Alain Saint-Ogan
{{Short description|French comics author and artist}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = Alain Marie Joseph Paul Louis Fernand Lefebvre Saint-Ogan
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|8|7}}
| birth_place = Colombes, France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|6|22|1895|8|7}}
| death_place = Paris, France
| nationality = French
| area =
| art = y
| write = y
| alias =
| notable works = Zig et Puce
Monsieur Poche
| awards =
}}
Alain Saint-Ogan ({{IPA|fr|sɛ̃.t‿ɔ.ɡɑ̃|lang}}; August 7, 1895 – June 22, 1974) was a French comics author and artist. He is best remembered for his long-running humorous children's adventure comic Zig et Puce. He was also active as an editorial cartoonist, a children's radio show presenter, a book illustrator, advertising artist and an animator. {{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/saintogan_a.htm|title=Alain Saint-Ogan|website=lambiek.net|access-date=May 9, 2025}}
Biography
In 1925, he created the well-known comic strip Zig et Puce (Zig and Flea), which initially appeared in the Dimanche Illustré (Sunday Illustrated), the weekly youth supplement of the French daily newspaper, l'Excelsior.{{cite web | last = Lambiek Comiclopedia | title = Alain Saint-Ogan | url =http://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/saintogan_a.htm}}
Among his other comic strips: Mitou et Toti (Mitou and Toti), Prosper l'ours (Prosper the Bear, started in 1933), Monsieur Poche (Mr. Pocket, started in 1934), and Touitoui. In the 1940s, he edited a children's magazine, Benjamin, for which he created the comic strip Troc et Boum (Troc and Boom). In 1934, Saint-Ogan adapted Prosper L'Ours into an animated short. {{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/saintogan_a.htm|title=Alain Saint-Ogan|website=lambiek.net|access-date=May 20, 2020}}
Zig et Puce enjoyed a revival in 1963, when it was taken over by Greg.{{cite web | last = Lambiek Comiclopedia | title = Greg | url =http://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/greg.htm}} After World War II, Alain Saint-Ogan also created a daily cartoon for the front page of the Parisien libéré, hosted a radio program, produced television programs and wrote several books, including two memoirs. Shortly before his death in 1974, he was named the honorary president of the first Angoulême International Comics Festival. For a period, the prize for best comic book was named "Alfred" after his creation.
His work included themes of pro-colonialism ideas. When the French Communist party opposed the Exposition Coloniale of 1931, he contributed to the parody of their newspaper, essentially mocking their anti-imperialist views and showing strong support for the colonial discourse of the Exposition. His comics were used to stir up interest among the young for the Exposition and to support the French colonial effort in the effort to ensure its continuation.{{Cite journal|title = French Colonial Exhibitions in Comics|last = McKinney|first = Mark|date = 2014-11-14}}
His work contains imagery supporting colonialism and anti-semitism. The story line where Zig and Puce visited the Exposition Coloniale contains racial stereotypes such as portraying Africans as cannibals, continuing the racial stereotype that Africans are just 'big children', having them appear dumb by speaking only in pidgin French, and drawing them with physical stereotypes that French held about Africans (huge lips, very dark skin, etc.).
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://lambiek.net/artists/s/saintogan_a.htm Alain Saint-Ogan biography] on Lambiek Comiclopedia
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Category:French comic strip cartoonists
Category:French comics artists
Category:French comics writers
Category:French animated film directors
Category:French editorial cartoonists
Category:French radio presenters