Claude Renard initiated an annual anthology, Le 9ème Rêve, of which the first volume appeared in early 1978. Sokal and Schuiten remained lifelong friends. Among Sokal's fellow pupils were such future Belgian comic creators as François Schuiten, Philippe Foerster, Frédéric Bézian, Alain Goffin and Philippe Berthet.
Renard encouraged his pupils to experiment and develop their own personal styles. His timing was perfect, because in the mid-1970s, Claude Renard began training a new generation of comic artists in his famous Atelier R. In 1973 he therefore started new studies at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, initially in the Illustration department. While studying for veterinarian at the faculty of Notre-Dame de la Paix in Namur, Benoît Sokal found it more pleasing to draw comics for the student magazine. authors, from Ernest Hemingway (whom he later gave a recurring role in 'Canardo' as the character Ballingway), Raymond Chandler and Jack London to hard-boiled detective literature. In many ways, Sokal can be named the spiritual successor of Calvo. Another strong influence was Edmond-François Calvo's 'La Bête est Morte', a comic book in which animals are satirical metaphors for nations and personalities during World War II. Later in life, he ranked Hugo Pratt, René Hausman, Robert Crumb and André Franquin among his main graphic influences. Benoît and his four siblings often hung around in his mother's waiting room, reading the available comic magazines: Tintin, Spirou and Le Journal de Mickey. His father was a dean at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Leuven (Louvain), and his mother an orthodontist.
#B SOKAL SYBERIA 3 SERIES#
In this field, he was most renowned for the games 'L'Amerzone' (1999) and the 'Syberia' series (2002, 2004, 2017).īenoît Sokal was born in 1954 in Brussels. An early adapter of digital drawing and coloring techniques since the 1990s, Sokal was additionally a designer and writer for video games, first through Microïds and then through his own company, White Birds Productions (2003-2010). Sokal's other side projects include the whodunit 'Silence on Tue' (1990), the poetic naval fantasy 'Aquarica' (with François Schuiten, 2017) and the historical comics 'Sanguine' (1988) and 'Le Vieil Homme Qui N'Écrivait Plus' (1996).
This was most notable in the 'Kraa' trilogy (2010-2014), about the telepathic bond between an Indian boy and a majestic black eagle in their battle against mankind destroying the environment. Sokal was a master in drawing animals, both anthropomorphic and naturalistic, which he also showcased in his other comic projects. Winning several awards, Sokal continued his hit series until his 2021 death, in later years written in collaboration with son Hugo Sokal and drawn by Pascal Regnauld. Sokal lightens the mood with black comedy and witty satire. The stories are atmospheric crime thrillers set in a depraved, anthropomorphic animal world. Originally a mere parody of popular crime fiction and film noir, 'Canardo' managed to surpass this gimmick. He is most famous for his gritty funny animal comic 'Inspector Canardo' (1978-2018), about the adventures of a sleazy duck detective. Benoît Sokal was one one of the foremost Belgian adult comic creators who emerged in (À Suivre) magazine in the late 1970s.