Tac au Tac

Neal Adams, Moebius (Jean Giraud), Joe Kubert on TAC AU TAC – September 30th, 1972.

From the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, Jean Frappat presented a show that was a joy to watch, Tac au Tac. Based on the concept of exquisite corpses so dear to the surrealists, the show generally set up two, three or even four cartoonists to compete in a friendly drawing match.

The concept was simple, efficient, and allowed for many variations: A huge, blank white page and cartoonists equipped with just a simple marker. A theme was proposed (ex. invasion or pursuit), sometimes a visual starting point (simple line, spiral, circle), and the authors improvised, either collaboratively with their peers, or in a duel facing off against their opponents. The result was often far more than a juxtaposition of drawings, it was often a real visual dialogue between cartoonists.

The tone of the rare commentaries by Jean Frappat gives an old-fashioned charm to these shows. It is a nice way to casually watch some of the greatest French cartoonists: Franquin, Uderzo, Moebius, Druillet, Roba , Bretecher, and Gotlib.

Interestingly, there was a season recorded in New York in the fall of 1972, with guest artists Jim Steranko, Bernie Wrighston, Burne Hogarth, Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and John Buscema who wound up facing off against Gir, Druillet, Forest and Gigi from France.

The INA (Institut national de l’audiovisuel) has posted on its site about one hundred Tac Au Tac programs. Below you will find a convenient index of those programs so you can dig in and watch.

-Juan


August 14, 1969 : Pouzet/Morez against Faizant/Gus

August 22, 1969 : Piem against Maurice Henry

September 1, 1969 : Philippe/Gébé against Fred/Gotlib

September 26, 1969 : (Michel Douay, Mose, Tetsu and Piem) then (Urs, Philippe, Cardon and Jean By)

December 15, 1969 : Laville/Soulas against Pichon/Barbe

December 22, 1969 : Philippe, Urs, Cardon and Jean By

July 5, 1971 : Franquin, Morris, Roba and Peyo

July 19, 1971 : Piem, Mose, Trez and Rauch se piègent

July 26, 1971 : (Urs, Philippe, Blachon and Jean By) then (Soulas, Laville, Pichon and Barbe)

August 2, 1971 : Gotlib, Uderzo, Fred and Gébé

August 9, 1971 : (Philippe, Urs, Blachon and Jean By) then (Piem, Trez, Rauch and Mose)

August 16, 1971 : (Pichon, Laville, Soulas, Barbe) then (Piem, Trez, Rauch and Mose)

August 30, 1971 : Barbe, Pichon, Laville and Soulas

September 6, 1971 : Franquin, Morris, Roba and Peyo se piègent

September 13, 1971 : (Alexis and Alessandrini) then (Gébé, Cardon, Siné and Philippe)

September 20,  1971 : Siné, Philippe, Cardon and Gébé

September 27, 1971 : Alexis, Fred, Gotlib and Alessandrini

October 11, 1971 : (Piem, Urs, Pichat and Mose) then (Franquin, Morris, Roba and Peyo)

October 18, 1971 : Gébé, Philippe and Cardon trap Siné

October 25, 1971 : Exquisite Corpse with Gébé, Topor, Bretécher and Cardon

November 15, 1971 : Caricatures by Ricord and Mulatier

November 22, 1971 : Siné, Desclozeaux, Picha and Puig Rosado play and draw with food.

November 29, 1971 : Franquin, Forest, Gigi and Druillet

December 6, 1971 : (Gébé, Cardon, Philippe and Siné) then (Siné, Puig Rosado, Picha and Desclozeaux)

December 13, 1971 : Franquin, Morris, Roba and Peyo

December 20, 1971 : Franquin, Forest, Gigi and Druillet

December 27, 1971 : The animals refused from Noah’s arc according to Giraud, Gotlib, Mandryka and Alexis

January 8, 1972 :Exquisite Corpse with Cardon, Faizant, Tim and Ghertman

January 22, 1972 : Giraud, Gotlib, Alexis and Mandryka

February 5, 1972 : Jacques Faizant, Tim, Cardon and Alain Ghertman

February 19, 1972 : Bretécher, Barbe, Laville and Loup

February 26. 1972 : Druillet, Enric Sio, Buzzelli and Forest

March 4, 1972 : Franquin, Bretécher, Uderzo and Fournier

March 18, 1972 : Fred, Gébé, Soulas and Philippe

March 25, 1972 : Druillet, Enric Sio, Buzzelli and Forest

April 1, 1972 : (Piem, Cardon, Siné and Topor) then (Ricord, Mulatier, Solo and Gibo)

April 29, 1972 : Jean Giraud faces of Jijé in 4 situations, with Hugo Pratt and Jean-Claude Forest as onlookers

May 11, 1972 : Forest faces Hugo Pratt under the scrutiny of Jijé and Giraud

May 13, 1972 : Horror with Guido Crepax, Esteban Maroto and Thé Tjong-Khing

May 20, 1972 : Jean Giraud challenges Hugo Pratt under the scrutiny of Jijé and Jean-Claude Forest

May 27, 1972 : Exquisite Corpse with Cardon, Gébé and Gourmelin

June 3, 1972 : Piem, Siné, Cardon and Topor

June 18, 1972 : Franquin/Roba against Brétecher/Gotlib

June 24, 1972 : The theme of gas inspires Cardon, Gébé and Gourmelin

September 16, 1972 : Jean-Claude Forest, Jim Steranko and Robert Gigi on a boat in New York (1)

September 30, 1972 : Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and Jean Giraud

October 7, 1972 : Exquisite Corpse between Bretécher, Johnny Hart and Parker Brant (no sound)

October 14, 1972 : Burne Hogarth, Philippe Druillet and John Buscema in New York

October 21, 1972 : Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and Jean Giraud

October 28, 1972 : Mike Kaluta, Bernie Wrightson, Forest and Druillet in New York

November 4, 1972 : Jean-Claude Forest, Jim Steranko and Robert Gigi on a boat in New York (2

November 25, 1972 : Fred, Gébé, Soulas and Philippe

December 2, 1972 : Tillieux, Jidéhem, Morris and Brétécher

December 9, 1972 : Piem and Siné

December 16, 1972 : Piem against Siné

December 23, 1972 : Desclozeaux and Puig Rosado drawing dreams

December 30,1972 : Dali Special (without drawing)

July 29, 1973 : Bretécher, Fred, Soulas, Gourmelin, Desclozeaux and Serre

August 5, 1973 : Exquisite Corpse with Laville and Barbe

August 26, 1973 : Serre, Cardon and Gourmelin (without sound)

September 2, 1973 : caricatures by Ricord and Mulatier

September 9, 1973 : childhood by Cardon, Serre and Gourmelin

September 15, 1973 : Exquisite Corpse with Jean-Claude Forest and Gourmelin

September 22, 1973 :Exquisite Corpse with  Tim, Cardon, Desclozeaux and Faizant

September 29, 1973 : Tim, Cardon, Jacques Faizant and Desclozeaux

July 26, 1975 :Exquisite Corpse between Greg/Dany and Goscinny/Uderzo

August 2, 1975 : Piem against Siné

August 9, 1975 : Gourmelin, Cardon and Forest

August 23, 1975 : Serre against Christian Broutin

August 30, 1975 : Piem, Wiaz, Tim and Maja

September 6, 1975 : caricatures with Ricord and Mulatier

September 13, 1975 : The Storm Forest, Cardon and Gourmelin

September 20, 1975 : Bretécher/Gotlib against Giraud/Druillet

September 27, 1975 : Christian Broutin and Claude Serre improvising

October 4, 1975 : Buzzelli, Peter Foldes and Thé Tjong-Khing

October 11, 1975 : Maja, Piem, Tim and Wiaz

October 18, 1975 : Christian Broutin against Claude Serre

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4 thoughts on “Tac au Tac

  1. JUAN! Uffffffffff! Thanks x a million for posting this index! I’ve been watching some of the episodes on YouTube, but had no idea there was an entire repository on that website! You da man! Bravo!?????????

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