Barbe-Rouge - 'Le Piège Espagnol' (Dutch-language version, 1968).
Victor Hubinon is one of the classic artists of Belgian realistic comics, known for creating famous series like 'Buck Danny' and 'Barbe-Rouge' with Jean-Michel Charlier. Born in Angleur, Hubinon studied decoration, painting, etching and drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Liège. Among his main graphic influences were Jijé, Noel Sickles and Milton Caniff. After the Second World War, during which he fled to England and served in the Royal Navy, he got a job at the printing firm of the the newspaper La Meuse.
'Durdefeuille' (Le Moustique, 21 April 1946).
Hubinon went to work for the magazines of the publishing house Dupuis in the mid-1940s. For Spirou he started out making illustrations for editorial sections. In 1946, he drew the short war story 'L'Agonie du Bismarck' together with Jean-Michel Charlier, who also wrote the script. In that same year, he created cover illustrations and the comic strips 'Loudemer' and 'Durdefeuille' for Le Moustique, also published by Dupuis, which he signed with "Victor Hughes".
Buck Danny - 'De Zonen des Hemels' (Robbedoes #464).
Shortly afterwards, Hubinon was asked to illustrate the aviation comic 'Buck Danny' by Georges Troisfontaines, head of the World's P. Press agency. 'Buck Danny' premiered in Spirou in January 1947. Initially scripted by Troisfontaines, the writing duties were soon handed over to Jean-Michel Charlier, who initially also contributed to the artwork. Hubinon has illustrated the adventures of this aviation hero for the rest of his career. While the series' antagonists don't grow older, the series follows the current affairs and wars since World War II. Hubinon continued to work on this series until his death in 1979. He was succeeded by Francis Bergèse.
'Rik Junior' (Spirou #464, 6 March 1947).
In addition to 'Buck Danny', Hubinon has worked on several other comics in the late 1940s and early 1950s. For Spirou, he made humorous comics, like the gag strip 'Rik Junior' (signed Victor Hughes) and a new episode of Jijé's series 'Blondin et Cirage' (1947), as well as biographies of famous historic characters, such as 'Surcouf' (1949-52), 'Mermoz' (1955), both with a script by Charlier, and 'Stanley' (1953), from a script by Octave Joly.
Buck Danny - 'Le Retour des Tigres Volants' (Dutch edition, 1962).
For Aventures Illustrées-Bimbo, he created 'Joe la Tornade' with Charlier under the joint signature of Charvick in 1948, later continued by Albert Weinberg in Héroic Albums.
'Surcouf'.
Also with Charlier, he made the war story 'Tarawa, Atoll Sanglant' in Le Moustique, assisted by Eddy Paape and Albert Weinberg. In 1950, he made 'Fifi' in cooperation with Eddy Paape, as well as 'Tiger Joe' for La Libre Junior. He cooperated with René Goscinny on the title comic of the magazine Pistolin and later 'Jeannot', also signed with his pseudonym Victor Hughes.
'Pistolin'.
In 1959, Hubinon was present in Pilote magazine's first issue with the pirate series 'Barbe-Rouge, Le Démon des Caraibes', also written by Charlier. Just like 'Buck Danny', the series became a classic and was drawn by Hubinon until his death in 1979, after which it was continued by artists like Jijé, Christian Gaty, and Patrice Pellerin.
Barbe-Rouge - 'Le Pirate Sans Visage' (Dutch-language edition, 1968).
From 1963 to 1965, Hubinon wrote the script of 'Pathos de Setungac', a series drawn by Eddy Paape and published in Record. Hubinon's final comic was 'La Mouette', a story about a female pirate, which he wrote with his second wife Gigi Maréchal. He died suddenly in 1979, suffering a heart attack while working at his drawing table. With his two hit series 'Buck Danny' and 'Barbe-Rouge', Victor Hubinon ranks among the masters of the Franco-Belgian realistic comic artists. In 1989, he became one of the select few Belgian comic pioneers in the Belgian Comics Center in Brussels to be part of the permanent exhibition. In 2009, an asteroid was named after him.
Morris gave Hubinon a cameo as the character Barry Blunt in the 'Lucky Luke' story 'L'Ombre des Derricks' (1962).
Victor Hubinon was an influence on Robert Obert and Eddy Paape. 'Barbe-Rouge' was spoofed as a sex parody by Roger Brunel in 'Pastiches 3' (1984). 'Buck Danny' received a similar treatment in Brunel's 'Pastiches 5'.
Self-portrait.