Reference Kulte
The Kultorama offers you this week, a new inspiration from our FOREVER YOUNG collection, and a major Kulte reference if you are a child of the 70's, it is Doctor Justice! And for those who discover the Doc today, you owe it to yourself to read the following…
Undoubtedly one of the favorite heroes of kids of the 70s, Doctor Benjamin Justice was born in the imagination of a man, a certain Jean OLLIVIER, journalist, author and comic book scriptwriter. At the end of the 60's, the latter was looking for a new character that could appeal to a young audience, while being able to compete with American comics, which were benefiting from a strong resurgence of interest during this period.
The character of Benjamin Justice is a doctor attached to the World Health Organization and an expert in martial arts. He travels international airlines, and is often confronted with more than delicate situations.
It was when he came face to face with a former army comrade that OLLIVIER had a revelation. This man for whom Ollivier claimed to have always had unfailing admiration, for his commitment as a doctor for OMS, his personality, as well as his mastery of martial arts, this seemed obvious to our screenwriter...
Being exclusively distributed through the favorite children's magazine of the time, Pif Gadget, it was through special issues (n°160 and the following 4 containing stories from Doctor Justice) that the editorial staff of the magazine told how the doctor is born.
As the character begins to take shape, it remains to be found who will be able to bring this hero to life, as close as possible to OLLIVIER's vision. After several tests with different illustrators, the drawings of Raffaele Carlo MARCELLO inspired by the facial features of Alain DELON will be selected.
With hindsight, MARCELLO's boards are incredibly modern, due to his unique pencil stroke evoking Japanese comics today, even though manga arrived in France in the 1970s but were truly democratized during the 1970s. 90', with heroes like AKIRA. Note that today manga is one of the most popular literary genres in France, OLLIVIER and MARCELLO were true precursors.
The first plates of the “flying doctor, in a way” appeared in Pif Gadget n°69 in June 1970, and the success was immediate. Taking advantage of the beginnings of a real craze around current martial arts films and series such as "The Rage of the Tiger", and other films featuring Bruce LEE or Chuck Norris such as "The Fury of the Dragon", or again “Big Boss”, and “Operation Dragon”, to name but a few.
This led to a film adaptation in 1975, with the American actor John Phillip LAW in the role of the doc. Directed by Christian JACQUES, he would have had the idea for this adaptation when he saw the illuminated face of a friend's young son when he pronounced the name JUSTICE.
However, the film achieved mixed success, due to the disappointment of early fans, who criticized the film for the lack of depth of the doctor's character, namely his wisdom, his sense of humility, as well as the non-mention of his master HIAMURI and the humanitarian goal of his adventures which have completely fallen by the wayside.
Undoubtedly this comic book will have marked an entire generation of young people, and without a doubt created numerous vocations in medicine, in martial arts, in humanitarian work, at least as many vocations as the doc claimed values. So today there is still a community of fans keeping Benjamin Justice alive through forums and blogs.
Doctor Justice, a Kulte reference, to stay FOREVER YOUNG…
For our 20th anniversary, Kulte revisits models that have become classics, for the FOREVER YOUNG Collection, it is the oldest Kulte pattern that we revisit, The JUSTICE.
Attention, Archive…
A reissue tribute to Doctor Justice, 2018 version, inspired by the cover of a 70's youth magazine, nothing more Kulte...
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