Quebec scriptwriter and cartoonist Pierre Fournier died Friday at the age of 73, leaving to mourn his loved ones and the many followers of his stories, which marked the history of Quebec comics.
“Pierre Fournier passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family yesterday followingnoon”, confirmed on his Facebook page on Saturday the editions of La Pastèque, which published several of the works of the designer. “Thank you, Pierre, for your immeasurable contribution to Quebec comics,” added the publisher.
“Finally freed from suffering, he flies away with a light heart, like Captain Kébec slicing through the skies,” wrote Quebec actor and author Jean-Dominic Leduc, in tribute to Pierre Fournier. The latter had been suffering from a neurodegenerative disease for several months, relatives said on social networks.
A brilliant career
Born on December 8, 1949, Pierre Fournier had a brilliant career, which notably led him to become one of the main contributors to the former humor magazine Croc during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1973, he created the character of Capitaine Kébec, which met with significant success.
The designer also co-created in 1982, with the help of Réal Godbout, the character of Red Ketchup, an FBI agent addicted to cocaine who has become legendary in Quebec. A sign of the timelessness of Pierre Fournier’s work, an animated series featuring Red Ketchup is in preparation for broadcast next year on the Télétoon television channel.
“Thank you, dear Pierre, for your marvelous carefully controlled madness. Rest and finally sleep in peace following these last months of waking nightmares. As for us who are still alive, let us try to be happy: that is the best revenge. And try to draw almost as well as him,” the magazine’s co-founder wrote on Facebook. Croc Pierre Huet.
In 1991, Pierre Fournier received the first Albert-Chartier prize in recognition of his contribution to Quebec comics. He was also inducted into the Canadian Comics Hall of Fame in 2008.
