We’re sorry to report the passing of the cartoonist Édouard Karali, better known by the pen name of Édika, a French comics artist renowned for his distinctively absurd style.
Édika died on 16th December 2025, one day before his 85th birthday.
He was the creator of a non-speaking cat with an otherwise human behaviour, Clarke Gaybeul (deliberately homophone to Clark Gable), and Bronski Proko and sometimes his family.
Born in Heliopolis in 1940, he left Egypt at the age of 19 with his family and worked in Lebanon as a model maker, before becoming an illustrator in advertising. Fifteen years later, he moved to France with his brother Paul Carali, where his works appeared in Pilote, Charlie Mensuel, and his brother Paul’s magazine, Psikopat.
A major milestone in his career as a comics artist was his partnership with comic creator and publisher Marcel Gottlieb (Gotlib), becoming a main contributor to the monthly comics magazine Fluide Glacial, making his debut on the title in 1979. He quickly became one of the leading authors, creating 83 covers for the title.
After 36 albums narrating the incredible adventures of the cat Clark Gaybeul (a reference to Clark Gable), Edika became the undisputed master of absurdist, often adult humour. Several of his strips have been translated into English, and other European languages.
His stories were often with a deliberate absence of a plot, punchline and lengthy dialogue, the author’s supposed inability to find a satisfying ending itself served as a pretext for many gags.
Édika portrayed himself in his stories in the caricatured form of Bronsky Proko and his family (his wife Olga, his son Paganini – nicknamed Nini – and his daughter George). Clark Gaybeul’s “Grande Barque” brand briefs are a nod to the famous Petit Bateau underwear brand.
“Our dear Edika … was our absolute champion, his work is eternal,” commented the team at Fluide Glacial, sharing an album of all his cover art on Facebook (adult humour). “Enjoy his immense talent that we already miss terribly.”
Édouard Karali, aka Édika 17th December 1940 – 16th December 2025
Head downthetubes for…
• Lambiek Comiclopedia Profile: Édika
• Édika albums in French on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Obituaries
In Memoriam: Comic Artist Adam Terence Stone 
In Memoriam: Comic Artist Iain Buchanan ![Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 #29 [2019] Immortal Variant Wraparound Cover Original Art By Mark Bagley (Pencils), Andrew Hennessy (Inks)](https://downthetubes.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_2057-105x85.jpg)
In Memoriam: Comic book inker, Andrew (Drew) Hennessy 
In Memoriam: Author, illustrator and comic artist John Farrelly
Leave a Reply