Peyo

Pierre Culliford(French:[kylifɔʁd];25 June 1928 – 24 December 1992) was a Belgian comics writer and artist who worked under the pseudonymPeyo([pejo]). His best-known works are the comic book seriesThe SmurfsandJohan and Peewit,the latter in which the Smurfs made their first appearance.

Peyo
Peyo in 1990
Born	Pierre Culliford (1928-06-25)25 June 1928 Brussels,Belgium
Died	24 December 1992(1992-12-24)(aged 64) Brussels, Belgium
Area(s)	Writer, artist
Notable works	The Smurfs Johan et Pirlouit Benoît Brisefer Poussy
Spouse(s)	Nine Culliford ​ (m.1952)​
Children	2
Signature

Early life

Culliford was born in 1928 in the Belgian municipalitySchaerbeek,Belgium. He was the son of an English father and a Belgian mother.

Career

Culliford took on the name "Peyo" early in his professional career, based on an English cousin's mispronunciation of Pierrot (a diminutive form ofPierre).

After working briefly at the Compagnie Belge d'Actualités (CBA), a small and short-lived Belgian animation studio, Peyo began making comic strips for daily newspapers such asLe Soirshortly afterWorld War II.At the beginning of the 1950s, he brought his character Johan to the magazineSpirou,whom he soon gave a companion, the diminutive Peewit; the strip soon became a staple of the weeklies.Peyo introduced the Smurfs in theJohan and PeewitstorylineThe Magic Flutein 1958; the characters quickly supplanted Johan and Peewit in popularity and left them behind for their own series.

In 1960, Peyo founded a studio to accommodate his assistants such asFrançois Walthéry,Gos, andMarc Wasterlainand created the seriesSteven StrongandJacky and Célestin.Peyo's output diminished in the 1970s, at first due to the time he invested inThe Smurfs and the Magic Flute(1976), a film adaptation of theJohan and Peewitstory "La flûte à six schtroumpfs"; in the 1980s, he put in more time, despite recurring health problems, into an American adaptation ofThe Smurfsasan animated television series.After the series concluded, he left his publisherDupuisto found his own publishing house, Cartoon Creation, and a cartoon magazine,Schtroumpf!,which soon folded due to management problems. He joinedLe Lombardin 1992 but died a few months later.

Peyo began work, fresh from his coursework at theAcadémie Royale des Beaux-Artsin Brussels, at theCompagnie belge d'actualités(CBA), a small Belgian animation studio, where he met a few of his future colleagues and co-celebrities, likeAndré Franquin,Morris,andEddy Paape.When the studio folded after the war, the other artists went to work forDupuis,but Peyo, a few years younger than the others, was not accepted.He made his first comics for the newspaperLa Dernière Heure(The Latest Hour), but also accepted many promotional drawing jobs for income. From 1949 to 1952, he drewPoussy,agag-a-daycomic about a cat, forLe Soir.For the same newspaper, he also createdJohan.

In 1952, Franquin introduced Peyo toSpirou,a children'sFranco-Belgian comicsmagazine published byDupuis.Peyo wrote and drew a number of characters and storylines, includingPierrot,andBenoît Brisefer(translated into English asSteven Strong). But his favourite wasJohan et Pirlouit(translated into English asJohan and Peewit), which was a continuation of the seriesJohanhe had created earlier. He also continuedPoussyinSpirou.

Set in theMiddle Agesin Europe,Johan et Pirlouitstars a brave youngpageto the king, and his faithful, if boastful and cheating, dwarfsidekick.Johan rides off to defend the meek on his trusty horse, while Peewit gallops sporadically behind on his goat, named Biquette. The pair was driven by duty to their king and the courage to defend the underpowered. Peewit only appeared in the third adventure in 1954 but would stay for all later adventures.

Smurfs

The first Smurf appeared inJohan and Peewiton 23 October 1958 in the albumLa Flûte à Six Schtroumpfs(The Six Smurfed Flute). As the Smurfs became increasingly popular, Peyo started a studio in the early 1960s, where a number of talented comics artists started to work. Peyo himself supervised the work and worked primarily onJohan and Peewit,leaving the Smurfs to the studio. The most notable artists to come out of this studio wereWalthéry,Marc Wasterlain,Roland Goossens(Gos),Derib,Lucien De Gieter,andDaniel Desorgher.

In 1959, the Smurfs gottheir own series,and in 1960, two more began:Steven StrongandJacky and Célestin.Many authors of theMarcinelle schoolcollaborated on the writing, or on the artwork, includingWilly Maltaite(aka 'Will'),Yvan Delporte,andRoger Leloup.Peyo became more of a businessman and supervisor and was less involved in the actual creation of the comics. He let his son, Thierry Culliford, lead the studio, while his daughter Véronique was responsible for the merchandising (I.M.P.S. was established in 1985 by her).

Themerchandising of the Smurfsbegan in 1959, with the PVC figurines as the most important aspect until the late 1970s. Then, with the success ofThe Smurfsrecords byPierre Kartner,the Smurfs achieved more international success, with a new boom in toys and gadgets. Some of these reached the United States, whereHanna-Barberacreated aSaturday morning animated seriesin 1981 for which Peyo served as story supervisor.Peyo's health began to fail. In 1989, after his partnership with Dupuis ended, he established Cartoon Creation to publish new Smurf stories. In late 1991, the company was forced to shut down due to mismanagement. The publishing rights were soon sold to Le Lombard.

Personal life

In 1952, Culliford marriedNine Culliford.They had two children.

Death

Peyo died of aheart attackin Brussels onChristmas Eve1992, at the age of 64. His studio still exists, and new stories for various series are regularly produced under his name.

Legacy

Since his death, Peyo's children have continued to promote his work under the brand "Peyo". In the 2011 filmThe Smurfs,Peyo was included in the plot as a researcher who studied the myths concerning the Smurfs, who were made to be real-life legendary creatures in the film's storyline.

Awards and honours

• He received theYouth Prize (9–12 years)award 1984 at theAngoulême International Comics Festival,France.
• The 50th anniversary ofThe Smurfsand the 80th anniversary of the birth of its creator was celebrated by issuing a high-value collectors' coin: the Belgian 5 euro50th anniversary of The Smurfs commemorative coin,minted in 2008.

Bibliography

Only those comics Peyo collaborated on are listed here: the comics made in those series after his death can be found in the articles for each series. Artist and writers mentioned are only those officially credited: unnamed studio collaborators are not listed here.

• Jacky and Célestin,1960–1978: 10 stories inLe Soir,4 albums byDupuis:artwork byFrançois Walthéry,Francis,Jo-El Azaraand Mitteï, stories by Peyo, Gos, and Vicq
• Johan and Peewit(Johan et Pirlouit), 1952–1970: 13 albums by Dupuis
• Natacha,1992: 1 album by Dupuis, artwork by Walthéry, story by Peyo
• Pierrot (comics):1991, 1 album by Cartoon Creation
• Poussy,1977–, 3 albums by Dupuis
• The Smurfs(Les Schtroumpfs), 1959–, 17 albums by Dupuis: additional artwork by Alain Maury and Luc Parthoens, additional stories byYvan Delporte,Gos, Thierry Culliford
• Spirou et Fantasio,1969, 1 album by Dupuis, artwork byAndré FranquinandJidéhem,story by Peyo and Gos
• Steven Strong(Benoît Brisefer), 1960–1978, 7 albums by Dupuis, additional artwork byWill,Walthéry, Marc Wasterlain and Albert Blesteau, additional stories by Yvan Delporte, Gos, and Blesteau

External links

• Peyo biographyon Lambiek Comiclopedia, lambiek.net
• Peyo biography,dupuis(in English)
• Peyo biographyThe Smurfsofficial site