| Raymond Macherot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1924-03-30)30 March 1924 Verviers, Belgium |
| Died | 26 September 2008(2008-09-26) (aged 84) |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Area(s) | Artist, writer |
| Pseudonym | Zara |
Notable works | Clifton Chlorophylle Sibylline |
Raymond Macherot (30 March 1924 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian comics artist, most famous for his satiricalfunny animal seriesChlorophylle andSibylline. Although not nearly as famous as fellow Belgian cartoonists such asHergé orAndré Franquin, Macherot's work, both as artist and writer, remains highly regarded among critics and collectors.[1]
Raymond Macherot was born inVerviers, Belgium in 1924. He wanted to become a journalist or a painter but, for financial reasons, he became an illustrator and comics artist.[2] Following the end ofWorld War II, Macherot began his career producing a few cartoons in the style ofVirgil Partch for the satirical weeklyPan, under the pseudonym "Zara".[1] In 1953, he joined theFranco-Belgian comics magazineTintin, where he wrote a scenario forFred Funcken'sLe chevalier blanc and made numerous illustrations and magazine covers.[2]
In 1954, Macherot created the seriesChlorophylle, featuringanthropomorphic animals. Macherot sets his first adventures in the countryside, where Chlorophylle, adormouse, and his best friend Minimum, try to defeat animal villains often much bigger than themselves, typically led by the megalomaniac rat, Anthracite.
WithLes croquillards (1957), Macherot placed his characters on the island of Croquefredouille, a fictitious country populated entirely with "civilized" animals, complete with technology, police, government, and so on. The action surrounds the introduction (by Anthracite, of course) of carnivorous animals to the island (the 'croquillards' of the title). The story is darkly comic, with many characters ending up as gourmet meals for the predators. Strangely, Macherot's publisher,Le Lombard, refused to release theCroquefredouille stories in book form until 1980.
Alternatively, in 1959, Macherot createdColonel Clifton, a series about a retiredMI5 detective. He did three books worth of material, all the while continuingChlorophylle, before calling it quits and moving toSpirou magazine, run by competitor-publisherDupuis.
Le Lombard retained the rights to Macherot's abandoned series.Chlorophylle was taken up with mild success by successive teams of authors, notablyDupa &Greg, as well asWalli andBob de Groot. As forClifton,Turk &De Groot turned the series into a relative hit.
Macherot began his stint atSpirou with a new series,Chaminou, featuring a cat secret agent to the King, living in the country Zoolande. However, Chaminou's first story,Chaminou et le Khrompire (1964), was unpopular and Macherot abandonedChaminou.[1] Closer toChlorophylle,Sibylline, featured a female mouse and her fiancé Taboum. Many books have been published in this series, which enjoyed some success. From 1972 to 1976,Paul Deliège wrote the scenarios forSibylline. Macherot ended the series upon his retirement in 1990.
Other series created by Macherot forSpirou includePantoufle (withRené Goscinny),Mirliton (withRaoul Cauvin), and as scenarist onMulligan withYvan Delporte andIsabelle, with Delporte andAndré Franquin.[1] In the 1990s,Chaminou was revived, first by the team ofYann Lepennetier andDenis Bodart, and later byOlivier Saive, who completely redrew and augmentedChaminou et le Khrompire under Macherot's supervision, splitting it in two volumes. As forSibylline, the series was revived in 2006 byAndré Taymans for new adventures, also under Macherot's supervision.
Raymond Macherot died on the night of 25 and 26 September 2008 in his sleep.[3]
Although superficially gentle and innocent looking, many of Macherot's strips are darker, and certainly more violent andambiguous than they may seem. The main theme in his work is the struggle forsurvival. In Macherot's world, animals live in a society of their own, and species must learn to coexist together peacefully. Macherot's typical way to achieve this is to makevegetarianism mandatory for all. As a result, his villains are often naturalpredators who choose to ignore the law of the land. Additionally, Macherot's intrigues often veer into the political, particularly during the so-called "Croquefredouille cycle" as well as inChaminou et le Khrompire, and the subject ofwar is alluded to in many of his stories.
Not all of Macherot's stories have been published in book form. When they were, they were not necessarily published in chronological order. This is particularly true withChlorophylle. This list shows the original magazine publication order. The years indicate the initial publication date for each book.
Also note that most of these books have recently been reissued in collected hardback editions, with extensive notes and biographical details.
In addition, Macherot is credited with the following Chaminou books but has not contributed to the story or art:
Later Sibylline stories have not seen publication in book form, though they were published inSpirou magazine.
New Sibylline stories are currently being produced byAndré Taymans. Macherot receives credit on the cover though his actual involvement is unclear.
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