The Author
 |
Born in 1946, Jacques Tardi spent the first years of his life in postwar Germany, where his grandfather was a career soldier. Later, the atrocities of World War I (1914-1918), in which his Corsican grandfather fought, haunted young Jacques' dreams, and much later would become a driving theme in his creative work. |
| After
studying at the School of Fine Arts in Lyon, and then at the School of
Decorative Arts in Paris, Jacques Tardi made his début in 1969
in the weekly comic magazine Pilote. In 1972, his first long story appeared
- Rumeurs sur le Rouergue, written by Christin, published by Futuropolis
in 1976. Aside from various unfinished works, he published Adieu Brindavoine
with Dargaud in 1974 (republished by Casterman in 1979, followed by La
fleur au fusil), then Le démon des glaces. |
 |
 |
In 1974, Le véritable histoire du soldat inconnuwas published by
Futuropolis, in the "30x40" Collection. In 1976, Jacques Tardi
won his first Casterman publication and begins the series of the Extraordinary
Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. Their success is immediate: Adèle
et la bête, Le démon de la tour Eiffel, Le savant fou, Momies
en folie, Le secret de la salamandre, Le noyé à deux têtes,
Tous des monstres! |
At the same time, Jacques Tardi continued to develop and enrich his pace with other stories, including: Griffu (story by J.P. Manchette, published by Dargaud in 1982, republished by Casterman in 1996); Ici-Même (story by J.C. Forest, prepublished as a serial in the magazine A Suivre in 1978, published by Casterman in 1979), Le trou d'oblus (1984, Imagerie Pellerin), and Tueur de cafards (story by B. Legrand, Casterman 1984). In 1982, Jacques Tardi published a cartoon adaptation of Léo Malet's famous police novel Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac, and in 1988, he continued the tradition with 120, Rue de la Gare and in 1996, Casse-pipe à la nation (all three Casterman). |
 |
 |
- The
Grand Prix Phénix (1974) |
Jacques Tardi was also named a Knight
in the Order of Arts and Letters during the year 1985.
Tardi was illustrator of many short works: in 1985, the Futuropolis Publishing
House released two important volumes: Mines de plomb and Chiures de gomme,
which were exhaustive anthologies of all his graphic works (book covers, movie
posters, sketches, portfolios, caricatures...) as well as numerous unpublished
works.
It was in 1988, however, that Jacques Tardi realized his dearest dream by
magnificently illustrating - with some 600 black and white drawings - the
powerful work of Louis Ferdinand Céline: Voyage au bout de la nuit
(Futuropolis/Gallimard). This publication achieved formidable success, and
Jacques Tardi went on to illustrate two more works from Céline's series:
Casse-pipe (1989) and Mort à crédit (1991).
During this same period, Jacques Tardi developed the program of the exhibition
"The Petit Palais: When Paris Danced with Marianne" (Paris-Musées,
1989), the book Une gueule de bois en plomb, based upon characters created
by Léo Malet (Casterman, 1990), "Tardi en banlieue," program
of his charcoal-drawing exhibition at the Galerie Escale in Paris (Casterman,
1990), and Le sens de la Houppelande, a novel by Daniel Pennac (Futuropolis,
1991).
 |
Jeux pour mourir, adapted from the novel by Géo-Charles Véran, was released by Casterman at the end of 1992. In October 1993, C'était la guerre des tranchées was published, a work many years in development, based on documents and archives from that era which allowed him to capture, in graphic novel form, some of the absurdity and horror of the First World War, the war of his grandfather. L'Historial de la Grande Guerre, in Péronne Castle, inaugurated this work on May 15, 1993, with an exhibition of original pages from the soon-to-be-published work. |
| 1974: Adieu Brindavoine (Dargaud) 1974: Le Démon des Glaces (Dargaud) 1974: La Véritable Histoire du Soldat Inconnu (Futuropolis) 1976: Adèle et la Bête (Casterman) 1976: Le Démon de la Tour Eiffel (Casterman) 1976: Polonius (Scénario Picaret) (Futuropolis) 1976: Rumeurs sur le Rouergue (Futuropolis) 1977: Le Savant Fou (Casterman) 1978: Momies en Folie (Casterman) 1978: Griffu (scénario J.P. Manchette) (Ed. du Square) 1979: Adieu Brindavoine, suivi de La Fleur au Fusil (Casterman) 1979: Ici Même (Scénario J.C. Forest) (Casterman) 1979: Mouh Mouh (Pepperland) 1980: Déprime (Futuropolis) 1981: Le Secret de la Salamandre (Casterman) 1982: Griffu (scénario J.P. Manchette) (Dargaud) 1982: Brouillard au Pont de Tolbiac (Casterman) 1984: Le Trou d'Obus (Imagerie Pellerin) 1984: Tueur de Cafards (scénario de B. Legarnd) (Casterman) 1985: Le Noyé à Deux Têtes (Casterman) 1985: Mine de Bois en Plomb, Chiures de Gommes (Futuropolis) 1985: Grange Bleue (scénario D. Grange) (Futuropolis) 1988: 120, rue de la Gare (Adapté du roman de L. Malet) (Casterman) 1988: Voyage au Bout de la Nuit - Céline (illustrations de Jacques Tardi) (Futuropolis/Gallimard) 1989: Casse-Pipe - Céline (illustrations de Jacques Tardi) (Futuropolis/Gallimard) 1990: Une Gueule de Bois en Plomb (d'après les personnages de L. Malet) (Casterman) 1990: Tardi en Banlieue (Escale à Paris/Casterman) 1990: Rue des Rebuts (Alain Beaulet) 1991: Mort à Crédit - Céline (illustrations de Jacques Tardi) (Futuropolis/Gallimard) 1991: Le Sens de la Houppelande (Texte de D. Pennac) (Futuropolis) 1992: Un Prêtre en 1839 - Jules Vernes (illustrations de Jacques Tardi) (Cherche Midi) 1993: Jeux pour Mourir (Adapté du roman de G.C. Véran) (Casterman) 1993: San Carlos - Jules Verne (illustrations de Jacques Tardi) (Cherche Midi) |
 |
|
1993: C'était la Guerre des Tranchées (Casterman) 1994: Tous des Monstres! (Casterman) 1995: Un Strapontin pour Deux (avec Michel Boujut) (Casterman) 1996: Presque Tout Tardi (Sapristi) 1996: Griffu (scénario JP Manchette) (Casterman) 1996: Tardi par la Fenêtre (Christian Desbois Editions) 1996: Sodome et Virginie (d'après Daniel Prévost) (Casterman) 1996: Casse-Pipe à la Nation (Adapté du roman de L. Malet) (Casterman) 1997: Le Der des Ders (adapté du roman de Didier Daenincks) (Casterman) 1998: Le Mystère des Profondeurs (Casterman) 1999: Varlot Soldat (avec Didier Daeninckx) (L'Association) 2000: La Débauche (Scénario Daniel Pennac) (Futuropolis/Gallimard) 2001: Le Cri du Peuple - T1 - Les Canons du 18 Mars (avec Jean Vautrin) (Casterman) 2001: Carnet (L'Association) 2002: Le Cri du Peuple - T2 - L'Espoir Assassiné (avec Jean Vautrin) (Casterman) 2003: Le Voyage d'Alphonse (avec Antoine Leconte) (Duculot) 2003: Le Cri du Peuple - T3 - Les Heures Sanglantes (avec Jean Vautrin) (Casterman) |
