Joseph Loeckx

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox comics creator

Joseph Franz Hedwig Loeckx (4 May 1937 – 7 February 2023) was a Belgian comic book artist. He worked under the pseudonym of Jo-El Azara. Important series he worked on include Clifton and Taka Takata, both serialized in Tintin.

Biography

Loeckx was born in Drogenbos, Flemish Brabant, near Brussels, Belgium, on 4 May 1937.

Loeckx is sometimes referred to as Joseph-R. Loeckx in error. During his working life, first he used the penname of Jo-El, subsequently Ernest, and thereafter worked as Jo-El Azara, under which name he has drawn most of his comics.Template:Citation needed

A long career of working with the great names in Belgian and French comics, including Hergé, Macherot, and Uderzo,Template:Citation needed he was active in publishing his own Taka Takata albums under his Azéko label.

Loeckx lived in the south of France, close to the Pyrenees. His lifelong partner, Josette Baujot, died on 13 August 2009.<ref name="Guardian">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He died on 7 February 2023, at the age of 85.<ref>Bande dessinée : Taka Takata pleure son papa Jo-El Azara, disparu à 85 ans dans son "paradis gersois" Template:In lang</ref>