René Pellos (1900-1998)

René Pellarin, who drew as René Pellos, was born in Lyon, Switzerland 22 Jan 1900. He spent his childhood in Switzerland where his passions were self-publishing and sports. Pellos participated in the Olympic Games in 1924.

He moved to Paris in the thirties where he took employment as a sports cartoonist for the Paris Match. From 1948 to 1981 he issued dozens of albums of Louis Forton’s pioneer comic ‘les Pied Nickelés’ (‘Stooges’ in English). In 1937 he drew the classic science-fiction strip ‘Futuropolis,’ loosely based on Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis,’ for Junior, then followed up with another; 'Electropolis.'

‘La Guerre du Feu’ was an adaptation of J. H. Rosny’s 1911 prehistoric romance. Rosny was the pseudonym of Joseph Henri Honoré Boex an early pioneer of science-fiction. ‘La Guerre du Feu’ ran in the Montreal Le Petit Journal from 27 May 1951 to 6 April 1952. ‘Kid Peche, boxeur’ is a fine example of one of many sporting strips drawn by Pellos.

His artwork became increasingly expressionistic and his faces and figures bore a strong resemblance to the style of Burne Hogarth. His panel borders, with lightning bolt shapes, circles, and jagged edges added a touch of frenzy to his pages.

In 1976 Pellos was the first French artist to receive the Grand Prize at Angouleme. He died 8 April 1998 at Cannes.