'Valentin'.
Raymond Maric was a productive author of comics, and his oeuvre consists of both personal works and commissions, created in both the realistic and humorous genres. Born in 1927 in Nice as Raymond Chiavarino, he made his debut in 1943, with 'À Bout des Forces', a story drawn in cooperation with Maccario for Cendrillon. More stories for this magazine followed, as did contributions to O! Hé! Ho! and the comic books of Ed. Voix Françaises.
After the second World War, while drawing caricatures and comic strips for the magazines l'Espoir (a.o. the comic strip 'Lemmy Cochon') and Le Patriote (a.o. the cat detetive 'Tiradou'), he started using the pseudonym Maric. He settled in Paris and worked for the editorial offices of Miroir-Sprint, before joining the Société Parisienne d'Édition. S.P.E. published his first comic album, 'Pour la Conquête de l'Espace'. He also made new adventures with the character 'Carolus Bouzillard', created by Nicholson, and additionally illustrated game pages for the many publications of the publishing group.
Maric also established himself as a scriptwriter for others, including Jean-Claude Forest (episodes of 'Charlot'), Pierre Lacroix ('Bibi Fricotin') and Pellos ('Les Pieds Nickelés'). With Serna and later Forest, he created new stories with 'Bicot' ('Perry Winkle') for the French market (albums by Azur from 1959). In addition, Maric began a collaboration with Sagédition and produced series like 'Valentin' (in alternation with Jordom in Pépito, 1959-64), as well as stories with licensed characters like Tex Avery's 'Droopy', 'Bob et Bebop' and Hanna-Barbera's 'Tom and Jerry'. He also used the character of 'Valentin' in a series of game pages, called 'Valentin Détective'. Other 1960s credits include 'Tanky, Tournevis et Boîtaclous' with Mat (Ed. Rouff), 'Tony' in Ima and game illustrations for France-Soir, Le Parisien Libéré, Télé 7 Jeux and La Vie Catholique.
In the seventies, Maric became editor for the comic magazines Journal de Bibi Fricotin and Le Journal des Pieds Nickelés (combined under the title Trio from 1976 to 1978). Collaborations as a scriptwriter during this decade include Raphael Carlo Marcello ('Johnny Parade'), Pierre Frisano ('Gorak', 'Macchus'), Gen-Clo ('Messire de la Chienlit'), Gine ('Le Rebelle d'El Paso'), Gérald Forton ('Yvain de Kanheric') and Robert Rigot ('Les Rapaces'). In the late 1970s, he joined Spirou magazine, and scripted some stories with 'Marc Lebut' for Francis, as well as series like 'Cristal' and 'Voulez-Vous des Nouvelles' with R.C. Marcello and 'Contes Défaits' and 'Pérouana Prince Inca' for Frisano.
With Gen-Clo, he launched the daily strips 'La Famille Lakouetche' and 'Rose-Mottes' for Le Républicain Lorrain, and he continued his collaboration with Frisano by scripting 'Zorro' (Ed. MCL, 1978), 'Che Guevarra - les Barbudos du Granna' (Dargaud, 1983), 'Othello' and 'Aïda' (Ed. RTL, 1985). With Bodis, he set up the educational comic series 'Arsinoé' for Editions Magnard, and he also participated in the collection 'L'Histoire du Far West' by Larousse and in the scripts of Jean Cézard's 'Arthur le Fantôme' in Pif Gadget.
In the 1990s, for publisher Glénat, he worked with Baron Brumaire on 'Les Morin-Lourdel' and with Frisano on 'Courtisanes'. He also worked with Forton again, this time on the western 'Couguar'. With Thomas Frisano, he began the 'Relations Publiques' saga in the collection Bulles Noires of Glénat in 1999. Two years later, he launched 'Estelle' with Jack Manini at Ed. Carabas. For the same publisher, he produced 'Moi L'Arbitre' with Jenfèvre in 2002. Maric passed away in 2005 at the age of 78.
Artwork by Thomas Frisano.