RIP Gérald Forton

 Generation BD

December 18, 2021

 

It is with great sadness that we have just learned of the death of Gerald Forton, on December 16, 2021 (in Apple Valley, California), at the age of 90 years. As Marc Impatient, responsible for the small Belgian structure Hibou, which was his last publisher, and with whom he worked for 20 years on more than 40 albums, points out, “always affable, humble, never lacking in courtesy… he's a gentleman. who takes his bow! "
His very long career, with an enormous production, is difficult to enumerate in a few lines: this is however what we tried to do, in February 2010, with this" Heritage Corner "which was dedicated to him and which we are putting together. on the front page of the site to greet this immense popular cartoonist…

Often underestimated, this excellent designer had nevertheless won his letters of nobility with the "Kim Devil" written by Jean-Michel Charlier, an exotic series reissued by Sangam editions. In addition, the exhumation of "Teddy Ted" from the Hibou editions gives us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the prolific career of the sympathetic Gerald Forton who will be celebrating his 79 years very soon!

Gérald Marcel Forton was born to French parents in Brussels on April 10, 1931. He is none other than the grandson of Louis Forton, the creator of the famous “Pieds nickelés” (in May 1908) and “Bibi Fricotin” (in October 1924); but Gérald was only three years old when his grandfather died… The latter was therefore unable to influence his career! However, the notoriety of his ancestor undoubtedly allowed him not to meet any opposition from his parents when he announced to them that he wanted to get into comics. Returning to France since 1940, the latter, however, insisted that he first follow classical drawing studies.

While continuing his student career, the one who was to become the designer of “Bob Morane”, “Teddy Ted” or “Kim Devil” entertained himself by going to the cinema, especially seeing the serials Americans; but also by reading the adventures of “Buffalo Bill” in weekly booklets and the westerns drawn by Étienne Le Rallic (“Poncho Libertas”, “Jojo cowboy”, “Teddy Bill”…). He then entered the Ecole des Métiers d'Arts in Paris where he met Jean-Claude Forest: the future creator of “Barbarella” and “Hypocrite”, who followed the same preparatory studies for the Beaux-Arts. In his company, he discovers the American comic strip thanks to the magazines which are then distributed to GI's, at the Liberation: "Terry and the Pirats" by Milton Caniff, "Flash Gordon" by Alex Raymond, "Secret Agent X-9" by Mel Graff, "Dick Tracy" by Chester Gould, "Li'l Abner" by Al Capp, "Johnny Hazard" by Frank Robbins ...

However, his real first work in this field, which was not published until January 1951 to July 1952, consisted in making the sketches, the inking, then all of the drawings for "Jim Cartouche": an adventurer traveling the world, from China in the Amazon (a setting that will be familiar to Gérald Forton when he draws "Kim Devil"),

In the meantime, Gérald Forton has married: and as he is housed too cramped in Paris, he cannot find an apartment to live decently with his wife. Knowing that in Belgium rents are much more affordable, he then returned to live in Brussels in 1952: “Indeed, it was the lack of apartments in the Paris region that sent me to Belgium and more precisely. in Brussels. I had given myself a month to find a publisher there and, after two days, I found myself at World's Press, not knowing that its director, Georges Troisfontaines, had tried to reach me in Paris. »  

Gérald Forton first went to Brussels by motorbike to contact Spirou magazine in the hope of getting hired there; but it is only once there that he realizes that the editorial staff is, in fact, in Marcinelle. The daily La Libre Belgique, however, informed him of the existence of the World's Press which delivered editorial and drawn material to Spirou.; this newspaper working, meanwhile, with a friendly agency: the International Presse directed by Yvan Cheron, the brother-in-law of Troisfontaines, where we found the same cartoonists and screenwriters. However, the World's Press had already tried to contact him because the dynamic Georges Troisfontaines, also an advertising agent for the Dupuis editions, was looking for a realistic designer with a style similar to American comics; and the work of Gerald Forton, which he had been able to see until then, seemed to correspond to what he was looking for.

This is how our designer joined the happy team already composed by the omnipresent Jean-Michel Charlier, Victor Hubinon, Albert Weinberg, Eddy Paape, MiTacq, Dino Attanasio… He first produced short stories for Bonnes Soirées , the women's weekly published by Dupuis (also owners of Spirou ), while taking courses in an art school in the Belgian capital.

Indeed, since 1980, our designer has moved to the United States to work directly at Marvel and at DC Comics where he produces boards for "Jonah Hex", "Black Lightning", "Arak" (1980), "GI Combat ”(1982),“ All-Star Squadron ”,“ DN Agents ”(1983),“ Thor ”,“ Nexus ”,“ Jon Sable ”,“ Mr. Monster ”(1987),“ Hand of Fate ”(1988 ), "Team Yankee", "Sensei" (1989), "Becky Sunshine" (1995), "Frank Stone" (1998) ..., or even the daily strips and sunday pages of "He-Man and The Masters of the Universe "(Aka the" Musclor "series at Filmation), for four years 

 

FORTON, Gérald (Gérald Marcel Forton)

Born: 10/4/1931, Brussels, Belgium

Died: 12/16/2021, Apple Valley, California, U.S.A.

 

Teddy Ted – 1964-1975 [comic book illustrator]

Jonah Hex – 1980 [comic book illustrator]

Brave Starr – 1987-1988 (TV) [Production Designer]

The Legend of White Fang (TV) – 1992 [artist]

Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (TV) – 1993 [artist]

The Cougar – 2005 [comic book artist]

Zorro – 2011 [comic book artist]