International Comics Festival between 1985 and 2003.-1980s:* 1985: Christian testimony award: Le transperceneige by Rochette and Jacques Lob, Casterman...
and Polish award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival- Nominated for Best Comic Book, for the Canal BD Award, and for the Prix de la critiquePrix de la critiqueThe Prix de la critique is a prize awarded by the Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée to the best comic album released for a year in France. Previously, from 1984 to 2003, it was called Prix Bloody Mary and awarded at the Angoulême International Comics Festival...
at the Angoulême International Comics Festival
- Nominated for Best Comic Book, for the Canal BD Award, and for the Prix de la critique
- 2004: Grand Prix de la ville d'AngoulêmeGrand Prix de la ville d'AngoulêmeEvery year, the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is awarded during the Angoulême International Comics Festival to an author for his body of work and/or for his achievement in the evolution of comics....
: 30th anniversary prize, France- Award for Best Youth Album (7 to 8 years)Angoulême International Comics Festival Prix Jeunesse 7-8 ansThe Prix Jeunesse 7-8 ans is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. It rewards the best comic book for a 7 or 8 year old targeted public...
at the Angoulême International Comics Festival - Best International Series at the Prix Saint-MichelPrix Saint-MichelThe Prix Saint-Michel is a series of comic awards presented by the city of Brussels, with a focus on Franco-Belgian comics. They were first awarded in 1971, and are the second oldest comics award in Europe still presented, behind the Adamson Awards...
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... - Nominated for Best SeriesAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize for a SeriesThis Prize for a Series is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival since 2004.As is the customary practice in Wikipedia for listing awards such as Oscar results, the winner of the award for that year is listed first, the others listed below are the nominees.* 2004:...
at the Angoulême International Comics Festival - Best International Writer at the Max & Moritz PrizesMax & Moritz PrizesThe Max & Moritz Prize is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials which has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Award for Best Youth Album (7 to 8 years)
- 2005: Nominated for Best Artwork at the Angoulême International Comics Festival
- 2006: Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material at the Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Nominated for the Audience AwardAngoulême International Comics Festival Prize Awarded by the AudienceThis Prize Awarded by the Audience is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival since 1989.The prize was known as Alph-Art du public from 1989-2003, the Prix du public from 2004-2006, and since 2007 the Essentiel FNAC-SNCF, since it is sponsored by the retailer Fnac...
and for Best Series at the Angoulême International Comics Festival
- Nominated for the Audience Award
- 2007: Sproing AwardSproing AwardThe Sproing Award is awarded by Norsk Tegneserieforum , an organisation to promote interest and understanding for comics in Norway. Since 1987, the award has been presented for the Best Norwegian Strips, a comic strip or comic book by a Norwegian, and Best Translated Strips, an international comic...
, for Best Foreign translated material, Rabbinerens katt (Le chat du rabbin), NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
- Nominated for Outstanding Series at the Ignatz AwardsIgnatz AwardsThe Ignatz Awards are intended to recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year since 1997, but skipped a year in 2001 due to the show's cancellation after the September...
, United States
- Nominated for Outstanding Series at the Ignatz Awards
External links
- Le petit monde de Joan Sfar
- Le vaste monde de Joann Sfar
- Joann Sfar biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Joann Sfar interview on BDParadisio
- Joann Sfar interview on Parutions
- Joann Sfar interview on NPR