Late night posting but this strip is important to me.
Another page from the 60th anniversary issue. This was done by Alain Maury, a familiar name if you're familiar with the 4 issues of Johan and Pirlouit produced after Peyo's death. Maury is the main person behind the artwork, with the colors by Peyo's late wife, Nine Culliford.
This strip quickly details the history of Maury's experience with Peyo's work, from being fascinated by them from a young age to working for the man himself.
In the seventh panel, he writes Peyo saying, "Let's take advantage of the end of year holidays to rest... At the start of the school year, we will start a new Johan and Pirlouit.... Merry Christmas Goodbye!" This Christmas Eve was the day of Peyo's passing.
As such, Maury was left alone to do the artwork for these new Johan and Pirlouit issues by himself, with the help of Yvan Delporte and Peyo's son, Thierry Culliford, writing the stories.
In the 9th panel, he's seen anxiously drawing as Peyo's characters scrutinize how he draws them.
This page made me really feel for Maury. Imagine getting to work for your muse, they plan to work with you on a big project after the holidays, only for them never to return.
I can't imagine stress that was placed on his shoulders, having to continue drawing the artwork for Peyo's favorite creation all by himself.
I never enjoyed the post-Peyo issues. I think they're pretty poorly written and mishandle Johan and Pirlouit's characters and relationship heavily. However, had Alain, Yvan, and Thierry been given the time and guidence to understand and study these characters properly, they could have made something amazing.
I may not like the post-Peyo stories, but learning about how they were created made me appreciate the people involved.
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