Peyo
Encyclopedia
Pierre Culliford known as Peyo, was a Belgian
comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs
comic strip
.
as the son of an English
father and a Belgian mother. On Christmas Eve
1992, Peyo died of a heart attack
in Brussels at age 64.
cousin's mispronunciation of Pierrot (a diminutive form of Pierre
).
Peyo began work, fresh from his coursework at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
in Brussels, at the Compagnie Belge d'Animation (CBA), a small Belgian animation studio, where he met a few of his future colleagues and co-celebrities, like André Franquin
, Morris
and Eddy Paape
. When the studio folded after the war, the other artists went to work for Dupuis
, but Peyo, a few years younger than the others, was not accepted. He made his first comics for the newspaper La Dernière Heure
(The Latest Hour), but also accepted many promotional drawing jobs for income. From 1949 to 1952, he drew Poussy, a stop comic about a cat, for Le Soir
. For the same newspaper, he also created Johan.
In 1952, Franquin introduced Peyo to Le Journal de Spirou
, a children's comics magazine
published by Dupuis
which first appeared in Belgium in 1938. Peyo wrote and drew a number of characters and storylines, including Pierrot, and Benoît Brisefer (translated into English as Steven Strong
). But his favourite was Johan et Pirlouit (translated into English as Johan and Peewit
), which was a continuation of the series Johan he had created earlier. He also continued Poussy in Spirou.
Set in the Middle Ages
in Europe
, Johan et Pirlouit stars a brave young page
to the king, and his faithful, if boastful and cheating, midget sidekick
. Johan rides off to defend the meek on his trusty horse, while Peewit gallops sporadically behind on his goat, named Biquette. The pair are driven by duty to their king and the courage to defend the underpowered. Peewit only appeared in the third adventure in 1954, but would stay for all later adventures.
on 23 October 1958 in the album La Flûte à Six Schtroumpfs (The Six Smurfed Flute). As the smurfs became increasingly popular, Peyo started a studio in the early 1960s, where a number of talented comic artists started to work. Peyo himself supervised the work and worked primarily on Johan and Peewit, leaving the smurfs to the studio. The most notable artists to come out of this studio are Walthéry
, Wasterlain, Gos, Derib, Degieter, and Desorgher.
In 1959, the Smurfs got their own series
, and in 1960, two more began: Steven Strong
and Jacky and Célestin. Many authors of the Marcinelle school
collaborated on the writing, or as an artist, including Willy Maltaite
(aka 'Will'), Yvan Delporte
, and Roger Leloup
. Peyo became more of a businessman and supervisor, and was less involved in the actual creation of the comics. He let his son, Thierry Culliford, lead the studio, while his daughter Véronique was responsible for the merchandising.
The merchandising of the Smurfs
began in 1959, with the PVC figurines as the most important aspect until the late 1970s. Then, with the success of the Smurf records
by Father Abraham
, the Smurfs achieved more international success, with a new boom in toys and gadgets. Some of these reached the United States
, where Hanna-Barbera
created a Saturday morning animated series in 1981 in which Peyo served as story supervisor. Peyo's health began to fail. He died at age 64, on Christmas Eve
1992, of a heart attack
in Brussels. His studio still exists and new stories for various series are regularly produced under his name.
Belgium
Belgium , 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...
comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
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....
.
Biography
Peyo was born in 1928 in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
as the son of an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
father and a Belgian mother. On Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
1992, Peyo died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Brussels at age 64.
Career
He took on the name "Peyo" early in his professional career, based on an EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cousin's mispronunciation of Pierrot (a diminutive form of Pierre
Pierre
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter . Pierre originally means "rock" or "stone" in French...
).
Peyo began work, fresh from his coursework at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
The Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels is an art school, founded in 1711.The faculty and alumni of ARBA include some of the most famous names in Belgian painting, sculpture, and architecture: James Ensor, Rene Magritte, and Paul Delvaux...
in Brussels, at the Compagnie Belge d'Animation (CBA), a small Belgian animation studio, where he met a few of his future colleagues and co-celebrities, like 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...
, Morris
Morris (comics)
Maurice De Bevere , better known as Morris, was a Belgian cartoonist and the creator of Lucky Luke. His pen name is an alternate spelling of his first name.-Biography:...
and Eddy Paape
Eddy Paape
Eddy Paape is a Franco-Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the series Luc Orient.-Biography:Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée , Belgium in 1920...
. When the studio folded after the war, the other artists went to work for Dupuis
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
, but Peyo, a few years younger than the others, was not accepted. He made his first comics for the newspaper La Dernière Heure
La Dernière Heure
La Dernière Heure and "Les Sports" is a French general daily newspaper in Belgium....
(The Latest Hour), but also accepted many promotional drawing jobs for income. From 1949 to 1952, he drew Poussy, a stop comic about a cat, for Le Soir
Le Soir
Le Soir is a Berliner Format Belgian newspaper. Le Soir was founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel. It is the most popular Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a newspaper of record.-Editorial stance:...
. For the same newspaper, he also created Johan.
In 1952, Franquin introduced Peyo to Le Journal de Spirou
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
, a children's comics magazine
Franco-Belgian comics magazines
Belgium and France have a long tradition in comics. They have a common history for comics and magazines.In the early years of its history, magazines had a large place on the comics market and were often the only place where comics were published. Most of them were kids-targeted.In the 1970s,...
published by Dupuis
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
which first appeared in Belgium in 1938. Peyo wrote and drew a number of characters and storylines, including Pierrot, and Benoît Brisefer (translated into English as Steven Strong
Steven Strong
Benoît Brisefer is a Belgian comic strip created in 1960 by Peyo about a little boy whose peaceful, innocent appearance, charm and good manners covers his possession of superhuman strength similar to that of Asterix. Since Peyo's death it has been continued by other artists and writers...
). But his favourite was Johan et Pirlouit (translated into English as Johan and Peewit
Johan and Peewit
Johan and Peewit is a Belgian comics series created by Peyo. Since its initial appearance in 1947 it has been published in 13 albums that appeared before the death of Peyo in 1992. Thereafter, a team of comic book creators from Studio Peyo continued to publish the stories.The series is set in...
), which was a continuation of the series Johan he had created earlier. He also continued Poussy in Spirou.
Set in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Johan et Pirlouit stars a brave young page
Page (servant)
A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
to the king, and his faithful, if boastful and cheating, midget sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
. Johan rides off to defend the meek on his trusty horse, while Peewit gallops sporadically behind on his goat, named Biquette. The pair are driven by duty to their king and the courage to defend the underpowered. Peewit only appeared in the third adventure in 1954, but would stay for all later adventures.
Smurfs
The first smurf appeared in Johan and PeewitJohan and Peewit
Johan and Peewit is a Belgian comics series created by Peyo. Since its initial appearance in 1947 it has been published in 13 albums that appeared before the death of Peyo in 1992. Thereafter, a team of comic book creators from Studio Peyo continued to publish the stories.The series is set in...
on 23 October 1958 in the album La Flûte à Six Schtroumpfs (The Six Smurfed Flute). As the smurfs became increasingly popular, Peyo started a studio in the early 1960s, where a number of talented comic artists started to work. Peyo himself supervised the work and worked primarily on Johan and Peewit, leaving the smurfs to the studio. The most notable artists to come out of this studio are Walthéry
François Walthéry
François Walthéry is a Belgian comics artist, best known for his series featuring an adventurous flight attendant, Natacha.-Biography:...
, Wasterlain, Gos, Derib, Degieter, and Desorgher.
In 1959, the Smurfs got their own series
The Smurfs (comics)
The Smurfs are a Belgian comic series, created by cartoonist Peyo . The fictional characters of the Smurfs first appeared in Johan and Peewit in 1958, and the first independent Smurf comics appeared in 1959. Twenty-nine Smurf comic albums have been created, 16 of them by Peyo...
, and in 1960, two more began: Steven Strong
Steven Strong
Benoît Brisefer is a Belgian comic strip created in 1960 by Peyo about a little boy whose peaceful, innocent appearance, charm and good manners covers his possession of superhuman strength similar to that of Asterix. Since Peyo's death it has been continued by other artists and writers...
and Jacky and Célestin. Many authors of the Marcinelle school
Marcinelle school
The term "Marcinelle school" refers to a group of Belgian cartoonists formed by Joseph Gillain following World War II...
collaborated on the writing, or as an artist, including Willy Maltaite
Will (comics)
Willy Maltaite known by the pseudonym Will, was a comics creator and comics artist in the Franco-Belgian tradition...
(aka 'Will'), Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte was a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics...
, and Roger Leloup
Roger Leloup
Roger Leloup is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé. He is most famous for the Yoko Tsuno comic series.- Biography :...
. Peyo became more of a businessman and supervisor, and was less involved in the actual creation of the comics. He let his son, Thierry Culliford, lead the studio, while his daughter Véronique was responsible for the merchandising.
The merchandising of the Smurfs
The Smurfs (merchandising)
The Smurfs is a Belgian comic book series created by Peyo in 1958. It became well-known worldwide with the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series in the 1980s. With the popularity of the Smurfs came a wide range of toys and spin-off products and use of the Smurfs in merchandising...
began in 1959, with the PVC figurines as the most important aspect until the late 1970s. Then, with the success of the Smurf records
The Smurfs (music)
The Smurfs is a Belgian comics series, created by Peyo in 1958, and popularized in the English speaking world mainly through the 1981-1989 Hanna Barbera cartoon series...
by Father Abraham
Pierre Kartner
Petrus Antonius Laurentius "Pierre" Kartner is a Dutch musician who sings under the alias Father Abraham, and who has written around 1600 songs.- Early life :...
, the Smurfs achieved more international success, with a new boom in toys and gadgets. Some of these reached the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
created a Saturday morning animated series in 1981 in which Peyo served as story supervisor. Peyo's health began to fail. He died at age 64, on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
1992, of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Brussels. His studio still exists and new stories for various series are regularly produced under his name.
Awards and honours
- He received the Youth Prize (9-12 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....
award 1984 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...
, FranceFranceThe 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...
. - The 50th anniversary of The SmurfsThe SmurfsThe Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
and the 80th anniversary of the birth of its creator, was celebrated by issuing a high-value collectors' coin: the Belgian 5 euro 50th anniversary of The Smurfs commemorative coin, minted in 2008.
External links
- Peyo biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia, lambiek.net
- Peyo biography, dupuis.com
- Peyo biography The Smurfs official site