Colin
Wilson
[contacted by Wouter Porteman]
Books of Colin Wilson (1949, New Zealand) (in French):
La Jeunesse de Blueberry (scénario de Jean-Michel Charlier (tome 4-6)/François Corteggiani (deel 6-9), 5 albums, Novedi (tome 4-7)/Alpen Publishers (tome 8)/Dargaud (tome 9)) • Los Angeles (scénario de Michel Vandam, Casterman) • Dans l'Ombre du Soleil (scénario de Thierry Smolderen (tome 3), 3 albums, Glénat) • Du Plomb dans la Tête (scénario de Matz, 3 albums, Casterman) • Sleeper (scénario de Ed Brubaker, Semic) • Temps de Chien (scénario de Gordon Rennie, Erko) • Tex (scénario de Claudio Nizzi, tome 3, Semic) • Thunderhawks (scénario de François Corteggiani, 2 albums, Soleil).

Website: www.canyonblueberry.com
What makes Franquin so special?
Humour. The anarchic humour and energy. From little I've seen of BD in Europe, pre-Franquin work now look so stiff and old-fashioned. Those early Spirou stories still look fresh today, and so I really enjoyed the manic energy that developed as his work progressed into the '60's and '70's.
What was your first contact with the man his work? What do you remember of it? Did you met him personal?
I discovered his work in 1981 or 1982 when I visited Amsterdam for the first time. I doubt if any of his work had appeared in English at the time — I certainly had never seen anything — and so when I found some Dutch editions of Spirou they were a real revelation. It didn't matter that I couldn't read the text... the images were just so wonderfully energetic, and funny. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to meet the man.
What is your favourable Franquin album, -adventure, -joke or -character and why?
While I loved the humour of Gaston, and then the Idees Noires pages, it's still Marsupilami that I think of when the name Franquin comes up.
Has Franquin influenced your work?
I don't think so, at least not in any direct sense.

What impact has Franquin on the comic world today?
Hard to say what impact any one author might have had on the comics world... I don't think that I'd be qualified to have anything worthwhile to say on that. I just wish that more of his work was available to the English language comic reader...