Jean Bellus was a mid-20th century French illustrator and comics artist. Born in 1911 in Toulouse, Bellus had several jobs before pursuing a career in illustration. He debuted in Marianne in 1933, and subsequently collaborated with La Lessive, Pour Vous, Le Sourire and Candide. For Benjamin magazine, he produced the comic 'Georgie, Laurel et Hardy' between 1937 and 1939. World War II put his activities hold. Returning from captivation, he went to work as a decorator, costumier and music-hall actor. After the Liberation in 1944, he reassumed his job as an illustrator, and cooperated with J. Magazine, Point de Vue, La Bataille and Fantasia.
He also returned to comics with several contributions to the daily press. For France-Dimanche, he drew 'Le Roi Pausole' and 'Marie-Claire' in 1948. In France-Soir, he illustrated 'Le Film du Demi-Siècle', 'Alcide a Dispuru' and the first episodes of 'Le Crime ne Paie Pas', which were created, written and researched by Paul Gordeaux in 1950. He then returned to humorous illustrations for magazines like Samedi-Soir, Paris-Presse and Le Jour de France until his death in 1967. One of his main characters was 'Clémentine Chérie'.
Text (c) Lambiek
