One of the cartoonists killed in the Jan. 7 attack at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris will be buried surrounded by one of the things he loved most: cartoons.
Bernard Verlhac, also known by his artist byline Tignous, was honored on Thursday in France by friends and family who illustrated his coffin with drawings.
One drew an image of a panda bear being warned not to eat the bamboo coffin. "Shitty day," the panda proclaims.
Another drew a survival kit for paradise: A bottle of liquor, a cigar and a pencil.
The coffin of Bernard "Tignous" Verlhac, one of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists. pic.twitter.com/P4jiLSTmU6— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) January 15, 2015
One wrote simply: "FRAGILE."
Le cercueil de #Tignous recouvert de dessin... (via @franceinfo) pic.twitter.com/rvR4OvxTn0— Xavier Alberti (@xavier_alberti) January 15, 2015
The coffin was also covered with drawings of hearts, pencils and caricatures of the deceased cartoonist.
As the pallbearers carried out Verlhac's coffin out of the ceremony and into a street, many in the crowd cried, "Thank you Tignous!"
Eleven others were killed in the attack at the magazine's headquarters -- all of whom worked with or for Charlie Hebdo, save for the two police officers -- which marked France's worst terror attack in more than 50 years. The funerals for cartoonist Georges Wolinski, editor in chief Stéphane Charbonnier ("Charb") and lead cartoonist Jean Cabut will also be held this week.
The gunmen who carried out the shooting said they were sent by al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen as retaliation for the magazine's depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Verlhac's wife, Chloe, told ABC News' Terry Moran that he was "never scared" despite years of threats. "They have always been victims of threats," she said, referring to the staff at Charlie Hebdo.
At Verlhac's funeral, his colleague Corinne Rey said he was the "king of jokes."
"Our magazine will live, it will be a different magazine," she said. "You were never afraid, my Titi and be assured, we won't be afraid either."
He will be buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris' largest.