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| Peyo | |
|---|---|
_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg) Peyo in 1990 | |
| Born | Pierre Culliford (1928-06-25)25 June 1928 Brussels, Belgium |
| Died | 24 December 1992(1992-12-24) (aged 64) Brussels, Belgium |
| Area(s) | Writer, artist |
Notable works | The Smurfs[1] Johan et Pirlouit Benoît Brisefer Poussy |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | |
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Pierre Culliford (French:[kylifɔʁd]; 25 June 1928 – 24 December 1992) was a Belgian comics writer and artist who worked under the pseudonymPeyo ([pejo]). His best-known works are the comic book seriesThe Smurfs andJohan and Peewit, in the latter of which the Smurfs made their first appearance.[2]
Culliford was born in 1928 in the Belgian municipalitySchaerbeek, Belgium. He was the son of an English father and a Belgian mother.[3]
Culliford took on the name "Peyo" early in his professional career, based on an English cousin's mispronunciation of Pierrot (a diminutive form ofPierre).
After working briefly at the Compagnie Belge d'Actualités (CBA), a small and short-lived Belgian animation studio, Peyo began making comic strips for daily newspapers such asLe Soir shortly afterWorld War II. At the beginning of the 1950s, he brought his character Johan to the magazineSpirou, whom he soon gave a companion, the diminutive Peewit; the strip soon became a staple of the weeklies.[4] Peyo introduced the Smurfs in theJohan and Peewit storylineThe Magic Flute in 1958; the characters quickly supplanted Johan and Peewit in popularity and left them behind for their own series.
In 1960, Peyo founded a studio to accommodate his assistants such asFrançois Walthéry, Gos, andMarc Wasterlain [fr] and created the seriesSteven Strong andJacky and Célestin [fr]. Peyo's output diminished in the 1970s, at first due to the time he invested inThe Smurfs and the Magic Flute (1976), a film adaptation of theJohan and Peewit story "La flûte à six schtroumpfs"; in the 1980s, he put more time, despite recurrent health problems, into an American adaptation ofThe Smurfs asan animated television series. After the series concluded, he left his publisherDupuis to found his own publishing house, Cartoon Creation, and a cartoon magazine,Schtroumpf!, which soon folded due to management problems. He joinedLe Lombard in 1992 but died a few months later.
Peyo began work, fresh from his coursework at theAcadémie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, at theCompagnie belge d'actualités [fr] (CBA), a small Belgian animation studio, where he met a few of his future colleagues and co-celebrities, likeAndré Franquin,Morris, andEddy Paape. When the studio folded after the war, the other artists went to work forDupuis, but Peyo, a few years younger than the others, was not accepted.[3] He made his first comics for the newspaperLa Dernière Heure (The Latest Hour), but also accepted many promotional drawing jobs for income. From 1949 to 1952, he drewPoussy, agag-a-day comic about a cat, forLe Soir. For the same newspaper, he also createdJohan.
In 1952, Franquin introduced Peyo toSpirou, a children'sFranco-Belgian comics magazine published byDupuis.[3] Peyo wrote and drew a number of characters and storylines, includingPierrot, andBenoît Brisefer (translated into English asSteven Strong). But his favourite wasJohan et Pirlouit (translated into English asJohan and Peewit), which was a continuation of the seriesJohan he had created earlier. He also continuedPoussy inSpirou.
Set in theMiddle Ages in Europe,Johan et Pirlouit stars a brave youngpage to the king, and his faithful, if boastful and cheating, dwarfsidekick.[5] Johan rides off to defend the meek on his trusty horse, while Peewit gallops sporadically behind on his goat, named Biquette. The pair was 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.
The first Smurf appeared inJohan and Peewit on 23 October 1958 in the albumLa 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 comics artists started to work. Peyo himself supervised the work and worked primarily onJohan and Peewit, leaving the Smurfs to the studio. The most notable artists to come out of this studio wereWalthéry,Marc Wasterlain [fr],Roland Goossens [nl] (Gos),Derib,Lucien De Gieter [nl], andDaniel Desorgher [nl].
In 1959, the Smurfs gottheir own series, and in 1960, two more began:Steven Strong andJacky and Célestin. Many authors of theMarcinelle school collaborated on the writing, or on the artwork, includingWilly Maltaite (aka 'Will'),Yvan Delporte, andRoger 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 (I.M.P.S. was established in 1985 by her).[3]
Themerchandising of the Smurfs began in 1959, with the PVC figurines as the most important aspect until the late 1970s. Then, with the success ofThe Smurfs records byPierre Kartner, the Smurfs achieved more international success, with a new boom in toys and gadgets. Some of these reached the United States, whereHanna-Barbera created aSaturday morning animated series in 1981 for which Peyo served as story supervisor.[6] Peyo's health began to fail. In 1989, after his partnership with Dupuis ended, he established Cartoon Creation to publish new Smurf stories. In late 1991, the company was forced to shut down due to mismanagement. The publishing rights were soon sold to Le Lombard.
In 1952, Culliford marriedNine Culliford. They had two children.
Peyo died of aheart attack in Brussels onChristmas Eve 1992, at the age of 64. His studio still exists, and new stories for various series are regularly produced under his name.[7]
Since his death, Peyo's children have continued to promote his work under the brand "Peyo". In the 2011 filmThe Smurfs, Peyo was included in the plot as a researcher who studied the myths concerning the Smurfs, who were made to be real-life legendary creatures in the film's storyline.
Only those comics Peyo collaborated on are listed here: the comics made in those series after his death can be found in the articles for each series. Artist and writers mentioned are only those officially credited: unnamed studio collaborators are not listed here.
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