Francis Masse

Francis Masse, known as Masse (born 21 August 1948), is a French artist. In the early 1970s, he first became acquainted with his sculptures, then turned to animation and cartoons.

Biography After high school, Francis Masse studied at the art school of Nancy and then Grenoble, he made himself known first of all with his sculptures, it is an unknown aspect of his work, which nevertheless became his main activity again since the early 1990s. From the early 1970s, he made his first comics, including the Le Roi de le monde published in Le Canard Sauvage in 1973.

Masse presents a graphic universe that embodies the post-1968 trend in the avant-garde press of the early 1970s.

Cartoons Between 1970 and 72, he tackles animation in the association aaa (Atelier d'Animation d'Annecy) with the free jazz delirium of the Judgement Dernier and the hilarious Cagouince Migrateur. In 1973–74 with Pink Splash Production (created by Paul Dopff) known for his rather underground spirit, he directed Évasion Expresse, a short film combining animated papercutting and cartoons on cellulo, integrated with the previous films in the program Dessins Animés et Cie screened for several weeks in 1974 at the Ciné-Halles in Paris.

In his report of the 1974 Grenoble festival, a critic of Art Vivant defined the style of Évasion Expresse of "Crumbian" points out that Masse's "drame sombre physicist and director of the "Science Ouverte" collection at Le Seuil, welcomes Masse's desire to disseminate scientific knowledge in an absolutely new form from a science amateur, in the noblest sense of the term pays tribute to him at the conference "La Cosmologie en Bande Dessinée" (2011), referring to Alfred Jarry, he describes the album (Vue d'artiste) as an innovative "pataphore" for the release of his album "Les Rêveurs lunaires" quotes his reference comics authors and named Masse in his personal four aces of great founding authors still alive Masse defined his approach and his humor saying the work of the artist is to give a representation of reality, as the scientist does, and the two approaches complement each other and clarifying: Obviously, I am freer than the scientist! I am only bound to poetry. speaks of the apparent "non-sens" (i.e. no sense) of Masse and prefers the English term "nonsense" by referring to Robert Benayoun (Les dingues du Nonsense, Baland, 1984), who considers nonsense to be the logic extrapolated up to absurdity, while the French term of "non-sens" translates the absence of logic.

The term "nonsense" is the most suitable for defining the work of Masse, this is why he is more appreciated by a readership open to the Anglo-Saxon culture.

For example, when Terry Gilliam, the American Monty Python, released his film Brazil, he told to Libération that amongst his stated influences figure Goya, the American underground comics and French comics, with a rare admiration for Masse: Fabulous ! I would love to make a film with him, and he still amazes me. Art Spiegelman quotes Masse before Crumb and Tardi by saying that what he did was incredible, his work is important and very much underestimated. Masse was in 1982 the greatest. evokes in 1984 the "massolatry" reigning within the team of the Cahiers de la Bande Dessinée.

It is written in La lettre des Sables d'Olonne that Masse is unique, his universe is dark and fantastic, says that Masse is recognized as one of the precursors of the new freedoms

Magazines , 1973–1974. , Le POP, 1973–1974. , Novapress, 1973–1974. , Glénat, 1973–1974. , Le bourricot magique, circa 1975. , Newlife Éditions, circa 1975. , Glénat, 1974–1976. , , 1974–1977. , , 1974–1976. , , 1975–1976. , , 1975–1976, 1985. , , 1976. , 1978. , AUDIE, 1975–1978, 2017–2018. , Les Humanoïdes Associés, 1975–1977, 1980–1987. , Françoise Mouly & Art Spiegelman, 1982–1985. , , 1982. , Dutch edition of Métal hurlant, 1982–1983. , Sinsemilla Éditions, 1984. , Les Humanoïdes Associés, 1984. , Novapress, 1984. , Danish edition of Métal hurlant, 1984–1986. , Swedish edition of Métal hurlant, Tryckt hos Vaasa, circa 1984–1986. , SHIFT Éditions, 1985. , SHIFT Éditions, 1985–1986. , SEH (SHIFT Éditions), 1986. , , 1986. , parisian supplement to Télérama, 1983–1985. , Casterman, 1982–1990. , Para Pente publishing, 1987–1988. , Alpha-Comic Verlag, 1987. , GEDIT spa, 1989. , Françoise Mouly & Art Spiegelman, 1991. , section La gazette du Midi Viticole. , AUDIE, Série OR #80 dated 20 September 2017, #81 dated 21 December 2017, #82 dated 21 March 2018, #85 dated 20 December 2018. , Dupuis, Spirou vs. Fluide Glacial, #4195 dated 9 May 2018.

Albums , , coll. "L'Écho des Savanes présente", 1976. , AUDIE, coll. "Fluide Glacial", 1977. , Les Humanoïdes Associés : Volume 1 : A-H, 1982. Volume 2 : I-Z, 1982. , Les Humanoïdes Associés : On m'appelle l'Avalanche : Volume 1, 1983. On m'appelle l'Avalanche : Volume 2, 1983. Reissue in one single volume, L'Association, 2007. , Futuropolis, coll. "30 x 40", 1985. , , 1985. , Casterman, coll. "Studio (A Suivre)", 1985. Reissue Glénat, coll. "1000 feuilles", 2011. , Casterman, coll. "Studio (A Suivre)", 1987. Reissue Glénat, coll. "1000 feuilles", 2013. , Le Dernier Cri, 2007. , Le Dernier Cri, 2007. , Le Seuil, 2007. , Glénat, coll. "1000 feuilles", 2011. , Glénat, coll. "1000 feuilles", 2012. Reissue of Masse in "30x40" with an additional story "Les pommes" . , "With English Subtitles", Le Chant des muses, coll. "Zorro Zébré", 2012. , L'Association, coll. "Espôlette", 2014. , Glénat, coll. "1000 feuilles", 2014. , Glénat, coll. "1000 feuilles", 2015. , Galerie Dock Sud, 2015. , Super Loto Éditions, coll. "Banco", 2015. , L'Association, coll. "Patte de mouche", 2016.