JaMiE BaKeR: fallout

No, that’s not one of my drawings there… I WISH I could make it look so easy… *SIGH*

It’s by one of my all-time favourite cartoonists; the comics artist DENIS BODART. He is having an exhibition in Europe at the moment. But even for those of us who don’t live there, you can get a marvellous sample of what’s on show ONLINE.

I first became aware of his work when I was working at the DISNEY studio in Paris in 1990. I found a book he had drawn called CELESTIN SPECULOOS: Les Affreaux, in one of those fantastic comic-book stores they have in France. Soon after I picked up another book with the same character called MAI 1968. They both feature a spunky reporter/photgrapher gal called MAITE and her boyfriend Celestin Speculoos.

Since I no longer live in Europe it’s a little hard to keep up with what he does these days, but when visiting my sister in France last year, I was able to pick up some more BODART books: a series called GREEN MANOR. As far as I know, thats all he’s had published in book form, though he regularly does strips for magazines, or so I hear.

Anyway, I highly recommend looking at his work. It has a wonderful loose quality to the line, it is very vigorous and fresh, and the looseness is never at the cost of specificity…