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Redbeard (French: Barbe-Rouge) is a series ofBelgiancomic books, originally published inFrench, created by writerJean-Michel Charlier and artistVictor Hubinon in 1959.[1]After their deaths the series was continued by other writers and artists, includingJijé (Joseph Gillain), Christian Gaty, Patrice Pellerin, Jean Ollivier, Christian Perrissin and Marc Bourgne, Jean-Charles Kraehn and Stefano Carloni.
The series was very popular in France, Belgium and The Netherlands, but has not yet been published in English. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, most of the classic episodes were also published inYugoslavia (in theSerbian) under the nameDemon s Kariba (Demon of the Caribbean). InCroatia, the series was first published under the nameCrvenobradi but later under the nameRiđobradi (inCroatian). In Germany, the series is known under the nameDer rote Korsar, and in Denmark 5 albums have been published under the nameRødskæg. In the 1960s (titledΚοκκινογένης) it was a part of the contents of Greek magazineAsterix, by Spanos editions[2] In the 1970s two episodes were published in Finland, under the namePunaparta, and in Portugal fiveBarba Ruiva albums have been published.
Redbeard is parodied in theAsterix comic series. Since the albumAsterix the Gladiator, agroup of pirates appear in nearly every story, and their ship sinks at almost every meeting. Originally intended as a one-off joke, the pirates' appearance was so successful that they were fully integrated in the Astérix series. They were also featured in both the 1968 animated filmAsterix and Cleopatra and the 2002 live-action filmAsterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, as well in three other animations:Asterix in Britain,Asterix Conquers America,Asterix and the Vikings andAsterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion.
The parody has its origins in the fact that Jean-Michel Charlier had worked with the authors of Asterix,René Goscinny andAlbert Uderzo, in the founding of theFranco-Belgian comics magazinePilote in 1959. This magazine was the launching vehicle for bothAsterix andRedbeard.
Although in several countries of Continental Europe Redbeard is a popular comic series in its own right, the popularity of Asterix's pirates is one of the few occasions when parody figures have overshadowed their originals.
Redbeard's adventures mainly take place in the period between 1715 and 1750.The character of Redbeard is based on various historical pirates, like the FrenchmanRobert Surcouf (1773–1827), as Charlier and Hubinon created three comics about him between 1949 and 1952, and these stories would later be the basis of this series. Also used are stories about the Turkish admiralHayreddin Barbarossa (1483–1546), whose Italian nameBarbarossa means "Red Beard". Parts of his cruel appearance might be based on the notoriousBlackbeard, active in the Caribbean Sea, and his fame and success in the series resembles that ofBartholomew Roberts, who successfully captured over 450 ships.
A lot of what is going on in the stories is based on real history:
However, starting from the 31st album,The War of the Pirates (1997), historical errors start to appear. Writer Jean Ollivier brings Henry Morgan to the series as a living character, becoming the new governor ofJamaica. The real Morgan died in 1688, and Redbeard's first adventure (album 1) takes place in 1715; in fact, in album 7,The Ghost Ship (1966), Morgan is mentioned as being dead. In later albums by writer Christian Perrissin and artist Marc Bourgne, the character of Redbeard himself also changes dramatically. He gets more greedy, his love for Eric seems to be fading away, he seems to have no honour anymore, and he gets romantically involved with a girl but eventually he shoots her in the arm (which must then be amputated). None of these character features can be found in any of the previous albums.
Mentioned or visited are the French overseas territories in the New World, includingFort-de-France,Île de la Tortue,New Orleans,Saint Croix,Port-au-Prince,Bourbon,Pondichéry, andFort Dauphin. The same is true of their Spanish counterparts, such asCartagena,Veracruz,Mérida,Puerto Bello,Panama, andCuzco, and the British territoriesBarbuda,Barbados,Grand Cayman,Kingston,Jaffna, andSaint Augustin.
*^ Previously unpublished chapter, also contains two short prequel stories:
After Victor Hubinon died unexpectedly in 1979,Jijé (Joseph Gillain) took over. But when he also died, the series was almost ended, as Jean-Michel Charlier believed nobody could take over. However, he finally managed to find not one, buttwo artists: Christian Gaty and Patrice Pellerin. As Charlier wrote in the book "lUprise In Jamaica (1987): "Why not have two different artists? If James Bond can be played by different actors, so can Redbeard." Charlier himself died in 1989. The series was then continued by Jean Ollivier and Gaty in 1991, with the addition:The New Adventures, but in 1999, the title was changed back to just 'Redbeard'.
In 2006 the publisher Dargaud announced the end of the series, as it would not be appealing anymore to youngsters, who were the original target audience. Artist Marc Bourgne, however, expressed that a comeback for the series could occur sometime.[citation needed]
In 2019, Dargaud announced the new adventures of Redbeard, written by Jean-Charles Kraehn and drawn by Stefano Carloni. The new volume was published in 2020 and continues Redbeard's adventures as he is tasked by a town governor to catch a pirate terrorizing the Carolinas.[3]
Since 1996 there is also a spin-off series, calledThe Young Years of Redbeard, created by different authors than the main series: the scenario is by Christian Perrissin and the artist is Daniel Redondo.
These stories deal with Redbeard's youth before he was a pirate and how he decided to become one. His name is given as Jean-Baptiste Cornic, a servant of the French king. Also explained is how he lost his eye.
In 1997 the animated seriesBarbe-Rouge was made by the French TF1 and Italian RAI. This series consists of twenty-six 24-minute episodes. It has also been broadcast inEngland,Republic of Ireland,Zimbabwe andCanada (as "Captain Red Beard"),Poland (asRudobrody),Norway (asKaptein Rødskjegg),Italy (asBarbarossa), andGreece (asΚοκκινογένης Πειρατής). The episodes were written by Jean Cubaud, with animation by Pasquale Moreau and Thibault Deschamps of PRH Création Images.[4] In 2005, a DVD with five episodes of the animated Redbeard series was released in France (Barbe-Rouge).Teletoon broadcast the show in Canada during 1998.[5]
