Edgar P. Jacobs

**Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs** (30 March 1904 – 20 February 1987), better known under his pen name **Edgar P. Jacobs**, was a Belgian comic book writer and artist. Jacobs was one of the founding fathers of the European comics movement. He worked with Hergé on the graphic novel series that made him famous, _Blake and Mortimer_.

## Biography

Edgar Pierre Jacobs was born in Brussels in 1904. In 1919 he graduated from school. He took on odd jobs at the opera, including decoration, scenography, and painting. Sometimes he worked as an extra. In 1929 he received the annual Belgian government medal for excellence in classical singing.

In 1940 Jacobs turned permanently to illustration. He drew commercial illustrations and collaborated in the _Bravo_ review until 1946.

The American comic strip _Flash Gordon_ was not allowed in Belgium by the German forces during World War II. He was asked to write an end to the comic. But German censorship stopped this after only a couple of weeks. Jacobs then published in _Bravo_ his first comic strip, _Le Rayon U_ (_The U Ray_). This was in the same _Flash Gordon_ style.

Around this time, he became a stage painter for a theatre adaptation for Hergé's _Cigars of the Pharaoh_. This led to friendship with Hergé. As a direct result, he helped Hergé in colorizing the black and white strips of _The Shooting Star_ to be ready for book publication in 1942. From 1944 on he helped in the recasting of his earlier albums _Tintin in the Congo_, _Tintin in America_, _King Ottokar's Sceptre_ and  _The Blue Lotus_ for color book publication. After the project, he continued to contribute directly in the drawing as well as the storyline for the new Tintin double-albums _The Seven Crystal Balls_/_Prisoners of the Sun_.

Jacobs, as a fan of opera, decided to take Hergé with him to a concert. Hergé did not like opera, however, and for decades he would gently joke with his friend Jacobs through opera singer Bianca Castafiore, a supporting character in _The Adventures of Tintin_. Hergé also gave him tiny cameo roles in _Tintin_ adventures, sometimes under the name Jacobini.

In 1946, he was part of the team gathered by Raymond Leblanc around the new comics magazine _Le Journal de Tintin_. His story _Le secret de l’Espadon_ (_The Secret of the Swordfish_) was published on September 26. This was the first of the _Blake and Mortimer_ series.

## Bibliography

1. _Le Rayon U_ (_The U Ray_), in 1943
1. _Le Secret de l'Espadon_ (_The Secret of the Swordfish_), in 1947 (3 volumes)
1. _Le Mystère de la Grande Pyramide_, (_The Mystery of the Great Pyramid_), in 1950 (2 volumes)
1. _La Marque Jaune_ (_The Yellow "M"_), in 1953
1. _L'Énigme de l'Atlantide_  (_Atlantis Mystery_), in 1955
1. _S.O.S. Météores: Mortimer à Paris_ (_S.O.S. Meteors_), in 1958
1. _Le Piège diabolique_ (_The Time Trap_) in 1960
1. _L'Affaire du Collier_ (_The Necklace Affair_) in 1965
1. _Les trois Formules du Professeur Sato: Mortimer à Tokyo_ (_Mortimer in Tokyo_) in 1970 (vol. 1). Vol. 2 _Mortimer contre Mortimer_ (_Mortimer versus Mortimer_) completed by Bob De Moor, 1990

## Awards

- 1971: Grand Prix Saint-Michel, Belgium

## References

- Guyard, Jean-Marc. _Le Baryton du neuvième art_. Bruxelles: Éditions Blake et Mortimer, 1996.
- Jacobs, Edgar P. _Un opéra de papier:  Les mémoires de Blake et Mortimer_. Paris: Gallimard, 1981.
- Lenne, Gérard. _L'Affaire Jacobs_. Paris:  Megawave, 1990.
- Mouchart, Benoit. _A l'ombre de la ligne claire: Jacques Van Melkebeke, le clandestin de la B.D._ Paris:  Vertige Graphic, 2002.
- Mouchart, Benoît and Rivière, François _La Damnation d'Edgar P. Jacobs_, Seuil-Archimbaud, 2003.
- Valentinitsch,Bernhard, Ein Sich-Lösen von und Brechen mit Traditionen - der Comic-Klassiker 'Blake und Mortimer', der 'Ketzer'-Pharao Echnaton und andere ägyptische 'Ketzer'. In: Denken und Glauben Nr. 201. Graz 2022, S. 22-24.
- Edgar P. Jacobs publications in Belgian _Tintin_ and French _Tintin_ BDoubliées

## Infobox (comics creator)

- **name**: Edgar P. Jacobs
- **birth name**: Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs
- **birth place**: Brussels, Belgium
- **death place**: Lasne-Chapelle-Saint-Lambert, Belgium
- **nationality**: Belgian
- **area**: artist, writer, colourist
- **notable works**: _Blake and Mortimer_
_Le Rayon U_
- **awards**: #Awards, full list