Jeremiah (comics)

Summary

Jeremiah is a Belgian science fiction comic book series by Hermann Huppen. Jeremiah was created in 1979 for the German magazine Zack, and had a premiere in Sarajevo based Strip art magazine, since the editor of this magazine, Ervin Rustemagic, was also Hermann's manager. It has also been serialized in the French-language Métal Hurlant[1] and Spirou magazine, as well as the Serbian magazines Stripoteka and Politikin Zabavnik. Currently, there are 40 volumes and one "Special Edition" in French and Dutch.

Jeremiah
The cover from Jeremiah #1, La nuit des rapaces (April 1979).
Jeremiah: La nuit des rapaces (April 1979)
Created byHermann Huppen
Publication information
Publisher
Title(s)
  • La Nuit des rapaces
  • Du sable plein les dents
  • Les Héritiers sauvages
  • Les Yeux de fer rouge
  • Un cobaye pour l'éternité
  • La Secte
  • Afromerica
  • Les Eaux de la colère
  • Un hiver de clown
  • Boomerang
  • Delta
  • Julius et Romea
  • Strike
  • Simon est de retour
  • Alex
  • La Ligne rouge
  • Trois motos... ou quatre
  • Ave Caesar
  • Zone frontière
  • Mercenaires
  • Le Cousin Lindford
  • Le Fusil dans l'eau
  • Qui est renard bleu?
  • Le Dernier Diamant
  • Et si un jour, la Terre...
  • Un port dans l'ombre
  • Elsie et la rue
  • Esra va très bien
  • Le petit chat est mort
  • Fifty-Fifty
  • Le panier de crabes
  • Le Caïd
  • Un gros chien avec une blonde
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s)  and a set of graphic novels.
Original languageFrench
Genre
Publication date1979 – present
Main character(s)
  • Jeremiah
  • Kurdy
Creative team
Writer(s)Hermann Huppen
Artist(s)
  • Hermann Huppen

Plot edit

Racial wars have torn the U.S. apart, resulting in a post-apocalyptic world. Many small pockets of civilization still exist; from isolated super high-tech fortresses, hidden research labs, or racial groups in walled-in cities — all fighting each other among the more regular population which in many ways resembles the "old west".

Jeremiah and his friend Kurdy travel the country, taking odd jobs and getting mixed up in various affairs. Jeremiah, being the more noble of the two, often sticks his neck out to help others, while Kurdy is a more wily, opportunistic scoundrel.

Despite its setting, Jeremiah's underlying motif is of hope and the survival of mankind. The storylines carry little from album to album, meaning they can be read individually.

Reception edit

Jeremiah has been translated into 26 languages,[2] and has a large fan base in Europe. Tome #25, Et si un jour la Terre, was nominated for the 2005 Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize Awarded by the Audience.

Various attempts to introduce the series to the American market have had middling results, mostly due to the different tastes of the American and European comic book public. The current holder of the English language copyrights is Strip Art Features (SAF). After failing to reach American audiences in the 1980s and 1990s with such publishers as Fantagraphics, Catalan Communications, and Malibu Comics; Jeremiah (and SAF) found success with Dark Horse beginning in the 2000s. In March 2012, Dark Horse Comics began another English language reprint series in collaboration with SAF; three volumes of the Jeremiah Omnibus, collecting tomes 1 to 3, 4 to 6, and 7 to 9 respectively, have been released as of October 2017. In May 2019, SAF released digital editions of volumes 1 to 6, and later of volumes 7 to 9 in July 2020.

List of titles edit

Following are the Jeremiah comic albums as named in French, with publication dates.

Tome Number Title Publication date
1 La Nuit des rapaces April 1979
2 Du sable plein les dents Oct. 1979
3 Les Héritiers sauvages Jan. 1980
4 Les Yeux de fer rouge July 1980
5 Un cobaye pour l'éternité May 1981
6 La Secte Feb. 1982
7 Afromerica Sept. 1982
8 Les Eaux de la colère April 1983
9 Un hiver de clown Nov. 1983
10 Boomerang Oct. 1984
11 Delta Oct. 1985
12 Julius et Romea Oct. 1986
13 Strike May 1988
14 Simon est de retour Sept. 1989
15 Alex Sept. 12, 1990
16 La Ligne rouge Oct. 7, 1992
17 Trois motos... ou quatre Feb. 2, 1994
18 Ave Caesar May 31, 1995
19 Zone frontière April 10, 1996
20 Mercenaires Sept. 3, 1997
21 Le Cousin Lindford Oct. 1998
22 Le Fusil dans l'eau Mar. 7, 2001
23 Qui est renard bleu? Mar. 6, 2002
24 Le Dernier Diamant Apr. 2, 2003
25 Et si un jour, la Terre Apr. 2004
26 Un port dans l'ombre? Oct. 2005
27 Elsie et la rue Jan. 2007
28 Esra va très bien Jan. 2008
29 Le petit chat est mort Jan. 2010
30 Fifty-Fifty Feb. 2011
31 Le panier de crabes Jan. 2012
32 Le Caïd Feb. 2013
33 Un gros chien avec une blonde Sept. 2014
34 Jungle City Oct. 2015
35 Kurdy Malloy et Mama Olga Sept. 2017
36 Et Puis Merde Oct. 2018
37 La Bête Sept. 2019
38 Tu piges? Sept. 2020
39 Rancune Sept. 2022
40 Celui qui manque Oct. 2023

English language Jeremiah comics edit

English title Publisher Publication date Translated book Note
The Survivors Vol. 1: Talons of Blood Fantagraphics Aug. 1982 Jeremiah 1: La Nuit des rapaces
The Survivors Vol. 2: The Eyes That Burned Fantagraphics Sept. 1983 Jeremiah 4: Les Yeux de fer rouge
Jeremiah 13: Strike Catalan Communications June 1990 Jeremiah 13: Strike ISBN 0-87416-106-1
Jeremiah: Birds of Prey #1–2 Adventure Comics Jan. 1991 Jeremiah 1: La Nuit des rapaces
Jeremiah: A Fistful of Sand #1–2 Adventure Comics June 1991 Jeremiah 2: Du sable plein les dents
Jeremiah: The Heirs #1–2 Adventure Comics Sept. 1991 Jeremiah 3: Les Héritiers Sauvages
Jeremiah: Gun in the Water Strip Art Features/Dark Horse Comics Nov. 2002 Jeremiah 22: Le Fusil dans l'Eau ISBN 978-1-56971-827-8
Jeremiah: Mercenaries Strip Art Features/Dark Horse Comics Dec. 2003 Jeremiah 20: Mercenaires ISBN 978-1-59396-001-8
Jeremiah Omnibus Vol. 1 Strip Art Features/Dark Horse Comics Mar. 2012 Jeremiah tomes 1–3 ISBN 978-1-59582-945-0
Jeremiah Omnibus Vol. 2 Strip Art Features/Dark Horse Comics Nov. 2012 Jeremiah tomes 4–6 ISBN 978-1-61655-085-1
Jeremiah Omnibus Vol. 3 Strip Art Features/Dark Horse Comics Oct. 2013 Jeremiah tomes 7–9 ISBN 978-1-61655-299-2
Jeremiah Book #1: Birds of Prey Strip Art Features May 2019 Jeremiah 1: La Nuit des rapaces ISBN 978-9-61945-197-7
Jeremiah Book #2: A Fistful of Sand Strip Art Features May 2019 Jeremiah 2: Du sable plein les dents ISBN 978-9-61945-198-4
Jeremiah Book #3: The Heirs Strip Art Features May 2019 Jeremiah 3: Les Héritiers sauvages ISBN 978-9-61945-199-1
Jeremiah Book #4: The Eyes that Burned Strip Art Features May 2019 'Jeremiah 4: Les Yeux de fer rouge ISBN 978-9-61947-140-1
Jeremiah Book #5: A Guinea Pig for Eternity Strip Art Features May 2019 Jeremiah 5: Un cobaye pour l'éternité ISBN 978-9-61947-141-8
Jeremiah Book #6: The Cult Strip Art Features May 2019 Jeremiah 6: La Secte ISBN 978-9-61947-142-5
Jeremiah Book #7: Afromerica Strip Art Features July 2020 Jeremiah 7: Afromerica ISBN 978-9-61708-119-0
Jeremiah Book #8: Waters of Wrath Strip Art Features July 2020 Jeremiah 8: Les Eaux de la colère ISBN 978-9-61708-120-6
Jeremiah Book #9: Winter of the Clowns Strip Art Features July 2020 Jeremiah 9: Un hiver de clown ISBN 978-9-61708-121-3

Television series edit

An American television series, Jeremiah, was produced from 2002–2004. Developed by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski and executive produced by Straczynski and Sam Egan, the series is loosely based on the Jeremiah comics series. Aside from the names of the two main characters, the general personality of the protagonist, and the post-apocalyptic setting, there are no similarities between the comics and the series.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Poussin, Gilles; Marmonnier, Christian (2005). Métal hurlant, 1975-1987, la machine à rêver [Métal Hurlant, 1975-1987: the Dream Maker] (in French). Paris: Denoël.
  2. ^ Garcia, Frank; Phillips, Mark (2013-09-27). Science Fiction Television Series, 1990-2004: Histories, Casts and Credits for 58 Shows. McFarland. ISBN 9780786491834.

External links edit

  • Hermann Huppen official site
  • Dark Horse profile
  • Jeremiah series at Dupuis Editions