Yakari
Encyclopedia
Yakari is a Franco-Belgian comic book
series, aimed at a younger audience, written by (the Swiss
francophone
) Job
and illustrated by (the Swiss francophone) Derib
.
The books have been translated into at least 17 languages including English
, German
, Scandinavian languages, Finnish
, Breton
, Indonesian
, Polish
, Chinese, Turkish
, Arabic
, Inuktitut and Catalan
etc. Yakari has (on two occasions, 1983 and 2005) been adapted to a cartoon series on television
.
Native American
who has the particularity to be able to understand and speak animal
languages. During his adventures, he meets all sorts of North America
n animals. His best friends are a girl Sioux, "Rainbow", and his pony
"Little Thunder
". He has a totem
animal, "Great Eagle
", wo frequently appears to him to give him critical advice.
The setting is the North American Great Plains
, mainly. Horses have already been introduced by the Spanish, but there is no mentioning of white man whatsoever in the series. (In one book, there's even a mention by an old tribesman that there's a mystery how the horse came to the land, and that it hasn't always been there.) It can therefore be assumed that Yakari's adventures take place after the 15th century, but long before the settling rush in the late 18th/19th century.
Animals:
is the current publisher for the English version of the series.
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...
series, aimed at a younger audience, written by (the Swiss
Swiss (people)
The Swiss are citizens or natives of Switzerland. The demonym derives from the toponym of Schwyz and has been in widespread use to refer to the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 16th century....
francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
) Job
Job (comics)
Job is a Swiss francophone comics creator. He is probably best known for his western children's comics series Yakari, of which he has written the scenario since 1973.-Biography:...
and illustrated by (the Swiss francophone) Derib
Derib
Derib is a Swiss francophone comics creator, one of the most famous in Europe, who started his professional career at Peyo's studio...
.
The books have been translated into at least 17 languages including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Scandinavian languages, Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
, Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Chinese, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Inuktitut and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
etc. Yakari has (on two occasions, 1983 and 2005) been adapted to a cartoon series on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Concept
Yakari is a young SiouxSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
who has the particularity to be able to understand and speak animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
languages. During his adventures, he meets all sorts of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n animals. His best friends are a girl Sioux, "Rainbow", and his pony
Pony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
"Little Thunder
Thunder
Thunder is the sound made by lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble . The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within...
". He has a totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
animal, "Great Eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
", wo frequently appears to him to give him critical advice.
The setting is the North American Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, mainly. Horses have already been introduced by the Spanish, but there is no mentioning of white man whatsoever in the series. (In one book, there's even a mention by an old tribesman that there's a mystery how the horse came to the land, and that it hasn't always been there.) It can therefore be assumed that Yakari's adventures take place after the 15th century, but long before the settling rush in the late 18th/19th century.
Characters
Humans:- Yakari : the main character.
- Rainbow : a Sioux girl and Yakari's best friend. She accompanies him on his adventures more frequently as the series progresses.
- The-One Who Knows : chief and shaman of Yakari's village, and one of the first persons to understand that Yakari has a rare gift.
- Little Big-Shot : a Sioux boy and friend of Yakari's, who dreams of becoming a great hunter.
- Slow Motion : a man from Yakari's village. As his name points out, he is very slow.
- No-Wai-Waiki (Great-Heap-Big-Pile-Plenty-Lazy-Bones): a man from Yakari's village. He is extremely lazy and unfit, and spends the day lying in front of his tipi and smoking his pipe.
- Tranquil Rock : a sage from Yakari's village.
- Bold Gaze : Yakari's father. At first quite sceptical about his son's claims that he can talk to animals, he is eventually convinced that his son does indeed have a special gift.
- Braid Night : Yakari's mother, who is skilled in healing lore.
- Strained Bow: a crazy wandering warrior who is obsessed with hunting and bringing down the rarest and most unusual of animals. He has clashed with Yakari on several occasions and considers him to be his most personal enemy.
Animals:
- Great Eagle : a great bald eagleBald EagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
and Yakari's totem who aids Yakari with his wisdom and advice. - Little Thunder : a white-and-black checkered poney, who is Yakari's steed and closest friend.
- Nanabozo : a rabbit capable of doing magical feats, and Rainbow's totem. He has revealed himself to Rainbow and Yakari on numerous occasions and taken them on educative journeys, including a trip into prehistoric times.
- Double Teeth : a beaver and artist.
- Tilia : a young beaver, practical joker and adventurer.
- Wild Rose Plant : a beaver, and Tilia's mother.
- Rough Bark : a beaver, and Tilia's father.
- Thousand Mouths : a beaver and builder.
- Wood of a Bed : a beaver and a serious sleeper.
- The GrizzlyGrizzlyGrizzly may refer to:* Grizzly bear , a North American bear* Grizzly , a Marvel Comics character* Grizzly , a novel in Gary Paulsen's World of Adventure series...
: originally a tyrannical bully, he has since learned humility and is now one of Yakari's friends. - Snowball, a white-furred baribalKermode bearThe Kermode bear , also known as a "spirit bear" , is a subspecies of the American Black Bear living in the central and north coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is noted for about 1/10 of their population having white or cream-coloured coats...
.
Animals in the series
In the course of the series, Yakari encounters (and often befriends) members of any animal species found on the North American continent. These include (but are as yet not limited to):- bisonBisonMembers of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
s - bears
- beavers
- eagleEagleEagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s - rabbitRabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s - ponyPonyA pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
s - a pelicanPelicanA pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
- wolves
- caribous
- prairie dogPrairie dogPrairie dogs are burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. There are five different species of prairie dogs: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of ground squirrel, found in the United States, Canada and Mexico...
s - mountain goatMountain goatThe Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
s - coyoteCoyoteThe coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s - hawkHawkThe term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s
- snowy owlSnowy OwlThe Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great...
s - lynxLynxA lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
s (always villain) - flying squirrelFlying squirrelFlying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...
s - belugas
- antelopeAntelopeAntelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
s - diatrymaGastornisGastornis is an extinct genus of large flightless bird that lived during the late Paleocene and Eocene epochs of the Cenozoic. It was named in 1855, after Gaston Planté, who had discovered the first fossils in Argile Plastique formation deposits at Meudon near Paris...
- wolverineWolverineThe wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
s - alligators
- crowCrowCrows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s - elkElkThe Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
s - a white whaleWhaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
- a donkeyDonkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
- appaloosaAppaloosaThe Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...
s
Albums
Only the original French language publication is indicated.- Yakari (DargaudDargaudLes Éditions Dargaud is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1943 by Georges Dargaud.Initially, Dargaud published novels for women...
, 1973) - Yakari et le bison blanc (CastermanCastermanCasterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, Belgium.Founded in 1780, Casterman was originally a printing company and publishing house...
, 1976) - Chez les Castors (Casterman, 1977)
- Yakari et Nanabozo (Casterman, 1978)
- Yakari et le grizzly (Casterman, 1979)
- Le secret de petit tonnerre (Casterman, 1981)
- L'étranger (Casterman, 1982)
- Au pays des loups (Casterman, 1983)
- Les Prisonniers de l'Ile (Casterman, 1983)
- Le grand terrier (Casterman, 1984)
- La toison blanche (Casterman, 1985)
- Yakari et le coyote (Casterman, 1986)
- Yakari et les seigneurs des plaines (Casterman, 1987)
- Le vol des corbeaux (Casterman, 1988)
- La rivière de l'oubli (Casterman, 1989)
- Le premier galop (Casterman, 1990)
- Le monstre du lac (Casterman, 1991)
- L'oiseau de neige (Casterman, 1992)
- la barrière de feu (Casterman, 1993)
- Le diable des bois (Casterman, 1994)
- Le souffleur de nuages (Casterman, 1995)
- La fureur du ciel (Casterman, 1996)
- Yakari et les cornes fourchues (Casterman, 1997)
- Yakari et l'ours fantôme (Casterman, 1998)
- Le mystère de la falaise (Le LombardLe LombardLe Lombard or Lombard Editions is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when the Tintin magazine was launched. In 1986 the company was acquired by Média-Participations.-Titles:Lombard's more famous series include:*Clifton...
, 1999) - La vengeance du carcajou (Le Lombard, 2000)
- Yakari et longues-oreilles (Le Lombard, 2001)
- Le chêne qui parlait (Le Lombard, 2002)
- Le réveil du géant (Le Lombard, 2003)
- Le marcheur de nuit (Le Lombard, 2004)
- Yakari et les Appaloosas (Le Lombard, 2005)
- Les Griffes de l'Ours (Le Lombard, 2006)
- Le marais de la peur (Le Lombard, 2007)
- Le retour du lapin magicien (Le Lombard, 2008)
- L'escapade de l'ourson (Le Lombard, 2009)
English Version
Cinebook LtdCinebook Ltd
Cinebook Ltd is a British publishing company that publishes comic books and graphic novels. It describes itself as "the 9th art publisher," the 9th art being comics in continental Europe, especially France, Italy and Greece....
is the current publisher for the English version of the series.
- Yakari and Great Eagle, 2005, ISBN 190546004X
- Yakari and the White Buffalo, 2005, ISBN 1905460058
- Yakari and the Beavers, 2006, ISBN 1905460090
- Yakari and the Grizzly, 2006, ISBN 1905460163
- Yakari and the Stranger, 2007, ISBN 9781905460274
- Yakari in the Land of Wolves, 2008, ISBN 9781905460298
- Yakari: The Island Prisoners, 2009, ISBN 9781849180108
- Yakari and the White Fleece, 2010, ISBN 9781849180559
- Yakari and the Coyote, 2011, ISBN 9781849181013