It’s getting mighty crowded in the Belgian comics events scene. First you had the “official” Comics Center (BCB/CBBD), offering an overview of the history of Belgian comics, a well-stocked collection of original art and quite an impressive library. Then there was the Home of the Comics, an initiative of the Fondation Jijé, which looks at things from a particular angle : it focuses on the glorious times of the Spirou Magazine, one of Belgium’s two major comics magazines.
So, it’s no surprise that the driving force behind that other magazine, Tintin, also wants his story heard. And so the Fondation Raymond Leblanc opened its doors recently in the former offices of the Tintin Magazine (famous for the rotating image of Tintin and snowy on its roof).
(cover to Tintin #42, taken from the Fondation Raymond LeBlanc site)
The Fondation aims at promoting that part of Belgian Comics that Leblanc, the founder of the Tintin Magazine, helped build. Its first exhibition is devoted to work by cartoonist Tibet. This may not be the most interesting or innovating of authors from the Tintin catalogue, but at 75 he’s still the most productive (2 books per year) and most popular one of his generation.
(cover to the 12th Ric Hochet by Tibet)
The exhibition focuses on Tibet’s most popular series, the detective series Ric Hochet and Chic Bill, a western, but it also shows less known work, and ephemera galore.
So, if you’ve got some time to spare after the Comics Center and the Comic Walls Walk, why not visit the Fondation Leblanc – Avenue Henri Spaak 7, Wednesday to Fridays.
Tue, May 8, 2007
Comics and cartoons, From our Continental Correspondent