Immense sadness in the comics community which has just learned of the death of Etienne Willem yesterday at the age of 51.
Etienne Willem was a Belgian comic book author. After a first experience at the 352 animation studio in Luxembourg, he launched into comics in 2004 and quickly proved himself. From 2004 to 2007 he produced, alone, Vieille Bruyère and Bas de silk, providing script and drawing. This trilogy, published by Editions Paquet, is a detective story set in England in the 1930s.
He will then publish his medieval masterpiece, The Sword of Ardenois, a tetralogy published by Paquet, the plot of which takes place in a fantastic medieval world populated by animal characters. He was able to captivate his readers with his epic story and his detailed illustrations, proving the richness of his universe.
He will then publish a new trilogy, The Wings of the Monkey, a story set in the United States during the Great Depression, always with animal characters. Then, he signed La Fille de l’Exposition Universelle, Les Artilleuse and the very popular adaptation of the novel Le Paris des Merveilles.
Etienne Willem was particularly fond of stories featuring animal characters and had a particular attraction to retrofuturism and steampunk, while remaining in a semi-realistic style.
Étienne Willem leaves behind a rich and varied body of work that will continue to inspire and delight readers for many years to come.
Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.
