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Freddy Lombard #1
The Will of Godfrey of Bouillon
Impetuous Freddy Lombard and his frustrated, but faithful, friends, Dina and Sweep, help discover the missing treasure of drunken aristocrat’s ancestor.
36 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1981
6 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Yves Chaland
50 books11 followersYves Chaland (French: [iv ʃalɑ̃] was a French cartoonist. He was a master of the ligne-clair style
During the 1980s, together with Luc Cornillon, Serge Clerc and Floc'h, he launched the Atomic style, a stylish remake of the Marcinelle School in Franco-Belgian comics.
Chaland published his first strips in the fanzine Biblipop when he was 17. During his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Saint-Etienne, he created his own fanzine, L'Unité de Valeur, in 1976, with Luc Cornillon.
In 1978, they met writer/editor Jean-Pierre Dionnet who hired them for his comics magazines Métal Hurlant and Ah Nana. These pastiches of 50s comics have been collected in the album Captivant. In September 1979 he married designer Isabelle Beaumenay-Joannet.
He then created the characters of Bob Fish, Adolphus Claar, Freddy Lombard, and Le Jeune Albert, a scamp character living in the Marolles, a working-class area of Brussels.
Yves Chaland, was approached to draw an adventure of Spirou et Fantasio, appearinging in half-page installments of the weekly Spirou magazine. Done in a retro 50s style similar to his influences Jijé and André Franquin, both former artists on the Spirou feature. The unfinished story has been collected in the album Spirou et Fantasio – Hors Série, No. 4 (Dupuis, 2003).
He also did many advertising illustration commissions in his crisp, clean, "retro-modern" cartoon style.
Chaland died on 18 July 1990, following a car wreck, at the age of 33.
During the 1980s, together with Luc Cornillon, Serge Clerc and Floc'h, he launched the Atomic style, a stylish remake of the Marcinelle School in Franco-Belgian comics.
Chaland published his first strips in the fanzine Biblipop when he was 17. During his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Saint-Etienne, he created his own fanzine, L'Unité de Valeur, in 1976, with Luc Cornillon.
In 1978, they met writer/editor Jean-Pierre Dionnet who hired them for his comics magazines Métal Hurlant and Ah Nana. These pastiches of 50s comics have been collected in the album Captivant. In September 1979 he married designer Isabelle Beaumenay-Joannet.
He then created the characters of Bob Fish, Adolphus Claar, Freddy Lombard, and Le Jeune Albert, a scamp character living in the Marolles, a working-class area of Brussels.
Yves Chaland, was approached to draw an adventure of Spirou et Fantasio, appearinging in half-page installments of the weekly Spirou magazine. Done in a retro 50s style similar to his influences Jijé and André Franquin, both former artists on the Spirou feature. The unfinished story has been collected in the album Spirou et Fantasio – Hors Série, No. 4 (Dupuis, 2003).
He also did many advertising illustration commissions in his crisp, clean, "retro-modern" cartoon style.
Chaland died on 18 July 1990, following a car wreck, at the age of 33.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 20, 2024
Currently available on Kindle Unlimited, this is the first volume in the series, originally published in the early 1980s.
The author and his leading protagonist, Freddy Lombard, are the objects of a near cult in the Franco-Belgian cartoon world. Yves Chaland was the originator of a new style, a parodic revival of 1950s ligne claire, which was highly influential. He also died very young in a car accident, which always seems to add to a legend.
But is this short story any good?
It’s a very basic adventure, a treasure hunt that Freddy and his friends stumble across, stumble through, and stumble out of. The story just ends rather than comes to an end.
The storytelling is haphazard, funny in places, but chaotic, with endless non sequiturs. The art is indeed very characteristic and rather good, but nothing special. It’s underwhelming.
The titular protagonist is an unpleasant idiot who clowns around whilst his sidekicks get on with sensible things. Who they are, why they are together, why they even tolerate each other are complete mysteries. At least Tintin had a reason to have adventures. He was a cub reporter stumbling across baddies and foiling them. Who are these guys? Just random cyphers. The idiot one, the grumpy one, and the blonde. Really?
These are just shallow caricatures in a shallow caricature of an adventure story. One really has to ask what was the point? It’s bland, forgettable, and barely entertaining. For such a celebrated cartoon series, it’s downright disappointing. Not one I’ll read again.
The author and his leading protagonist, Freddy Lombard, are the objects of a near cult in the Franco-Belgian cartoon world. Yves Chaland was the originator of a new style, a parodic revival of 1950s ligne claire, which was highly influential. He also died very young in a car accident, which always seems to add to a legend.
But is this short story any good?
It’s a very basic adventure, a treasure hunt that Freddy and his friends stumble across, stumble through, and stumble out of. The story just ends rather than comes to an end.
The storytelling is haphazard, funny in places, but chaotic, with endless non sequiturs. The art is indeed very characteristic and rather good, but nothing special. It’s underwhelming.
The titular protagonist is an unpleasant idiot who clowns around whilst his sidekicks get on with sensible things. Who they are, why they are together, why they even tolerate each other are complete mysteries. At least Tintin had a reason to have adventures. He was a cub reporter stumbling across baddies and foiling them. Who are these guys? Just random cyphers. The idiot one, the grumpy one, and the blonde. Really?
These are just shallow caricatures in a shallow caricature of an adventure story. One really has to ask what was the point? It’s bland, forgettable, and barely entertaining. For such a celebrated cartoon series, it’s downright disappointing. Not one I’ll read again.
January 13, 2024
A straightforward action adventure tale where Freddy Lombard and friends search for some missing treasure. It's built-up in the same way of any "Tintin" adventure but Yves Chaland's art is distinctive enough to not really dwell too much on the similarities. The story itself didn't really impress, but I really liked Chaland's compositions and sense of pacing. I've heard the "Freddy Lombard" stories do get better after this one, so I'll stick with it.
July 12, 2018
The art couldn't be more beautiful but the story is nothing to write home about.
June 12, 2019
FREDDY LOMBARD, VOL. 1 by Yves Chaland - beautiful adventure cartooning.
September 25, 2020
I could happily read a big pile of these. I love the art style.
January 11, 2021
One can't help but compare this to Herge's Tintin as it was no doubt inspired by it. Definitely with a darker edge, and perhaps not written as well, but entertaining nonetheless.
July 13, 2021
Juvenile
The premise was interesting, but the story turned out to be too juvenile for my taste. The illustrations were nice, though.
The premise was interesting, but the story turned out to be too juvenile for my taste. The illustrations were nice, though.
August 9, 2023
Un cómic de aventuras simpático en la línea del personaje.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews