31 Chick Bill – A Wonderful Comics Character by Tibet aka Gilbert Gascard

Dear ComiRades,

Welcome back to TCU. We have an announcement to make which will be bringing joy to the comirades who read that. Yes sir, the next issue of Lion comics is ready to be shipped and will be reaching you guys in this week.

Whenever a new comics book is made available from THE comics publishers of Tamil (Prakash Publishers),it has become customary for TCU to do a complete indexing post on the lead character of the Story. However, most of the ComiRades used to feel that doing both he review and indexing in the same post increases the length of the post and exhausts the readers. When such a complaint was registered by Aiyyampalayam Sir, it becomes a must to change from the oft trodden path.

Hence, here is the index post on Chick Bill and the review post will be done either tomorrow or Wednesday (based on the time available, as the latest books has already reached TCU). The image provided over here is that of the stamp released in Belgium to honour the creator behind 2 of the most successful comic characters. And it does not surprise that both the characters were quite popular over in South India, Thanks to Mr S.Vijayan and his publishing house, Prakash publishers.

Chick Bill In India:

Circa 1986. Having tasted success with the launch of Lion Comics in 1984 and the subsequent Thigil Comics in 1986, Editor S Vijayan has just announced the launch of 2 more new comics magazines from his publishing house. Imagine a single publishing house coming out with 4 different Comics magazines every month. Now, when we say that the middle of the 80’s were the golden period of the Tamil comics, we are not really exaggerating, right?

And he went on to launch those 2 comics and they came out with blazing guns. Or to say in present day, It was like having Sehwag in both the ends as openers. Yes, the first few books of Both Mini Lion and Junior lion were stand out success’ and some of the initial books are still sought after at a premium price by the collectors. Her is a report on the 1st 10 books of both Mini Lion and Junior Lion comics: TCU Special post on 1987.

As he had to publish 4 new stories every month, The Editor went on a buying spree at that time and fortunately for him, there were some quality comics titles available and he made sure that he made the right decisions when it came to titles. Among such titles, one was Lucky Luke and another one was Chick bill. True to his taste, he is still continuing with both these characters and they happen to be the flagship brands for him as well. And hopefully they will continue in the near future with the printing set to be upgraded to multi colour.

Now, then. Here is the 1st advertisement of a Chick Bill story in India. This happened in the month of Feb 1987 and right now in Feb 2011 we have the latest issue of Chick Bill. With a 24 year gap in between the 1st issue and the latest issue, and only 23 stories in between all those years, the brand of Chick Bill is growing strong with a dedicated fan following and loyal followership for the stories.

When the 1st advertisement hit the print, many of the readers would have wondered who or what in the blazes is Chick Bill. Not much of an intro was given in both the advertisement and in the story. The constraint with the number of pages being a hindrance, the Editor has a logical answer for it. However, only later on in the 4th story onwards only he put up the regular introduction panels and little bit of back ground information for the characters and the place of happening.

As these information was not provided, even now, the 1st ever story of Chick bill scores very less marks when it is compared with the rest of the stories, though it is off multi colour which was not the case with many of the following full stories. Here is the traditional introduction page from the comics (Aberrations such as Gun-Smoke, Wood City and Inspector-Sheriff can be forgiven for the long term continuity):

Here is the complete index of all the hick Bill stories which have been published so far. The thing that need to be noted in statistical point of view is that, it has appeared in 3 different magazines over a period of 24 years in 23 titles. You will also notice that Chick bill happens to be the last ever story that was published in the 2 Comics magazines (Junior Lion comics and Mini Lion Comics). 13 of the 23 books are still available with the publisher and you can purchase them by calling 04562-272649 immediately. Those 13 books will cost you less than 100 Rs and give you a joy that cannot be measured in any scale.

Chick Bill – Information about the Creators: Here is the regular creator’s corner in TCU. Al most all the relevant links pertaining to these creators are provided here. The only person missing in this list is our Editor and we all know that he does not like to be featured in anywhere. All he wants is his books to be promoted and not him.

Description	Creator of Chick Bill & Ric Hochet (ரிப்போர்டர் ஜானி) (Author – Artist for most of the Chick Bill Stories)	Author of Chick Bill (19), Bernard Prince (17) கேப்டன் பிரின்ஸ், Bruno Brazil (11), Clifton (03) காமெடி கர்னல்	Author of Chick Bill & Ric Hochet (ரிப்போர்டர் ஜானி)	Creator of Lucky Luke, IznoGoud, Asterix & Oumpah Pah Wrote 1 Story for Chick Bill
Pseudonym, If Any	Tibet (Gilbert – Ti Bet)	Greg	Michel Vasseur
Name	Gilbert Gascard	Michel Regnier	Andre Paul Duchateau	Rene Gossiciny
Nationality	French	Belgian, French	Belgian	Dual: French and Polish
Age / Time Line	78 Years (29th Oct 1931 – 02nd Jan 2010)	68 (05th May 1931 – 29th Oct 1999)	85* (08th may 1925)	51 (14th Aug 1926 – 05th Nov 1977)
Info Links	WikiPedia, Lambiek, BD, Chick Bill Albums	WikiPedia, Lambiek, Dupuis, Web Page, Herman	WikiPedia, Lambiek, Web page	WikiPedia, Lambiek & Official Site
Works	Tin Tin Magazine	Spirou, Pilote & TinTin	Spirou & Tin Tin	Pilote & TinTin

Chick Bill in India – Cover Gallery: Here comes the most fascinating part of this post – The cover gallery. Only a handful of Comics collectors has the complete set of comics of Chick bill. Here is the check list and see how many you have.  These images look fantastic because they have been touched by Photoshop and they are made to look good. Time and temperature has taken it’s toll in these books and hence the most important thing when it comes to comics collection is not about collecting the rare books. It is about maintaining them in the same condition for over a period of time. here i request Mr Muthu fan to write a post on the maintenance of the comics.

Junior Lion Issue No 3 Chick Bill Adhiradi Mannan	Junior Lion Issue No 4 Chick Bill Ordinn Maranam	Junior Lion Issue 9 Chick Bill Virpanaikku oru Sheriff
Mini Lion Issue No 17 Chick Bill Neelap Pei Marmam	Mini Lion Issue No 20 Chick Bill Vinveliyil oru Eli	Mini Lion Issue No 27 Chick Bill Thevai Oru Mottai
Mini Lion Issue No 31 Chick Bill Kolaikara Kadhali	Mini Lion Issue No 34 Chick Bill Irumbu CowBoy	Mini Lion Comics Issue No 40 Chick Bill Visithira Hero
Lion Comics Issue133 Mr Maharaja Chick Bill No 23	Lion Comics Issue138 Mr Mugamoodi Chick Bill No 23	Lion Comics No 147 Malaiyodu Malyudham Chick Bill
Lion Comics Issue No 151 Thalai Vangum Desam Chick Bill No 19	Lion Comics Issue No 156 Thedi Vandha Thanga Surangam Chick Bill No 33	Lion Comics Issue No 157 Millennium Super Special Pisasu Bungalow Chick Bill No 16 Front Cover
Lion Comics Issue No 157 Millennium Super Special Pisasu Bungalow Chick Bill No 16 Back Cover	Lion Comics Issue No 159 Natpukku Niramillai Chick Bill No 50	Lion Comics Issue No 165 Nizhal 1 Nijam 2 Chick Bill No 48
Lion Comics Issue No 177 Mandhiriyum Nane Mannavanum Nane Chick Bill No 43	Lion Comics issue No 188 Marma Maina Chick Bill No 28	Lion Comics Issue No 189 Oru Ethanum Oru Yemaliyum Chick Bill No 43 2nd Story Cover
Lion Comics Issue No 189 Oru Ethanum Oru Yemaliyum Chick Bill No 43 2nd Story	Lion Comics Issue No 197 Maraiyilla Mannar Chick Bill No 56	Lion Comics Issue No 199 Manjalai Oru Asuran Chick Bill No 57

Chick Bill Paintings:  Some 2 years ago when yours truly was interacting with the Editor, he told a fantastic anecdote about the strengths of human mind.  Can you believe that the artist who is drawing all those lovely cover images is not only vocally challenged, but also with listening capabilities?  Yes sir he is Aurally Challenged. TCU has got in touch and here are some of the lovely paintings which were later on converted to cover images of the respective stories. Remember that these are exclusive images.

Advertisement Corner: The most interesting thing on any comics book is the advertisements about the forthcoming issues (Apart from the Editor’s note, of course). So, here are some interesting advertisements which proclaimed that Chick Bill will be part of the Lion Jolly Special and Cow Boy Special and dropping out in the final moment in both the issues. The 1st announced story is yet to appear and here we have the 2nd story waiting in the Wings.

Lion Comics Issue No 193 Ad for Lion Jolly Special Chick Bill Story	Lion Comics Issue No 199 Manjalai Oru Asuran Chick Bill No 53 Ad for Next Chick Bill Story	Lion Comics # 207 - Kolai Seyya Virumbu - Next Issue Advertisement of Chick Bill Story

Coming Next: At the end of the post, here is the info about the next issue of the Lion Comics. This issue is already shipped last week to Yours truly and will reach the other subscribers within this week and middle of the next week. Most probably this issue will be available in the stands some time in the later part of the month. However, this needs to be confirmed.

Chick Bill No 58 Lion Comics Issue No 209 Vellaiyai oru Vedhalam Cover	Chick Bill No 58 Lion Comics Issue No 209 Vellaiyai oru Vedhalam 1st Page	Lion Comics Issue No 209 Chick Bill Vellaiyai oru Vedhaalam Cover

New Comics Bloggers: Some time back, TCU used to introduce lots of new Comics bloggers under this section. However, nothing much of that sort is happening of late and hence this section was shelved. Now, here is two interesting blogs which will enthuse the ComiRades.

VimalaHaran: He comes with a strong comics background of being a publisher of a comics. Yes sir, he is the younger brother of Nisha Haran who gave us the wonderful IceBerg Comics. VimalaHaran too has a keen eye for details and he blogs over here: VimalaHaran’s Blog. By the way, he has 198 friends in Facebook and requires only 2 more to become another double centurion, just like Sachin Tendulkar.

SoundraPandian: Soundar hails from the same place as that of the publisher and is a young reader with lots of interest towards Tamil Comics. He blogs over here: Soundar’s Blog. Have a look to his blog as well.

Well, that's all for the time being. As usual, post your comments in the comments section. For those who want to Pen their thoughts in Tamil, Kindly Use the Option Provided in the Widget in the Blog.

Thanks & Regards,

King Viswa.