Geneviève Gautier posing with her graphic novel 'Les Aventures du Pingouin Alfred'. Photo: DC.
Geneviève Gautier was a French interpreter and secretary, who gained fame in December 2017 for publishing her first comic book at age 95. This made her the oldest known woman and person to debut as comic creator. In essence, Gautier's comic book 'Les Aventures du Pingouin Alfred' (2017) was fan fiction based on Alain Saint-Ogan's Alfred the penguin from his children's adventure series 'Zig et Puce'. Its charming artwork evoked the innocence of children's comics from the interbellum between the two world wars.
Life and career
She was born as Geneviève Fulcher in 1922 in Paris. Her mother was French, her father American and her grandfather had Russian roots. Her grandfather, a friend of poet and dramatist Edmond Rostand , introduced her to literature, and she retained a love of writing throughout her life. Even though she was forced to take refuge in the Berry region during World War II, she nevertheless managed to obtain, in 1943, a degree in English. A few years later, she complemented it with a postgraduate diploma in the same language. In 1944, she joined the French Resistance at the FFI headquarters in Sainte-Pazanne, and was active in the Saint-Nazaire Pocket until the end of the war. After marrying a former Resistance worker, she went by the name of Geneviève Gautier.
After the war, Gautier became a translator/interpreter at the French Air Force, dividing her time between France and Africa, and notably witnessed the turbulent decolonization process in Morocco. Passionate about aviation, she earned her pilot's license in Beauvais and learned aerobatics under the tutelage of Henri Giraud. In addition, she was working as the secretary of a US journalist, and was allegedly the first white female reporter in Congo.
After her husband's death, Gautier moved to Brest in 2001. There she joined the local poetry association An Amzer Poésies, which publishes a semestrial magazine and operates a publishing house. She participated with numerous poetry collections and, in 2013, released her first prose novel, 'Sous l'Aile du Destin,' with the publishing imprint Edilivre. Gautier was 92 years old at the time. The book was followed by 'À la Découverte d'un Monde Oublié' in 2014.
Les Aventures du Pingouin Alfred
In 2013, Geneviève Gautier took a drawing course at Kerangoff community center in Brest, where she received lessons from painter Robert Fily and illustrator Julien Lamanda. This resulted in her first and only comic book, 'Les Aventures du Pingouin Alfred' (2017). The work was inspired by the classic 'Zig et Puce' comic, created in 1925 by Alain Saint-Ogan, which she grew to love as soon as she was old enough to read. The main heroes are two young boys and their pet penguin, Alfred, and it was particularly this animal for which Gautier felt great fondness. Feeling the character could use a comeback in the 21st century, she decided to create a comic story around him. The plot kicks off with Alfred hitchhiking along the road. Tired of waiting, he suddenly discovers he is able to fly and decides to travel back to his home on the South Pole, where an exciting aventure awaits him. The story was drawn and painted in a rudimentary, but charming style, and the dialogue and narration were handwritten. Gautier said that she wanted to capture the escapist feelings she had when reading comics as a child. Despite the fact that the original 'Zig et Puce' comics were never translated in English, she still hoped her book could be translated and published in the United States.
Oldest debuting female comic artist
On 18 December 2017, 'Les Aventures du Pingouin Alfred' was published by the local gallery POD, run byJean-Christophe Podeur. It received instant media attention because of Gautier's advanced age. She was already 95 years old when her comic was released, making her the oldest know French person, woman and person in general, to debut as comic creator. The oldest known man to debut as a comic artist was the Chinese Rao Pingru, who created 'Our Story' (2013) at age 90-91. After him came the Dutch illustrator Cor Blok, who was 82 when he debuted with 'The Iron Parachute' (2015). The third oldest known person debuting in comics is Klaus Voormann, famous for designing the cover of The Beatles' record 'Revolver' (1966). Voormann was 79 when his graphic novel 'Revolver 50: Birth of an Icon' (2016) was published. The fourth oldest known man to debut with a graphic novel is the Dutchman Martin Ruijters, who brought out 'Toestanden in Suriname' (2011) at age 75.
At the time of her debut, Gautier was one of the oldest active comic artists of the moment, only surpassed by Kenneth Bald (1920-2019) and Al Jaffee (1921-2023), though she still remained the oldest known active female comic artist in the world. As of today, her record still stands.
Death
Many people in Brest remembered Gautier as an intellectually curious and erudite person, always interested to learn something new, and always having an anecdote to tell from her eventful life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when entire cities had to go into quarantaine, it became more difficult for Mrs. Gautier to stay in social contact with others. Falling into loneliness and depression, she died in 2021 at age 99.
A scene from 'Les Aventures du Pingouin Alfred'.