French series - Tome's works
Around the age of twenty, after a quick stint at the Free University of Brussels where he simultaneously enrolled at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, Journalism Section, and at the National School of Visual Arts in La Cambre ( cartoon, then graphic communication), Philippe Tome began a professional career as a comic book author, first as a collaborator with Dupa (Luc Dupanloup) as well as Philippe Turk and Bob de Groot. After meeting the designer Janry, Tome specialized in screenplay. Moving from Éditions du Lombard to Éditions Dupuis in 1981, he provided the magazine Spirou then directed by Alain De Kuyssche with a series of works (illustrations, various sections) before he was asked to write the scripts for the series Spirou and Fantasio, then hosted by Yves Chaland and the duo Nic Broca-Raoul Cauvin. He accepts this proposal. With Janry, he directed and animated the Spirou and Fantasio series from 1982 to 1998. In 1987, published by Dupuis, he created Le Petit Spirou. He graphically designed several characters from the series, including Mr. Mégot and Father Langélusse.
In collaboration with the designer Luc Warnant and his successor, Bruno Gazzotti, he participated in the development of the Soda comic series (Dupuis, 1987). With Christian Darasse, he collaborated on the series Le Gang Mazda (Dupuis 1991), and subsequently on Les Minoukini (Glénat 1998) as a screenwriter.
He also participated in Sur la Route de Selma (realistic drawings by Philippe Berthet 1991) published in the Aire libre Dupuis collection, as well as, with Dargaud, the New York trilogy Berceuse Assassine (drawing: Ralph Meyer).
Still for Dargaud, since April 2005, he inaugurates the launch of the “Cosmo” collection which is “at the crossroads of the three great comic book cultures” (Franco-Belgian, manga and comics) with two new series: Feux (with Marc Hardy drawing) and Rages (with Dan Verlinden).
Philippe Tome, with the designer Janry, obtained three Alph'Art at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in the “Youth” and “Humor” categories, for the Spirou and Fantasio and Le Petit Spirou series.
Most of the comics he writes have been adapted and translated into more than a dozen languages in Europe and Asia, including English. Several have been the subject of adaptation or audiovisual projects.
Apart from Spirou and Fantasio already adapted for TF1, the Petit Spirou was brought to the screen in 2012 (RTBF / M6). An option for the adaptation of Soda was acquired in 2008 and renewed in 2012 by Chapter 2 and French director Nicolas Bary. The same director, with the production company "Les Partenaires", assumes the production of a live film adapting Le Petit Spirou for the big screen. An option contract was signed for the adaptation of Berceuse Assassine by Nicolas Duval.
He died on the night of October 5, 2019, in Watermael-Boitsfort. His disappearance was harshly felt in the world of comics5 and on the following November 6, Le journal de Spirou paid homage to him by releasing a special issue6.
Two posthumous albums were released in 2020: Rages (T1) then Death with Spectacles (Éditions Kennes).
