The Ephemerist

In 2002 the Dupuis series, Les Tuniques Bleues, one of the most succesful ongoing series ever, celebrated its 50th book with a special edition of Spirou Magazine.

The series, written by Raoul Cauvin and illustrated by Willy Lambil, tells of the adventures of Sergeant Cornelius Chesterfield and Corporal Blutch, two members of the Unionist cavalry during the American Civil War.  One of the nice aspects of the books is that they are not only quite entertaining and reasonably thrilling, but also very well researched, and that each episode focues on one particular aspect of the war and its effect on society.  As with every long -running series, this one has had its ups and downs, but I think one can fairly say that at least half of the books are really worth checking out.

Now, back to  that Spirou Special.  With a character named Blutch, what better cartoonist to create a spoof/laudatio than French literary comics hero Blutch ?  In this two-page story, Blutch plays on the naming confusion, on the difference between generations of comics and their creators, and on the influence of comics on the kind of person you become.

(From Spirou Magazine 3354 , May 22, 2002 - Les Tuniques Bleues © Dupuis, Blutch © Blutch)