Cabu
French comic strip artist and caricaturist (1938-2015)
Jean Maurice Jules Cabut (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ mɔʁis ʒyl kaby]; 13 January 1938 – 7 January 2015), known by the pen-name Cabu (pronounced [kaby]), was a French comic strip artist and caricaturist. He was murdered in the January 2015 shooting attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices. Cabu was a staff cartoonist and shareholder at Charlie Hebdo.
Career
Cabu started out studying art at the École Estienne in Paris and his drawings were first published by 1954 in a local newspaper. The Algerian War forced him to be conscripted in the army for over two years, where his talent was used in the army magazine Bled and in Paris Match. His time in the army caused him to become a strident anti-militarist and adopt a slightly anarchistic view of society.
In 1960, after he left the Army, he became one of the founders of Hara-Kiri magazine. In the 1970s and 1980s, he became a popular artist, collaborating for a time with the children's TV programme Récré A2. He continued working in political caricature for Charlie Hebdo and Le Canard enchaîné.
His popular characters include Le Grand Duduche and adjudant Kronenbourg, and especially Mon Beauf.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Cabu” is french comic strip artist and caricaturist (1938-2015). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Cabu, French and comic, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “french comic strip artist and caricaturist (1938-2015)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2932464. VIAF identifies the subject as 43165371. The Library of Congress control number is n81102983. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1938, 2015, 1954 and 1960.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cabu”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cabu primary sources, Cabu archive and Cabu research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cabu”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cabu” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.