Martine

Martine is a series of illustrated books published since 1954 at quasi annual intervals. The authors, Belgians, are Gilbert Delahaye (until in 1997) then Jean-Louis Marlier. Marcel Marlier, the father of Jean-Louis Marlier, is the Illustrateur. Each volume of Martine presents an activity: thus, Martine goes to the sea, the mountain, the farm, the circus, the zoo; she makes the kitchen, of the veil, horsemanship, the dance, the theater, etc

Since its creation, the series knew a total pulling of approximately 85 million specimens in a great number of countries . She proposes 51 titles. Only for the French language and with the derived albums, it is sold of it currently more than one million per annum.

Concept

Since the first album Martine with the farm published by Casterman in 1954, Martine became a true phenomenon of the edition for youth.

But one finds also Martine on all the continents and in all the languages. Its stories were translated in about fifty country where it takes other first names: Anita, Tiny, Debbie, Maja, Marika, Mary, Steffi, etc

Gilbert Delahaye, works with the Casterman editions. He likes to write poems and stories for the children, then Mr Casterman asks him to write the adventures of a little girl. Thus at 30 years, he writes Martine at the Poor (in French, Martine with the Farm ). The album is an immediate success.

The illustrator is called Marcel Marlier. At 23 years, it carried out illustrated beautiful books. He lives in Tournai, in Belgium, precisely where are the Casterman editions. It is there that it received the text of Martine to the farm writes by Gilbert Delahaye and by drawing Martine, it gave life to a little girl whose adventures are known in the whole world.

The style of the illustrations evolved/moved with the passing of years but generally, it is of a naive realism: the drawing is detailed, the lights are flattering, the colors pastel; a great care is taken to the decorations, the behaviors of the characters and especially to the expressions of those .

The series testifies to a certain ideal of the Années 1950, 1960 and 1970. Starting from the Years 1980, the series becomes much less representative of its time . Virulent in the years 1980, of criticisms presented it like a retrograde work or sexist, putting in scene a middle-class universe in its concerns. The series however remains impossible to circumvent of the edition youth .

Albums

Video game

The adventures of Martine are from now on interactive, since two plays have summers carried out by White Birds Productions, and published by Micro Application:
  • Martine with the farm (Play PC)
  • Martine with the mountain (Play PC)

2007, the buzz of the Martine Cover Generator

At the month of October 2007, after the famous diversions of Tremechan, a Web site called Martine cover generator was put on line. It makes it possible to the visitors to apply the title wished to the existing cover S of Martine. This site which was not at the beginning that a joke saw its goes down for hearing to explode in one week, thanks to the Word of mount. Victims of their success, the creators of the site were quickly obliged to limit the additions to the Database. Following a friendly request of the editor Casterman the site closed its doors the November 18th 2007.

External bonds

  • Official site
  • Presentation of the play Martine to the farm
  • Presentation of the play Martine to the mountain

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