Morris (cartoonist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Morris |
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Morris in 1971
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| Born | Maurice De Bevere 1 December 1923 Kortrijk, Belgium |
| Died | 16 July 2001 (aged 77) Brussels, Belgium |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer, Artist |
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Notable works
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Lucky Luke |
| Awards | Full list |
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Maurice De Bevere (born December 1, 1923 – died July 16, 2001) was a famous Belgian cartoonist. He was known by his pen name, Morris. He created the very popular comic series Lucky Luke.
Lucky Luke is about a cowboy who travels through the Wild West. This comic series became a huge success. It was translated into many languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Morris also worked with the French writer René Goscinny for a long time on the series.
Contents
The Life of Morris
Morris was born in Kortrijk, Belgium. He went to a well-known school called a Jesuit college. His math teacher once told his parents that he would not succeed in life. This was because Morris spent his math classes drawing in the margins of his books! The uniforms at his school later inspired the outfits for the undertakers in his Lucky Luke comics.
Starting His Art Career
After college, Morris began his career drawing at a place called Compagnie Belge d'Actualités (CBA). This was a small animation studio in Belgium. There, he met other artists who would also become famous, like Peyo (who created The Smurfs) and André Franquin.
After World War II, the studio closed down. Morris then worked as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines. He drew many covers and pictures for Le Moustique, a French-language magazine. He often drew funny pictures, called caricatures, of movie stars for this magazine.
Morris passed away in 2001 due to a blood clot after an accidental fall.
Creating Lucky Luke
In 1946, Morris created his most famous character, Lucky Luke. The first story appeared in Spirou magazine. This was a popular Franco-Belgian comics magazine. Lucky Luke is a lonely cowboy who rides across the Wild West. He helps people in trouble with his loyal horse, Jolly Jumper. The very first adventure was called "Arizona 1880".
The "Gang of Four" Artists
Morris became one of the main artists for Spirou magazine. He was part of a group of four friends called La bande des quatre (The Gang of 4). The other artists were Jijé, André Franquin, and Will. Even though Morris didn't work in Jijé's studio like the others, they were all very close friends. They helped each other improve their art.
Morris in the United States
In 1948, Morris, Jijé, and Franquin traveled to the United States. They wanted to see the country, especially what was left of the Wild West. They also hoped to meet American comic artists. Morris stayed the longest, for six years!
During his time in the U.S., Morris met Jack Davis and Harvey Kurtzman. He even helped them start their famous Mad magazine. In the U.S., he also met René Goscinny, a French comic artist and writer.
Morris and Goscinny started working together. Goscinny wrote all the Lucky Luke stories from 1955 until he passed away in 1977. Goscinny became one of Europe's most successful comic writers. He was known for Lucky Luke and later for his Asterix series.
Morris's time in the United States was very important for his work. He collected a lot of information and ideas for his comics. He also learned about Hollywood movies. Because of this, Morris started using movie techniques in his comics. He used things like freeze-frames (where the action stops) and close-ups (where you see something up close).
Morris was also influenced by Walt Disney's drawing style. You can see this in the round, smooth lines of his early Lucky Luke comics. Many characters in his comics were also based on famous American actors, like Jack Palance and Gary Cooper. He even drew funny versions of French stars like Louis de Funès.
Lucky Luke's Popularity Grows
The first 31 Lucky Luke adventures were published by Dupuis. In the late 1960s, Morris moved to a different publisher, Dargaud, and their magazine Pilote. This magazine was started by his friend and collaborator, Goscinny.
In 1984, the animation studio Hanna-Barbera made a cartoon series of Lucky Luke. This made the comics even more popular. More animated cartoons were made in the 1990s. There were also three live-action movies and several video games based on the series.
Lucky Luke is one of the best-selling European comic series ever. It has sold over 300 million copies and is published in more than thirty languages!
Unlike many other artists, Morris usually focused on just one series. However, in the 1990s, he did create Rantanplan. This was a spin-off series from Lucky Luke, starring the funniest (and silliest) dog in the West.
In 2005, Morris was ranked 79th in a poll for "The Greatest Belgian" in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
Awards
- 1972: Grand Prix Saint-Michel, Brussels, Belgium
- 1992: Angoulême International Comics Festival, 20th anniversary Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême
See also
In Spanish: Morris (historietista) para niños
