Yet another classic figure who made a great mark in Franco-Belgian comics has passed away.
French comic artist Fred Othon Artistidès ((5th March, 1931-2nd April, 2013), pen-name
Fred, died on 3 April 2013.
Fred is best known for his series
Philémon, the adventures of a bare-footed young farm boy who travels to incredible worlds populated by centaurs, people with wings, flying castles and even a man whose body was made up of numbers.
Fred's handling of the surreal world of
Philémon was both highly praised and rated, the series being akin to Winsor McCay's
Little Nemo, Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or The Beatles' animated cartoon
Yellow Submarine.
The covers of his various books give you an idea of what they were like.
His stories were published in
Pilote, the weekly comic edited by Goscinny, with whom Fred worked closely.
Fred was among those artists who honoured the memory of Hergé after his death, by contributing a special strip - titled
Adieu Hergé - to a memorial issue of
(À Suivre) magazine.
16
Philémon albums were published, the latest coming out in February 2013, not long before his death, Fred having been advised to do some work in order to cope with depression.
An English-language film based on
Philémon is being planned.
