By Derib & Job, coloured by Dominique and translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-198-9 (Album PB), 978-1-80044-737-0 (Digital edition)
Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: The World We All Want… 9/10
In 1964 children’s magazine Le Crapaud à lunettes was founded by Swiss journalist André Jobin (October 25th 1927 – October 8th 2024), who then wrote for it under the pseudonym Job. Three years later, he hired artist and fellow Swiss Francophone Claude de Ribaupierre, AKA “Derib”. The illustrator had launched his own career as an assistant at Studio Peyo (home of Les Schtroumpfs): working on Smurfs strips for venerable weekly Le Journal de Spirou. Thereafter, together they created the splendid Adventures of the Owl Pythagore prior to striking pure comics gold a few years later with their next collaboration.
Born in Delémont, Jobin split his time between Bande Dessinées (39 Yakari albums and 3 for Pythagore) and his other writing, editing and publishing briefs: an admirably restrained and outstandingly effective legacy to be proud of.
Derib – equally au fait with enticing, comically dynamic “Marcinelle” cartoon styled yarns as well as devastatingly compelling meta-realistic action illustrated action epics – became one of the Continent’s most prolific and revered creators with such groundbreaking strips as Buddy Longway; Celui-qui-est-nà-deux-fois; Jo (first comic to deal with AIDS); Pour toi, Sandra; Les Aventures d’Attila and La Grande Saga Indienne. They haven’t been translated into English yet, but still we patiently wait in hope and anticipation…
Yakari is considered by fans and critics to be the strip which led Derib to his deserved mega-stardom. Debuting in 1969, self-contained episodes trace the eventful, nomadic life of an Oglala Lakota boy on the Great Plains, with stories set sometime after the introduction of horses (by colonising Conquistadores) but before the coming of modern Europeans. The series – which also generated two separate animated TV series and a movie – has notched up 42 albums thus far: a testament to its evergreen vitality and brilliance of its creators, even though originator Job moved on in 2016, replaced by Frenchman Joris Chamblain.
Abundant with gentle whimsy and heady compassion, Yakari’s life is a largely bucolic and happy existence, at one with nature and generally free from privation or strife. For the sake of dramatic delectation, however, the ever-changing seasons are punctuated with the odd crisis, generally resolved without fuss, fame or fanfare by a little lad who is smart and brave, and who can – thanks to a boon of his totem guide the Great Eagle – converse with all the beasts of the field and birds of the air.
For the majority of its existence the series generally produced one album per year, which UK publisher Cinebook has mostly released in original order, but this year we skip what was Le Lombard’s 25th edition (Le mystère de la Falaise from 1999) and instead revel in the riotous acts of 2000’s La vengeance du carcajou which, for our intents and purposes is translated into The Wolverine’s Revenge…
As ever, content and set-up are both stunningly simple and sublimely accessible, affording new readers total enjoyment with a minimum of familiarity or foreknowledge required…
It’s high summer and life is slow, easy and comfortable. Yakari’s chores are few and there’s time for the boy and his opinionated pony Little Thunder to catch up will all their beastie best buddies. Meanwhile up-river a somewhat surly and cantankerous wolverine called Smooch climbs a tree for a nap. He needs to sleep off the monumental amount of food – fresh caught and happily-recovered carrion – that he’s just scoffed, but is distracted by a trio of young flying squirrels whizzing through the branches. Fascinated – and far too stuffed for sensible thoughts – he needs very little encouragement before attempting to spread his own “side-flaps” and glide through the air…
Hitting the forest sward with a mighty thump the determined scavenger (possibly concussed now) wants to fly more than ever, and with the kits “helping” goes on a days-long starvation diet to achieve a flight-worthy weight. Despite leader Swift Spark carefully monitoring the diet, at the end the result is just as painful, with the added problem of the humiliated wolverine being furious and extremely hangry too. He swears dire retribution on the squirrels who wisely flee for their lives…
Meanwhile downriver, Yakari is inspecting a new dam built by his beaver chums. Gregarious Linden is suddenly distracted when the squirrels land as Swift Spark is his cousin. Yakari advises caution as he’s dealt with a wolverine before but the flighty squirrels don’t really grasp the potential treat.
That all changes when the aggrieved stalker kidnaps Swift Spark and holds him captive in a submerged den. Flying squirrels don’t swim but wolverines do, and instead of eating the annoying aviator-y squirt, the captor plans on watching his former tormentor starve to death, before devouring the paltry remains!
Alerted by his animal friends, Yakari takes action immediately, and is soon scouring the countryside for the missing squirrel. Happily Swift Spark has found a way to fool Smooch and covertly consume calories until a tip-off by two raccoons sends the searcher towards a desperate confrontation. Once they rescue the prisoner, they all decide to teach the bad-tempered Smooch a life changing lesson and join together in a most unique engineering enterprise…
Illo Yakari is one of the most unfailingly absorbing and entertaining all-ages comics strips ever conceived. It should be in every home, right next to Tintin, Uncle Scrooge, Asterix, Calvin and Hobbes and The Moomins. It’s never too late to start reading something wonderful, so why not get back to nature as soon as you can?
Original edition © Derib + Job – Editions du Lombard (Dargaud-Lombard s. a.) – 2000. All rights reserved. English translation © 2026.