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Zep (cartoonist)

Summary

Philippe Chappuis (born December 15, 1967), better known by his pen name Zep, is a Francophone Swiss cartoonist and illustrator. Zep is mostly known for his comics series Titeuf which he created in 1992, and has become since one of the most popular children's comics in French-speaking countries. He also founded the associated Franco-Belgian comics magazine Tchô!.

Zep
Zep in 2015
BornPhilippe Chappuis
(1967-12-15) December 15, 1967 (age 56)
Onex, Switzerland
NationalitySwiss
Area(s)artist, writer
Notable works
Titeuf
Victor
Awardsfull list

Biography edit

Philippe Chappuis was born on December 15, 1967, in the city of Onex on the outskirts of Geneva in Switzerland; he is the son of a policeman and a clothes designer.[1][2][3] As a child, he was an avid reader of Franco-Belgian comics or bande dessinée, and dreamed of becoming a professional cartoonist.[2] At the age of 12, he took the artist name "Zep" as a nod to English rock band Led Zeppelin.[1][2] As a teenager, he studied decorative arts in Geneva.[4]

Zep's career as cartoonist began with the creation of the character Victor, whose comics were published in a weekly women's magazine[3] and then in Belgian children's comic magazine Spirou in 1987.[5] Zep also drew comics for several fanzines.[3]

In the early 1990s, Zep created the comic series Titeuf inspired by memories of his own childhood.[3] At first struggling to find publication, the series was initially published in the fanzine Sauve qui peut before it was noticed by Glénat executive Jean-Claude Camano.[6] Zep joined Glénat in 1992, and the first Titeuf album, Dieu, le sexe et les bretelles (God, Sex And Suspenders) was published in 1993. It sold only a few thousand copies, but the following books have gradually won over a huge readership, outselling traditional French favorites such as Astérix and Lucky Luke.[7] More than 23 million copies of the series have been sold, and the series is considered the greatest moneymaker in the French comics market.[3][8] Titeuf books have been translated into 15 languages, including Chinese, Italian and German. In the UK, Titeuf appeared under the name Tootuff in The Dandy. The comics has been adapted into an animated series and a feature-length film, directed by Zep.

In 1998, he was one of the founders of children's comic magazine Tchô!, featuring Titeuf as its mascot, and with Zep as the lead editor.[9] Tchô! featured comics from various authors, including series authored by Zep such as Titeuf, Les Chronokids (with artists Stan & Vince) and Captain Biceps (with artist Tébo), the latter of which was adapted into an animated series.

With cartoonist and illustrator Hélène Bruller, Zep co-authored sex education manual Le guide du zizi sexuel featuring illustrations with characters from Titeuf.[10] Zep and Bruller also co-authored the children's book Les Minijusticiers which was adapted into an animated series.[11]

In 2004, Zep was the recipient of the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême, a lifetime achievement award which is one of the most prestigious in Franco-Belgian comics, making Zep the first Swiss author to receive the award.[1]

In 2006, Zep authored Découpé en tranches, an autobiographical graphic novel in the form of short stories in which the author details various aspects of his life.

In 2009, he authored the adult comic album Happy Sex, a compilation of humorous stories about sexuality. It was followed in 2010 by Happy Girls and Happy Rock which were re-editions of Les filles électriques and L'enfer des concerts respectively, originally released in the late 1990s.[12] In 2014, Zep released the comic album Happy Parents about parenthood, and in 2019 Happy Sex 2 as a follow-up to Happy Sex.

In the 2010s, Zep released graphic novels such as Une histoire d'hommes (2013), Un bruit étrange et beau (2016) and The End (2018), which were received by some critics as works outside of children's comics that cover mature themes, in an art style that has been described as more "realistic" than his previous works.[3][13]

Himself a hobbyist guitar player who has played for a number of Swiss bands,[14] Zep also designed album covers for Jean-Jacques Goldman (Chanson pour les pieds, 2001),[5] Bill Deraime (Bouge encore, 2008),[15] Henri Dès (Casse-pieds, 2013)[16] and Renaud (Les mômes et les enfants d’abord, 2019),[17] for whom he also directed the music video for Renaud's song "Les animals".[18]

Personal life edit

Zep was previously married to French illustrator and comic artist Hélène Bruller, with whom he co-authored the children's comic Les Minijusticiers and sex education book Le guide du zizi sexuel.[10][19] He later married Swiss writer Mélanie Chappuis.[20][21]

Bibliography edit

  • Victor n’en rate pas une, 1988
  • Léon Coquillard, scenario by Gilli, 1990
  • Kradok : Amanite Bunker, scenario by Leglode, 1991
  • Les amours contrariées de Calin et Labelle, 1995
  • Les filles électriques, 1997
  • L’enfer des concerts, 1999
  • Mes héros de la Bande Dessinée, 2001
  • Le Guide du zizi sexuel, scenario by Hélène Bruller [fr], 2001
  • Les mini-justiciers (The Minimighty Kids), scenario by Hélène Bruller, 2003
  • Petite poésie des saisons, 2005
  • Découpé en tranches, 2006
  • Portraits de famille, scenario by Benoît Mouchart, 2006
  • Titeuf
  1. Dieu, le sexe et les bretelles, 1993
  2. L’amour c’est pô propre, 1993
  3. Ça épate les filles, 1994
  4. C’est pô juste, 1995
  5. Titeuf et le derrière des choses, 1996
  6. Tchô, monde cruel, 1997
  7. Le miracle de la vie, 1998
  8. Lâchez-moi le slip, 2000
  9. La loi du préau, 2002
  10. Nadia se marie, 2004
  11. Mes meilleurs copains, 2006
  12. Le sens de la vie, 2008
  13. À la folie, 2012
  14. Bienvenue en adolescence, 2015
  15. À fond le slip, 2017
  16. Petite poésie des saisons, 2019
  17. La grande aventure, 2021
  1. L'invincible, 2004
  2. Le redoutable, 2005
  3. L'invulnérable, 2006
  • Les Chronokids, art by Stan & Vince (6 tomes, 2008-2018)
  • Happy Books
  1. Happy Sex, 2009
  2. Happy Girls, 2010
  3. Happy Rock, 2010
  4. Happy Parents, 2014
  5. Happy Sex 2, 2019
  • Une histoire d'hommes, 2013
  • What a wonderful world (2 tomes, 2015-2016)
  • Esmera, art by Vince
  • Un bruit étrange et beau, 2016
  • The End, 2018
  • Ce que nous sommes, 2022

Awards edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c Bisson, Julien (December 2, 2015). "Zep, le châtelain genevois" (in French). L'Express. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Zep : "J'avais envie de raconter des histoires qui ne sont pas de l'ordre de l'enfance"" (in French). Europe 1. October 16, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Krémer, Pascale (October 9, 2016). "Zep : « J'ai failli arrêter la bande dessinée »" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "Zep et ses amis rêvent d'une école de la bande dessinée à Genève" (in French). Le Temps. October 30, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Zep".
  6. ^ TV5Monde. "Émission du 22 mars" (in French). Archived from the original on 2007-09-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Ratier, Gilles. "ACBD bilan 2006: the new Titeuf had an initial run of 1,8 million copies in French alone, making it the best selling album of the year". ACBD.fr. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  8. ^ Castrillón, Marcos. "Beyond Borders – Not That Innocent". Ninth Art.
  9. ^ Herbez, Ariel (August 23, 2008). "«J'ai appris à dessiner!»" (in French). Le Temps. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Chardon, Elisabeth (January 22, 2005). "Hélène Bruller, femme de bulles" (in French). Le Temps. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  11. ^ Henni, Jamal (December 28, 2018). "Quand les scénaristes des Minijusticiers se déchirent" (in French). BFM TV. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  12. ^ Pasamonik, Didier (April 25, 2010). "Happy Zep". Actua BD (in French). Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  13. ^ Duplan, Antoine (July 24, 2018). "Les arbres murmurent à l'oreille de Zep" (in French). Le Temps. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  14. ^ Potet, Frédéric (January 26, 2018). "Dans l'atelier de Zep" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  15. ^ Lemancel, Anne-Laure (July 16, 2018). "Bill Deraime, une renaissance spirituelle". Radio France Internationale (in French). Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  16. ^ "Zep dessine une pochette pour Henri Dès". Tribune de Genève (in French). September 26, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  17. ^ Lachasse, Jérôme (November 29, 2019). "Zep: "Renaud est vraiment un personnage de bande dessinée"". BFM TV (in French). Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  18. ^ Pralong, Michel (November 13, 2019). "Zep réalise et s'invite dans le nouveau clip de Renaud". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  19. ^ Pralong, Michel (October 14, 2020). "Le Guide du zizi sexuel dépoussiéré". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  20. ^ "Mélanie Chappuis: «J'ai parfois l'impression de faire acte de justice»". Le Temps (in French). November 26, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  21. ^ Rieder, Caroline (October 18, 2020). "L'écrivaine romande cultive une mélancolie joyeuse". Tribune de Genève (in French). Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  22. ^ France-Jeunes.net. "Titeuf" (in French).
  23. ^ ActuaBD. "Titeuf : les secrets d'un triomphe" (in French).
  24. ^ a b "Titeuf – "Le Sens de la vie", Prix CANAL J 2009 du Meilleur Album Jeunesse" (in French). BDZoom. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.

Sources edit

  • Zep publications in Spirou BDoubliées (in French)
  • Zep albums Bedetheque (in French)

External links edit

  • Zep biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
  • Zep site on Glénat (in French)

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