Although he was originally a Formula 1 pilot in his father's team, there is no car he does not drive, there is no race he did not participate in. But is Michel Vaillant a real person?
Although he is a Formula 1 racer, he has also competed in different branches of motorsports.
Maybe you know some of us, this friend's name is Michel Vaillant.
Michel Vaillant is a French car racing comics series created in 1957 by French cartoonist Jean Graton and published originally by Le Lombard. Later, Graton published the albums by himself when he founded Graton éditeur in 1982. Michel Vaillant is the main character of the eponymous series, a French racing car driver who competes mainly in Formula One.
Created by the French cartoonist Jean Graton in 1957, this character makes his biggest hit in the famous "Tintin" magazine. Because his adventures were published in this magazine between 1957-1976. When these comic stories about Michel Vaillant and his auto-racing adventures were very popular, they started to be published in Belgium. Graton later founded his own publishing house with his son and published more than 70 of Michel's stories and books. It is stated that nearly 20 million of Michel Vaillant's books have been sold worldwide. While most of the drawing and story writing works are taken over by his son Philippe Graton, I should also mention that Michel Vaillant has adventures specially prepared for brands such as Chevrolet and Seat. Well, of course, there is also the toy series, without forgetting... The movie was shot in 2003 and attracted great attention.
Let's take a look at the family affairs of our "dear brother Michel". “Vaillante” is a family-run shipping business based in France. However, as you know, it is not a transport company, because Vaillante designs its own trucks and even cars... In 1939, father Henri Vaillant establishes a racing team and decides to enter Formula 1.
Son Michel becomes the number one driver of this team and competes in more than 70 adventures on behalf of the "Vaillante racing team" in many places from Formula 1 to IndyCar, from rally to enduro competitions. Although Michel is the "ace driver" of his father's racing team, he is accompanied by the American Steve Warson. When the father Henri retires, his older brother Jean-Pierre takes over the company and the team. Most of the adventures are about racing, of course. However, in the meantime, Vaillante deals with the growth of the company, falling into economic difficulties, organizing advertising campaigns, trying to overshadow the team's racing successes, as well as the private lives and problems of the drivers of the Vaillante team (especially Michel, of course). So very realistic...
However, in order for Michel Vaillant not to be detached from reality and completely imaginary, his connections with real life and the racing community have also been established. Because its creator, Graton, was a perfectionist, he would show the cars down to the smallest detail in his adventures, race Michel on real tracks, and go to these tracks in person to watch races and make observations. Later, his son Philippe continued this tradition.
On the other hand, the most interesting part of the job is the name of Michel Vaillant. Because the real name of Karl Benz, who is known as the inventor of the automobile, is Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant... So this is a goal!... In the 1967 TV series called "Michel Vaillant's Adventures", Michel was played by real racer Henri Grandsire. Glandire drove a real Renault Alpine in the show. Michel did not stay young all the time over the years, he was slowly "aging". Despite this, he was able to compete against racers of different epochs. For example, Juan Manuel Fangio competed against legends such as Graham Hill, as well as a younger famous racer such as Ayrton Senna. Vanina and Jacky Ickx, who are real racers, were mentioned as close friends of Michel while taking part in some adventures. Real team managers, journalists, as well as some politicians and famous personalities could take part in the stories.
So what was Michel Vaillant like? Of course, he was very handsome as he was the main character. Even as he got older, he did not compromise his handsomeness. He was married to Françoise, a journalist. He was successful... Although his major was Formula 1, he had won the Indianapolis 500 twice and the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times. He had also won the East African Safari rally and the Paris-Dakar. He would also participate in F2, F3, and GT races. Able to drive trucks and motorcycles, Michel played soccer and did gymnastics, but was very good at tennis, judo, and skiing. He was kind, helpful, and friendly. As you can see, Michel Vaillant was a "hero like a hero". For some, it may still be...