Redbeard (French: Barbe-Rouge) is a series of Belgian comic books, originally published in French, created by writer Jean-Michel Charlier and artist Victor Hubinon. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Jean-Michel Charlier ( October 30, 1924 - July 10, 1989) was a Belgian Scriptwriter best known as a writer of realistic Victor Hubinon ( April 26, 1924 - January 8, 1979) was a Belgian Comic-book artist best known for the series After their deaths the series was continued by other artists, including Jijé (Joseph Gillain), Christian Gaty, Patrice Pellerin, Jean Ollivier, Christian Perrissin and Marc Bourgne. Jijé ( January 13, 1914 - June 20, 1980) was a Belgian comics artist, best known for Spirou et Fantasio
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Publications
The series was very popular in France, Belgium and The Netherlands, but has not yet been published in English. In late seventies and early eighties, most of the classic episodes were also published in Yugoslavia (in the Serbian language) under the name Demon s Kariba (Demon of the Caribbean). See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian Serbian (sr-Cyrl српски језик sr-Latn ''srpski jezik'' is a South Slavic language, In Croatia, the series was first published under the name Crvenobradi but later under the name Riđobradi (in the Croatian language). Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Croatian language ( hrvatski jezik) is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in neighbouring In Germany, the series is known under the name: Der rote Korsar, and in Denmark 5 albums have been published under the name Rødskæg.
The characters
- Redbeard is a pirate of French origin. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering After a troublesome youth he went roaming the seven seas for gold and fortune on his ship, the Black Falcon. He has gathered a great fortune over the years, most of which was hidden in the Florida Everglades. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Everglades is also the name of a city in Collier County Florida But a lot of his fortune was needed to buy or repair his ships. His used to have a secret base on an uninhabited island, but this was destroyed first by the British, Spanish and Dutch forces and finally in a volcanic eruption. According to the later spin-off series, his real name supposedly is Jean-Baptiste Cornic, however it can be debated whether this is canon or not. Redbeard ( French: Barbe-Rouge) is a series of Belgian Comic books, originally published in French, created by writer
- Eric Lerouge ("the red", although his hair is blond!), is the adopted son of Redbeard. In fact, he can be seen as the main character of the series, despite the title, as some episodes deal with Eric and do not feature Redbeard at all. In 1715, Redbeard found young Eric during a raid on a ship, while abandoned by his parents (who were killed in the attack). His true name and legacy were revealed later, in documents that Redbeard had taken during the attack. Eric's true name is Thierry de Montfort. He is a nobleman, but the claim to his father's name has been lost, and hence convicted to travel the seas. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Eric dislikes the pirate life. He does not want to succeed Redbeard, and choose to lead an honest life, however many obstacles lay in his path. He has studied at the Royal Navy in London by using a fake name. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. He tried to earn a living as a captain on a tradeship, but Redbeard keeps coming back into his life, needing him for one of his jobs.
- Tripod (called that for his wooden leg and walking stick) is Redbeard's righthand. He is an inventor, geographer, and also has great knowledge of surgery and strategy and speaks Latin fluently. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. In fact, he has multiple wooden legs, each containing hidden tools, medicines or weapons. One leg is even modified into a rifle.
- Baba is an escaped slave of African origin, being abducted by slave traders from the Gulf of Guinea. The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. He was freed by Redbeard, and choose to remain as his loyal servant. Strong like a bull, and can swim like a dolphin. He had a sister called Aïcha, but she was killed in Algiers while helping Eric to escape. Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest
- The Black Falcon is the name of Redbeard's ship. There have been at least 4 different ships, as it sometimes was destroyed during battle. This first Falcon was a Brig, that was blown up by Redbeard himself after it had been captured by the Spanish. In nautical terms, a brig is a vessel with two square-rigged masts The second Black Falcon was a three-masted barque, and it burned while being sieged by the pirate Alvarez. A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel History of the term The word barc appears to have come from Celtic languages The third Falcon was also a three-masted barque, but with a very narrow hull. A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking It also had extended rigging and bigger sails, that could be raised and lower from the deck itself. Rigging (from Anglo-Saxon wrigan or wringing, "to clothe" is on Sailboats and Sailing ships the collection of Next to regular cannons, it featured two extremely heavy cannons (30cm caliber), named after Gog and Magog. | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural The tradition of Gog and Magog ( Hebrew גוג ומגוג Arabic يأجوج و مأجوج begins in the Hebrew Bible with the reference to Also there were 30 connected muskets, that could be fired at once. A musket is a muzzle -loaded Smoothbore Long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder The ship could also drop Naval mines. A naval mine is a self-contained Explosive device placed in water to destroy Ships or Submarines Unlike Depth charges mines are deposited Finally, there was a hidden surprise in the form of Greek fire: copper tubes could spray this substance over the water and onto enemy ships. Greek fire was a burning-liquid weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The ship gained its nickname the ship from hell in the siege of Algiers, causing mass mayhem and turning a great portion of the city into ashes. However it was blown up again by Redbeard, as there was no escape possible from the Dardanelles near Istanbul. See also [[Hellespont]] The Dardanelles ( Turkish: Çanakkale Boğazı Greek: Δαρδανέλλια Dardanellia) formerly Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey The fourth Back Falcon is again a regular three-masted barque.
Asterix parody
The absence of an English publication makes the series nearly unknown to a large portion of the public, while the scripts could have easily been converted to feature movies, like Pirates of the Caribbean. For the video game see Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl (video game Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black
Ironically, because of this, Redbeard is better known from a parody in the Asterix comic series, than his own series. The Adventures of Asterix ( French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois) is a series of French Since the album Asterix the Gladiator, a group of pirates appear in nearly every story, and their ship sinks at almost every meeting. Asterix the Gladiator is the fourth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories and Albert Uderzo (illustrations This is a list of recurring characters in the Asterix comics Main characters Asterix Obelix and Dogmatix (en Originally conceived as a joke, the pirates' appearance was so successful that they were fully integrated in the Astérix series. They were also featured in the animation film Asterix and Cleopatra and others. Asterix and Cleopatra is a Belgian/French animated film released in 1968; it is the second Asterix adventure to be made into a feature film
The reason behind this is that Jean-Michel Charlier had worked with the authors of Asterix, René Goscinny & Albert Uderzo, in the founding of the comics magazine Pilote in 1959 in which both Asterix and Redbeard first appeared. René Goscinny ( August 14, 1926 &ndash November 5, 1977) was a French author editor and humorist who is best known for the Albert Uderzo (born April 25, 1927) is a French Comic book artist and scriptwriter. Pilote was a French cartoon periodical published from 1959 to 1989
In fact, even in continental Europe Asterix's pirates are more well-known, making this one of the few times that a parody has overshadowed its original.
Historical background
Redbeard's adventures mainly take place in the period between 1715 to 1750. The character of Redbeard was based on various historical pirates, like the Frenchman Robert Surcouf (1773-1827), as Charlier & Hubinson created three comics about him between 1949-1952, and these stories would later be the basis of this series. Surcouf redirects here for ships of this name see French ship Surcouf. Also used are stories about the Turkish admiral Khair ad Din (1483-1546), whose Italian name Barbarossa means "Red Beard". Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha ( Turkish: Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa or Hızır Hayreddin Paşa; also Hızır Reis before being promoted to the Parts of his cruel appearance might be based on the notorious Blackbeard, active in the Caribbean Sea, and his fame and successes in the series resembles that of Bartholomew Roberts, who successfully conquered over 450 ships. Edward Teach (tɛtʃ c 1680 – November 22, 1718) better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English Pirate in the Caribbean Born John Roberts ( May 17, 1682 &ndash February 10, 1722) Bartholomew Roberts was a Welsh Pirate who raided shipping
A lot of what is going on in the stories is based on real history:
- In the first album, we get to know about the Viceroyalty of New Spain: The territories of the Spanish Empire in New World; North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Viceroyalty of New Spain (Virreinato de Nueva España was a name given to the Viceroy -ruled territories of the Spanish Empire in North America, The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. In the 18th century, the Spanish were most of the time in war with The British, France and the Dutch.
- The album The Brand Of The King takes place in the Mediterranean Sea, were galley slaves were marked with the French "Fleur de lis " symbol, by using a hot stake. " Galley slave " is a term used to refer to prisoners condemned (in an obsolete form of punishment to man the oars of a Galley. It also featured Barbary pirates. The Barbary pirates, also sometimes called Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim Pirates and Privateers that operated from North Africa, from
- The Ghost Ship & Dead Man's Island featured the (fictive) treasure of historical pirate Henry Morgan. Admiral Sir Henry Morgan (Hari Morgan in Welsh) ( ca 1635 &ndash August 25, 1688) was a Welsh Privateer, who made a name
- The Spanish Ambush shows the court of the Spanish Viceroy in Cartagena. A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the Monarch.
- The Letter Of Marque And Reprisal explains the difference between a pirate and a privateer. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping
- Albums 16 to 19 deal with the Ottoman Empire, including Istanbul and Algiers. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest
- Albums 21 to 23 deal with the Aztecs: Although their civilisation was wiped out by the Spanish in about 1520, Redbeard finds a hidden city in the jungle of Yucatán with their last living descendants. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula.
- Albums 26 to 28 describe the French-British battle at the Indian Ocean, especially between French gouvernor Joseph François Dupleix and British Robert Clive. Joseph François Dupleix ( January 1, 1697 – November 10, 1763) was governor general of the French establishment in India Clive of India redirects here For the film see Clive of India (film. Also mentioned is the Maratha Empire, with its island fortress Suvarnadurg. The Maratha Empire ( Marathi: मराठा साम्राज्य Marāṭhā Sāmrājya; also transliterated Mahratta Suvarnadurg (also spelt in England as Severndroog) is an island Fortress near Harnai in Konkan, along the western coast of India, between
- Album 28 features the fictitious daughter of the historical pirate Olivier Levasseur. Olivier Levasseur ( Calais, 1680 or 1690 - Réunion, 7 July 1730) was a Pirate, nicknamed La Buse or La Bouche
- Album 33 mentions the "Punchao": a big golden sundisk from an Inti temple, which is eventually found at Machu Picchu. According to the Inca mythology, Inti was the Sun god, as well a patron deity of Tahuantinsuyu. Machu Picchu (Machu Pikchu "Old Peak" 'mɑtʃu 'piktʃu is a Pre-Columbian Inca site located 2400 meters (7875 ft above sea level
However starting from the 31th album, The War Of The Pirates (1997), historical errors start to appear. Writer Jean Ollivier brings Henry Morgan to the series as a living character, becoming the new gouvernor of Jamaica. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. But Morgan already died in 1688, while Redbeard's first adventure (album #1) takes place in 1715. Even in album 7: The Ghost Ship (1966), he is mentioned as being dead! In the following albums by writer Christian Perrissin and artist Marc Bourgne, the character of Redbeard himself also changes drastically. He gets more greedy, his love for Eric seems to be fading away, seems to have no honour anymore, he gets romantically involved with a girl but eventually he shoots her in the arm, causing the need to amputate it. All of these character features cannot be found in any of the previous albums.
Mentioned or visited are the French overseas territories in the New World, like: Fort-de-France, Île de la Tortue, New Orleans, Saint Croix, Port-au-Prince, Bourbon, Pondichéri, Fort Dauphin. Fort-de-France is the Capital of France 's Caribbean Département d'outre-mer of Martinique. Tortuga may refer to a Spanish word meaning Tortoise the name of several islands La Tortuga Island in New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana PortAuPrinceTapTapjpg|right|thumb|270px|A taptap (shared taxi in central Port-au-Prince Réunion ( French: Réunion or formally La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is an island located in the Indian Ocean, east of Puducherry (formerly; புதுச்சேரி or பாண்டிச்சேரி పాండిచెర్రి പുതുശ്ശേരി Pondichéry is a And likewise their Spanish counterparts: Cartagena, Veracruz, Mérida, Puerto Bello, Panama, Cuzco. Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states that constitute the republic of Mexico. Portobelo (formerly Puerto Bello, also Porto Belo) is a port city in Colón Province, Panama. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. ||} Cusco (also spelled Cuzco, and in the local Quechua language as Qusqu 'qos And these British territories: Barbuda, Barbados, Grand Cayman, Kingston, Jaffna, Saint-Augustin. Barbuda is an Island in the Eastern Caribbean, and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. Barbados ( Portuguese word for bearded-ones, bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz -dɒs situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Island nation Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands at about 196 km² and contains the capital George Town. Jaffna or Yazhpanam (யாழ்ப்பாணம் in Tamil meaning யாழ்= Saint-Augustin refers to various place names in Quebec, Canada
Albums
- 1: The Broken Compass (1959)
- 2: The Horror Of The Seven Seas (1960)
- 3: The Young Capitain (1979) * . Redbeard is a series of Belgian Comic books, originally published in French, created by writer Jean-Michel Charlier and artist Victor Hubinon
- 4: The Captain Without A Name (1961)
- 5: The Brand Of The King (1961)
- 6: Mutiny On The Ocean (1965)
- 7: The Ghost Ship (1966)
- 8: Dead Man's Island (1967)
- 9: The Spanish Ambush (1968)
- 10: The Downfall Of The Black Falcon (1969)
- 11: The Reckoning (1970)
- 12: The Treasure Of Redbeard (1971)
- 13: The Letter Of Marque And Reprisal (1971)
- 14: The Liberation Of Fort-de-France (1972)
- 15: The Invisible Pirate (1972)
- 16: Fight With The Moors (1973)
- 17: The Prisoner (1973)
- 18: The Ship From Hell (1974)
- 19: Hellfire (1979)
- 20: Island Of The Missing Ships (1980)
- 21: The Missing Of The Black Falcon (1982)
- 22: The Cursed Gold Of Huacapac (1987)
- 23: The City Of Death (1987)
- 24: Con With Slaves (1983)
- 25: Uprise In Jamaica (1987)
- 26: Pirates in Indian Waters (1991)
- 27: The Grand-Mongol (1992)
- 28: The Pirate Of The Merciless (1994)
- 29: Fight Over Tortuga (1995)
- 30: Gold And Glory (1996)
- 31: The War Of The Pirates (1997)
- 32: The Shadow Of The Devil (1999)
- 33: The Path Of The Inca (2000)
- 34: The Secret Of Elisa Davis - part 1 (2001)
- 35: The Secret Of Elisa Davis - part 2 (2004)
* ^ Previously unpublished chapter, also contains two short prequel stories:
*The Gold Of The San Christobal
*The Cobra
End of the series?
After Victor Hubinon died unexpectedly in 1979, Jijé (Joseph Gillain) took over. Jijé ( January 13, 1914 - June 20, 1980) was a Belgian comics artist, best known for Spirou et Fantasio But when he also died, the series was almost ended, as Jean-Michel Charlier believed nobody could take over. However, he finally managed to find not one, but two artists; Christian Gaty and Patrice Pellerin. As Charlier wrote in the book "Uprise In Jamaica" (1987): "Why not have two different artists? If James Bond can be played by different actors, so can Redbeard". Charlier himself dies in 1989. The series is then continued by Jean Ollivier and Gaty in 1991, with the addition: "The new adventures", however in 1999 it is changed back to just 'Redbeard'.
But in 2006 the publisher Dargaud announced the series will be ended, as it would not be appealing anymore to youngsters, who were the original target audience. But artist Marc Bourgne thinks there will be a comeback of the series somewhere in the future.
Spin-off
Since 1996 there is also a spin-off series, called "The Young Years Of Redbeard", created by different authors then the main series: the scenario is by Christian Perrissin and the artist is Daniel Redondo. Redbeard is a series of Belgian Comic books, originally published in French, created by writer Jean-Michel Charlier and artist Victor Hubinon
These stories deal with Redbeard's youth before he was a pirate and how he decided to become one. His name is given as Jean-Baptiste Cornic, a servant of the French king. Also explained is how he lost his eye.
- The Brothers Of The Coast (1996)
- The Lion Pit (1997)
- The Duel Of The Captains (1998)
- The island Of The Red Devil (1999)
- The Mutineers Of Port Royal (2001)
TV
In 1997 the animated series Barbe-Rouge was made by the French TF1 and Italian RAI. This series consists of 26 episodes of 24 minutes. It has also been broadcasted in English ("Captain Red Beard") and Italy ("Barbarossa"). The scenarios were written by Jean Cubaud. The animations were done by Pasquale Moreau and Thibault Deschamps, from PRH Création Images. [1] In 2005, a DVD with five episodes of the animated Redbeard series was released in France (Barbe-Rouge).
References
- Barbe-rouge publications dans Pilote BDoubliées (French)
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