French, Belgian, Dutch & Swiss Comics Artists

Marjane Satrapi was born on 22 November 1969 in Rasht, Iran. She is a director and actress, known for Persepolis (2007), The Voices (2014) and Chicken with Plums (2011). She is married to Mattias Ripa. She was previously married to Reza.

Georges Wolinski was born on 28 June 1934 in French Protectorate Tunisia [now Tunisia]. He was a writer and actor, known for Le cowboy (1985), Pizzaiolo et Mozzarel (1985) and Le roi des cons (1981). He was married to Maryse Wolinski. He died on 7 January 2015 in Paris, France.

André Franquin was born on 3 January 1924 in Etterbeek, Brussels, Belgium. He was a writer, known for Fais gaffe à la gaffe! (1981), Gaston Lagaffe (2018) and Le Marsupilami (2026). He was married to Liliane Servais. He died on 5 January 1997 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

René Goscinny was a French comic book writer, of Polish-Jewish descent. His parents were Stanislaw Simkha Goscinny and Anna "Hanna" Beresniak-Goscinna. The family name Goscinny means "hospitable" in the Polish language. Stanislaw was a chemical engineer from Warsaw, and Anna was from a small village called Chodorków, in the vicinity of Zhytomyr. Warsaw is currently part of Poland, and Zhytomyr part of Ukraine.

Both of Goscinny's parents were born in the Russian Empire, but migrated to the French Third Republic prior to the end of World War I. They met each other in Paris, and were married there in 1919. René was born in Paris in 1926, as the second son of the couple. He received French citizenship at birth.

In 1928, the Goscinny family migrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, as Stanislaw had found employment there. René was primarily raised in Buenos Aires, where he attended French-speaking schools. He reportedly a shy boy, but often acted as the "class clown" to seek attention. He enjoyed reading illustrated stories, and practiced drawing as a hobby.

In 1943, Stanislaw Goscinny suffered from cerebral hemorrhage and died. René was forced to quit school and find a job. He first worked as an assistant accountant, then as an illustrator in an advertising agency. In 1945, René migrated from Argentina to New York City, United States, to join his older brother who lived there. In 1946, René returned to France for his mandatory military service. He served in the 141st Alpine Infantry Battalion, and was discharged with the rank of a senior corporal.

In the late 1940s, Goscinny returned to New York City to seek employment there. He worked in various small studios, but managed to befriend a number of comics writers and artists who worked in the City at that time. Among them were Joseph Gillain (pen-name Jije, 1914-1980), Maurice De Bevere (pen-name Morris, 1923-2001), Will Elder (1921-2008), Jack Davis (1924-2016), and Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993).

In 1951, artist and publisher Georges Troisfontaines hired Goscinny to head the Paris office of the "World Press" agency. In his new position, Goscinny met and befriended a French-artist of Italian descent, Albert Uderzo (1927-). The two collaborated in a number of early comics works, most notably the comedy-adventure series "Jehan Pistolet ". It featured a good-natured French privateer leading a crew of misfits into adventure.

During the 1950s, Goscinny collaborated with various writers and artists in producing new series of comics and children's books. He created characters like "Le Petit Nicolas" (a mischievous schoolboy) and "Oumpah-pah" (a heroic Native American caught up in 18th-century warfare), and took over the writing or older series like "Lucky Luke". However, few of his creations were particularly popular.

In 1959, Goscinny and Uderzo co-created the new series "Asterix" and its main characters. Featuring heroic Gauls fighting in the historic Gallic Wars (58-50 BC), the series mixed historical fiction with fantasy elements and satire. It soon became one of the most popular European comics, and Goscinny continued writing the series until his death.

In the 1960s, Goscinny became one of the most prolific writers of French comics. In 1962, he had a second major hit when collaborating with Jean Tabary (1930-2011) for the series "Iznogoud". The series features a villain-protagonist, the evil vizier Iznogoud who serves in the royal court of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258) in Baghdad, and spends most of his life trying to depose and replace the incompetent Caliph.

In 1967, Goscinny married Gilberte Pollaro-Millo. In 1968, they had their only daughter, Anne Goscinny. She would grow up to become a professional writer, following her father's footsteps.

In 1977, Goscinny was going through a routine stress test at the office of his doctor, when he suffered a cardiac arrest. He died instantly. He was only 51-years-old. His main legacy remains with his most popular series: "Asterix", "Iznogoud", "Lucky Luke", and "Le Petit Nicolas", which have all received several adaptations.

Born under the name Georges Remi on May 22, 1907 in Brussels, Belgium. As a child, Herge had a gift for drawing but never had any formal training in the visual arts. He attended both school and the boy scouts during the World War 1 and post-World War 1 Era. After he finished school Herge published his first ever cartoon: "The Adventures of Totor" for Le Boy-Scout Belge (a scouting magazine).

In 1928, he became in charge of the producing material for Le Petit Vingtieme (The Little Twentieth) a youth supplement newspaper. He began illustrating "The Adventures of Flup", "Nenesse", "Poussette", "Cochonnet", etc. January 10, 1929, Herge introduced a cartoon about a traveling Belgium reporter (Tintin) accompanied by his fox terrier (Snowy) traveling the Soviet Union. By 1930, Herge published the very first Tintin book: "Tintin in the Land of the Soviets". Tintin soon became Herge's "ligne claire" (French for clear line) legacy.

The later adventures of Tintin involved other locations of the world from China all the way to America. Within the next 50 years Tintin became one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, due to its well-researched plots, appealing characters, humor, political thrillers, & real world settings. After completing 23 books, Herge passed away on March 3, 1983, leaving "Tintin and Alph-Art" (the 24th book) unfinished. Despite Herge not being able to give his Tintin series the proper end, all of his works along with Tintin will continue to inspire artists and enchant readers from the years to come.

Jean Giraud had one of the most interesting double lives in comics history. Under his own name, he co-created the legendary western comic 'Blueberry' (1963-2012) with writer Jean-Michel Charlier. He also used the shortened signature of "Gir" for this series. This cowboy series was noted for its highly realistic artwork and more gritty, complex and adult story lines, which had a tremendous impact on several other European western comics from the late 1960s on. Giraud also created another western series with Charlier, 'Jim Cutlass' (1979), but later wrote the stories himself while Christian Rossi provided artwork. As Moebius, he was one of the most innovative and influential comic artists of the 20th century, known for groundbreaking science-fiction and fantasy works like 'Arzach' (1975), 'The Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius' (1976-1979) and 'The Incal' (1980-1985). He experimented with graphic styles, lay-out, dialogue, visuals and plot development. Its themes, highly influenced by philosophical writings and hallucinogenic drugs, elevated adult comics to another level. Moebius was at the forefront of a new wave of experimental comic authors, who gathered in the comics magazine Métal Hurlant (Heavy Metal) and the publishing label Les Humanoïdes Associés. He was active as a comics writer, screen writer, storyboard and concept designer too. Last but not least, superhero fans may know him from his mini-series based on Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's 'The Silver Surfer' (1988-1989). Both as Giraud and as Moebius he is one of the most important comics authors of all time, whose influence can be felt in several fantasy and science fiction films and video games too.

Early life Jean Henri Gaston Giraud was born in 1938 in Nogent-sur Marne, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris. Giraud was largely raised by his grandparents, with whom he lived in Fontenay-sous-Bois since his parents' divorce in 1941. He grew up reading comics and watching American B-Westerns, while developing a passion for drawing. His mother encouraged him to further pursue his artistic ambitions, and he took art courses from an early age. He enrolled at The Duperré School of Applied Arts in Paris, where he studied alongside Jean-Claude Mézières, who became a close friend, and Pat Mallet for two years. While feeling no desire for designing wallpaper and furniture, he started drawing his own western comic strips, inspired by Belgian artists like André Franquin and Morris. He also published his first illustrations in Fiction magazine. Other artistic influences of Giraud were were Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt Van Rijn, Winsor McCay, Harold Foster, Jijé, Jack Kirby and Robert Crumb.

After leaving the Academy in 1955 he went to live with his mother in Mexico for eight months. There, he was exposed to mind-expanding substances, sex and the desert for the first time. The experience had an enormous impact on his future life and career, both as Giraud and as Moebius. Back in France in 1956, he sold his first comic story ('Les Aventures de Frank et Jérémie') to Far West, a western magazine edited by Marijac. Through Mézières he subsequently got the opportunity to work for the children's publications of Éditions Fleurus, such as Fripounet et Marisette, Coeurs Vaillants and Âmes Vaillantes between 1956 and 1958. His contributions were mainly short stories of an educational and historical nature, and he also provided artwork to a publication called Sitting-Bull. He spent his military service in Algeria and Germany, where he made illustrations and comic strips for the army monthly 5/5 Forces Françaises. Another contributor to this magazine was André Chéret.

Assistant of Jijé Back in civilian life, Giraud became an apprentice of Joseph Gillain, the classic Belgian comic artist known as Jijé. He inked the episode 'La Route de Coronado' of Jijé's western series 'Jerry Spring', which was published in Spirou magazine in 1961. Jijé learned Giraud the finer points of the comics profession, training him in creating simple lay-outs, effective usage of black, rhythm in storytelling and working with photo documentation. He also worked on comic stories for Bonux-Boy (1960-1961) and Total Journal (1966-1968), two advertising comic magazines edited by Jijé's son Benoît, who had become a close friend of his. In 1961 and 1962, Giraud and Mézières were artists at Studio Hachette, where they participated in collections like 'L'Histoire des Civilisations'.

Blueberry When scriptwriter Jean-Michel Charlier proposed Jijé to create a new western series for Charlier's magazine Pilote, Jijé suggested Giraud for the assignment. The first story, 'Fort Navajo', premiered in Pilote on 31 October 1963. The initial set-up featured an ensemble cast, but the character of Lieutenant Mike S. Donovan, a.k.a. Blueberry, quickly took the centre stage. Along the way, he received two sidekicks, namely the boozing gold prospector Jimmy McClure and Redneck, an expert on Indian matters. However, Dargaud, the original publisher of the books, continued to use the series title 'Fort Navajo, une Aventure du Lieutenant Blueberry' until 1973.

The first 'Blueberry' cycle dealt with the American Indian Wars, and consisted of more basic adventure stories in the tradition of Charlier's other series, such as 'Buck Danny', 'La Patrouille des Castors' and 'Barbe-Rouge'. Giraud based Blueberry's original looks on the French western actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, while his artwork in general was still heavily inspired by Jijé. As the series evolved, Giraud became more and more influenced by the gritty western movies of Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci and Sam Peckinpah, American comic artists Milton Caniff and Hal Foster, and Western painter Frederic Remington. Giraud's brushwork became grittier too, and his involvement in Charlier's scripts increased. Giraud let Blueberry age as the stories progressed, which was highly unusual in comic series at the time. The stories and the action became more hard-boiled after Pilote began to focus on a more mature readership from 1968 on.

The series gained full maturity when Giraud and Charlier made a cycle about a hidden treasure of Confederate gold in Mexico. This story arc consists of the albums 'Chihuahua Pearl' (1973), 'L'Homme qui Valait 500.000 $' ('The Half-A-Million Dollar Man', 1973), 'Ballade pour un Cercueil' ('Ballad for a Coffin', 1974), 'Le Hors-la-loi' ('The Outlaw', 1974) and 'Angel Face' (1975). The flawless hero of 'Fort Navajo' had by now transformed into a normal human being, one who wasn't safe from being manipulated, betrayed and tortured. Giraud's explicit graphic portrayals of the dirty and sweaty Far West with all its violence and dangers paved the way for other European western comics, such as 'Comanche' by Hermann and Greg, 'Jonathan Cartland' by Michel Blanc-Dumont, 'Durango' by Yves Swolfs and even the later 'Jerry Spring' stories by Jijé. A dispute over royalties with publisher Georges Dargaud led to a more complex publication history of 'Blueberry' stories after 1973. Stories were prepublished in Nouveau Tintin (1975), Métal Hurlant (1979), Super As (1980), L'Écho des Savanes (1981) and Spirou (1983), before they were published directly in albums. The books were published by Fleurus, Novedi and Alpen, before Giraud returned to Dargaud in 1995. In addition, Giraud and Charlier had been presenting scenes from Blueberry's younger years in Super Pocket Pilote from 1968. Dargaud published three books with these stories in 1975 and 1979. Three new installments of 'La Jeunesse de Blueberry' ('Young Blueberry') were created by Charlier and New-Zealand artist Colin Wilson at Novedi between 1985 and 1990. During their dispute with Dargaud, Giraud and Charlier created 'Jim Cutlass', another western comic of which one album was published by Les Humanoïdes Associés in 1979. Giraud revived the series in 1991 and wrote six more books for artist Christian Rossi at Casterman until 1999.

Moebius While Giraud and Charlier had basically renewed the western comics genre with 'Blueberry', Giraud embarked upon even more innovative territory under his pen name Moebius. He had first used the name for a couple of short stories in the satirical monthly Hara-Kiri in 1963-1964. Starting in 1969, Moebius made a series of science fiction illustrations for sci-fi novels published by Opta, which marked the beginning of Giraud's exploits outside of the mainstream. Giraud further developed his Moebius persona while on a hiatus from 'Blueberry' between 1974 and 1979. With comic artist Philippe Druillet, journalist/writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas he launched the revolutionary comics anthology Métal Hurlant in December 1974. The men gathered under the collective name Les Humanoïdes Associés, which also became the name of the associated publishing house. Métal Hurlant published mainly avant-garde science fiction and fantasy comics. Besides aforementioned authors, it also ran work by international creators like Richard Corben, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri, Enki Bilal, Caza, Serge Clerc, Alain Voss, Berni Wrightson, Milo Manara, Jordi Bernet, Antonio Segura and Frank Margerin. A licensed US edition called Heavy Metal was launched in April 1977. The final issue of the original run of Métal Hurlant appeared in 1987, but Les Humanoïdes Associés has continued to publish comics and graphic novels in France since then.

The Airtight Garage Moebius experimented with every aspect of the comics medium. He switched from drawing with a brush to a pen, which resulted in more open drawings with influences from the "Clear Line" style. He crafted highly imaginative worlds and creatures, while his narratives are mainly based around improvisation and character development instead of plot. An essential character in Moebius' output is Major Grubert, a rather stereotypical explorer inspired by Frank M. Buck's 1930 novel 'Bring 'm Back Alive'. The character had first appeared in a short story for Pilote, and then in experimental and surreal stories for France-Soir and Fluide Glacial. He was also instrumental in one of Moebius' masterpieces, 'Le Garage Hermétique' ('The Airtight Garage', 1976-1979). In this series of often confusing short stories, Major Grubert encounters several entities seeking to invade an asteroid in a pocket universe. Another notable character is Jerry Cornelius, a secret agent created by sci-fi and fantasy author Michael Moorcock as a sort of "open source" character for other authors to work with.

The Airtight Garage

'Le Garage Hermétique' was serialized in Métal Hurlant from 1 March 1976 to 1 June 1979., and in the US edition Heavy Metal from 1977. The original French book version was published in black-and-white under the title 'Major Fatal' in 1979. The story was colorized for the US publication, and has been published both as a graphic novel (Titan Books, 1989) and a 4-issue comic book series in 1992. The comic is widely praised because of its improvised nature, which makes the reader a witness of the artistic process of story development, while it also leaves a lot open to the reader's own interpretation. Therefore, 'The Airtight Garage' is not only a journey through a fictional world, but also through an artist's mind. In later years, Moebius created sequels like 'L'Homme du Ciguri' ('The Man from the Ciguri', 1995) and 'Le Chasseur Déprime' (2008), while the first Moebius book at Éditions du Fromage, 'Le Bandard Fou' ('The Horny Goof', 1974) can be considered a prequel. Major Grubert has continued to appear in Moebius' work throughout his career, and was also the central character in the "sketchbook graphic-novel" 'Le Major' in 2011.

Arzach Moebius' talent for creating strange and desolate landscapes was even more showcased in 'Arzach', a collection of short comic stories about a silent warrior riding on a pterodactyl-like creature. The stories have no balloons, captions or onomatopoeias, which makes up for a surreal and psychedelic reading experience. Even the main character's name seems disturbing, as Moebius spelled it differently in every story (Arzak, Arzach, Harzac, Harzach, Harzack). The installments appeared in Métal Hurlant between 1 April 1975 and 1 January 1976 and were collected in book format in 1976. Moebius returned to this character at the end of his life, when he planned to explore the character's origins in a trilogy. Only the first book was published under the title 'Arzak: L'Arpenteur' ('Arzak: The Surveyor') by Glénat in 2010. The second and third installment were never created because of the author's death in 2012.

L'Incal Moebius' first collaboration with avant-garde comics writer and film director Alejandro Jodorowsky was in 1975, when he did creature and character designs and storyboards for Jodorowsky's planned movie adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi novel 'Dune' in 1975. The project was never completed, but Moebius and Jodorowsky continued to work together on comics projects. After releasing the comic book 'Les Yeux du Chat' at Les Humanoïdes Associés in 1978, they created a comics classic with 'L'Incal' ('The Incal'). The saga focuses on P.I. John Difool, who receives the Light Incal, a crystal of enormous powers. The original series by Moebius and Jodorowsky was prepublished in Métal Hurlant from December 1980 on and then made available in six books by Les Humanoïdes Associés between 1981 and 1988. It was the first installment in Jodorowsky's own sci-fi universe known as the "Jodoverse", which also includes 'Meta-Barons' (drawn by Juan Giménez), 'The Technopriests' (drawn by Zoran Janjetov) and 'Mégalex' (drawn by Fred Beltrán). A sequel called 'Après L'Incal' was started by Jodorowsky in 2000. Moebius drew only the first book; the second and third installments were drawn by José Ladrönn. The character's early years were explored in 'Avant l'Incal' by Jodorowsky and Zoran Janjetov (1988-1995) and a final cycle called 'Final Incal' was produced by Jodorowsky and Ladrönn (2008-2014).

Moebius was highly influenced by drugs and the philosophies of French New Age guru Jean-Paul Appel-Guéry and Swiss nutritionist Guy-Claude Burger for his next major work, 'Le Monde d'Edena' ('The Aedena Cycle'). The artist's journeying lifestyle also left its mark on the comic; the installments were drawn in Tokyo, California and France. The cycle had its origin in a promotional comic Moebius had made for French car manufacturer Citroën in 1983 ('Une Croisière Citroën sur l'Étoile'), in which two characters are transported to a "Garden of Eden" in another galaxy. Éditions Casterman collected the rest of what has to be Moebius' most philosophical series in four books between 1988 and 2001. Main themes are dreams, nutrition, health, biology and sexuality, structured societies and the archetype of good and evil. The series was published in English by Marvel/Epic comics between 1988 and 1994. Moebius and Jodorowsky also made 'Le Coeur Couronné' (1992-1998), a comics trilogy about the affair of a Philosophy professor with a delusional student, as well as the erotic one-shot 'Griffes d'Ange' (1994).

Another notable comic by Moebius is 'The Long Tomorrow' (1976), a futuristic crime noir short story written by Dan O'Bannon, who also did the special effects on Jodorowsky's 'Dune' project. The story has been a huge source of inspiration for George Lucas' 'Star Wars' film 'The Empire Strikes Back', Ridley Scott's sci-fi film 'Blade Runner' (1982) as well as the fashion in the videoclip for 'Firestarter' by The Prodigy (1996). Compilations of Moebius' other short stories were published by Les Humanoïdes in books like 'Double Évasion' (1981), 'La Citadelle Aveugle' (1989) and 'Escale sur Phargonescia' (1989).

From 1983, Moebius was active in merchandising his properties. He co-founded the publishing label Aedena in 1984, while his wife Claudine Giraud oversaw Starwatcher, a company specialized in publishing and distributing related products. Based in Los Angeles, Moebius got most of his graphic novels published in the US through Marvel Comics. He furthermore worked with Stan Lee on a two-issue mini-series starring the 'Silver Surfer' for Marvel's Epic imprint in 1988 and 1989. Under his own Aedena label, he produced the portfolio 'La Cité-Feu' (1985) with Geoff Darrow, and he published 'La Nuit de l'Étoile' (1986), a sci-fi comic written by Moebius and drawn by Marc Bati.

Writings Giraud had been writing comic stories for other artists since the early 1970s. For Pilote, he wrote the initial episodes of the post-apocalyptic comic 'Jason Muller' for Claude Auclair in 1970, as well as a couple of short stories for Jacques Tardi. His further scriptwriting work includes six books of 'Altor' with Marc Bati, a comic initially published under the title 'Cristal Majeur' (Dargaud, 1986-2003), and 'Little Nemo', a sequel to the classic American newspaper comic 'Little Nemo in Slumberland' by Winsor McCay, which was drawn by Bruno Marchand (Casterman, 1994-2002). Giraud and Bati have also made a comic book based on George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' ('La Ferme des Animaux' at Novedi in 1985). In 2005 Moebius wrote the French manga story 'Icare' for Jirô Taniguchi (Éditions Kana). With Jean-Marc Lofficier, who also translated most of his works to English, he worked on the scripts of a couple of stories set in the same universe as 'The Airtight Garage'. 'The Elsewhere Prince' was drawn by and Eric Shanower and published by Epic Comics in six issues in 1990, while Jerry Bingham did the art for 'The Onyx Overlord', which was published in four issues in 1992. Witch scriptwriter Jean-Luc Coudray, he made 'Les Histoires de Monsieur Mouche' in 1994.

Not surprisingly, 'Blueberry' also changed into a different direction because of Giraud's work under his alter ego Moebius. Especially after Jean-Michel Charlier's death in 1989, Giraud further developed the character's background and deeper emotions. He completed the final story he had started with Charlier, 'Arizona Love' (Alpen, 1990), and wrote and drew five more albums, which form the 'Mister Blueberry' cycle (1995-2005). Instead of following Charlier's plan of rehabilitating Blueberry and sending him back to the army, Giraud decided to turn his protagonist into a loafing civilian who spends his days playing poker. He also added another spin-off to the 'Blueberry' universe, which focused on Blueberry's adventures as a marshal in the war against the Apaches prior to the Confederate gold storyline. The first two books of 'Marshal Blueberry' were drawn by William Vance (Alpen, 1991, 1993), while the third one was drawn by Michel Rouge (Dargaud, 2000). In the meantime, the 'Young Blueberry' series was still continued by François Corteggiani and Michel Blanc-Dumont, although with no creative input from Giraud.

A third planned spin-off about an elderly Blueberry was called 'Blueberry: 1900', and was supposed to be drawn by François Boucq. Giraud wanted Blueberry to reside with the Hopi tribe and meditate under the influence of mind-expanding substances, while a comatose President McKinley is levitated in his bed. The project was halted by Philippe Charlier, the son and heir of Jean-Michel Charlier, who found this new direction too far away from the creative integrity and legacy of his father. However, the psychedelic hallucinations did end up in the 2004 movie 'Blueberry, l'expérience secrète' starring Vincent Cassel, Michael Madsen and Juliette Lewis (with Jean Giraud in a cameo role). The film was no commercial success, but did gain a certain cult status as a "trip film". Since it deviated so much from the source material, the Charlier heirs demanded that their family name should be removed from the credits.

Film work Besides the abandoned 'Dune' project, Jean Giraud/Moebius has participated in the development of several movies. He did storyboards and concept designs for Ridley Scott's movie 'Alien' (1977), 'Tron' by The Walt Disney Company (1982), René Laloux's 'Les Maîtres du Temps' ('Time Masters', 1982), James Cameron's 'The Abyss' (1989) and Luc Besson's 'The Fifth Element' (1997). A comic album with stills from 'Les Maîtres du Temps' and a companion book with storyboard drawings and photos were published by Les Humanoïdes Associés in 1982. In 1985 Moebius headed for Tokyo to work on the script and conceptual art for 'Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland' (1989), an animated film based on Winsor McCay's 'Little Nemo in Slumberland'. Giraud also made original character designs and did visual development for the Warner Bros movie 'Space Jam' in 1996. In the 1990s, Giraud worked on a planned movie adaptation of 'The Airtight Garage', which remained unreleased due to financial problems. The Chinese 3D-CGI feature film 'Thru the Moebius Strip' (2005) was based on an original story and designs by Jean Giraud.

Later career & recognition Several artbooks with Moebius' drawings and paintings have been published, such as 'Starwatcher' (1986), 'Made in L.A.' (1988), 'Quattre-vingt huit' (1990), 'Chaos' (1991), 'Chroniques Métalliques' (1992), 'Fusion' (1995), 'Une jeunesse heureuse' (1999). He additonally made illustrations for books and magazines, including an edition of Paulo Coelho's novel 'The Alchemist'. He also worked with Coelho on the video game 'Pilgrim' in 1997. In 1999, Giraud released 'Giraud/Moebius - Histoire de mon double', which featured a biography of Giraud by Moebius and vice versa. From 2004 to 2010, Stardom published 'Inside Moebius', an illustrated autobiographical fantasy featuring many of his longtime characters, such as Major Grubert, Blueberry and Arzak. The project covers 700 pages and was published in six hardcover volumes.

Jean Giraud was invested with a knighthood in the Ordre National du Mérite in 2011. He died in Paris, on 10 March 2012 at the age of 73, after a long battle with cancer. One of his final comics created under his own name was 'La Version Irlandaise', the first of a two-part volume in the 'XIII' series, which was released at the same time with its companion piece by the regular authors William Vance and Jean Van Hamme in November 2007.

An interview that Numa Sadoul had with Jean Giraud was published under the title 'Mister Moebius et Docteur Gir' at Albin Michel in 1976. It was reprinted by Casterman in 1991 in 'Moebius : Entretiens avec Numa Sadoul', which also contained later interviews. A large career retrospective called 'Trait de Génie Giraud/Moebius' was on exhibit in the Comics Museum in Angoulême, and an extensive catalogue edited by Thierry Groensteen was published for this occasion.

Legacy and influence With an oeuvre fuelled by mind-expanding drugs and New Age philosophies, Moebius has created a legacy which remains an inspiration to science fiction and fantasy authors to this day. He is considered one of the most influential comic artists since Hergé, and among his many and diverse admirers are comic authors like Hergé, Stan Lee and Marc Sleen, film directors Federico Fellini, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and Quentin Tarantino, and novelists Paulo Coelho, Neil Gaiman and William Gibson. He was an influence on the work of Hayao Miyazaki, William Stout, Emmanuel Roudier, Arno, Georges Bess, Dominique Hé, André Juillard, François Boucq, Geof Darrow, Louis Paradis, Martin tom Dieck, Milan Misic, Katsuya Terada, Jean-Jacques Sanchez, Zalozabal, Karel Verschuere, Jan Bosschaert, Stedho, François Schuiten, Frank and Thierry Van Hasselt. 'Arzach' was a major influence on the development of the 'Panzer Dragoon' video game by Team Andromedia in 1995. 'The Airtight Garage' inspired by the name for a San Francisco-based bar and video game parlor and for a band from Washington DC (1993-1996).

Claire Bretécher was born on 17 April 1940 in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France. She was an actress and writer, known for Roads to the South (1978), Alertez les bébés (1978) and La grande Paulette (1974). She was married to Guy Carcassonne. She died on 10 February 2020 in Paris, France.

Alain Saint-Ogan was born on 7 August 1895 in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was a writer and director, known for Prosper et le concours de beauté (1932), Zig et Puce sauvent Nénette (1955) and L'invité du dimanche (1968). He died on 22 June 1974 in Paris, France.

Pierre Culliford (pen name:Peyo) was a Belgian comics writer and artist. He contributed to several series, but his main claim to fame is creating the sword-and-sorcery series "Johan and Peewit" (1947-2001) and its spin-off, the adventure comedy series "The Smurfs" (1963-). His works have received several animated adaptations.

In 1928, Peyo was born in Schaerbeek, a municipality within the Brussels-Capital Region. In the early 20th century, Schaerbeek was a booming suburb with a large middle-class population. Peyo's father was an Englishman, while his mother was Belgian. Peyo received his art training at the "Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts", an art school located in Brussels.

Early in his career, Peyo worked for the animation studio "Compagnie belge d'actualités" (CBA). The studio folded after World War II, and Peyo decided to seek work as a comics artist. He was hired by the sports-oriented newspaper "La Dernière Heure" (The Latest Hour, 1906-). His salary was meager, and he supplemented his income through providing artwork for advertisements.

In 1947, Peyo created the character Johan for the "La Dernière Heure". The character was a heroic page of the Middle Ages, skilled in swordsmanship and aspiring to become a knight. Peyo had the character involved in fantasy-style adventures. In 1949, Peyo was hired by the newspaper "Le Soir" ("The Evening", 1887-), transferring the Johan comic strip to it. He created for this newspaper the comic strip "Poussy" ("Pussy"), featuring a cute black cat as the protagonist. This comic strip developed in a typical gag-a-day format.

In 1952, Peyo was hired by the comics magazine "Spirou" (1938-). He was reportedly recommended for hiring by his old friend André Franquin (1924-1997), who already worked for the magazine. Peyo transferred Johan to this magazine, and started writing longer adventures for him.

In 1954, Peyo retooled the "Johan" series to "Johan and Peewit", by adding a comic-relief sidekick for Johan. Peewit was a dwarf, depicted as a reformed thief, a professional court jester, and an inept musician. Unlike Johan, Peewit was a reluctant hero. But his cunning, his capacity for outwitting opponents, and his fighting skills made him a useful companion for the hero.

In 1958, Peyo wrote an adventure story called "The Flute with Six Holes", where Johan and Peewit seek a magical flute which was stolen. They meet the flute's creators, a race of blue-skinned gnomes, called the Smurfs. Peyo designed them as wearing traditional Phrygian caps (conical cap used in antiquity by various peoples of Anatolia and the Balkans), a developed a peculiar language and habits for them.

By 1959, the Smurfs had become popular enough to inspire merchandising of their own. Peyo was asked to create a spin-off comic strip for them. The characters supplanted Johan and Peewit in popularity, though Peyo preferred writing the original series. In 1960, Peyo founded his own studio, allowing him to have trained assistants work on Smurf-inspired stories, and other comics projects (such as "Steven Strong" and "Jacky and Célestin"). Peyo's most notable assistant during the early 1960s was François Walthéry (1946-), who would later create a number of successful series of his own.

In 1963, the first comics album devoted to the Smurfs was published. It was the story "The Purple Smurfs", featuring an infectious disease which turns the affected Smurfs into "violent, irrational and uncontrolled" beings with an urge to bite others. The album was successful, and ensured the production of further albums. By the time of Peyo's death in 1992, 16 comics albums had been completed.

Peyo remained active in the 1970s, but his work output diminished. He did, however, provide a script for the animated film "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute" (1976). He also was tasked with overseeing production aspects of the film. In the 1980s, Peyo authorized an adaptation of his work by the American studio Hanna-Barbera. He served as a story supervisor for the animated series "The Smurfs" (1981-1989). A notable hit of its era, the series lasted for 9 seasons and introduced the Smurfs to a wider international audience.

Until 1989, all Smurf stories were published by Dupuis due to a long-standing contract with Peyo. In 1989, Peyo decided to terminate their business relationship and to establish his own publishing house, Cartoon Creation. It turned out to be a failed business venture. Peyo had been facing recurring health problems throughout the decade, and was unable to properly handle the affairs of the new company. Within a few years, the company folded "due to management problems".

In 1992, the publishing rights to the Smurfs were sold to Le Lombard, a publisher known for holding the rights to "Tintin" since 1946. Peyo tried working with his new publisher, but his career was ending. On Christmas Eve 1992, Peyo died of a heart attack in Brussels at the age of 64.

A number of Peyo's series have been continued by other writers and artists. New Smurfs-related comics albums were published into the 2020s, often with input by Peyo's son, Thierry Culliford. The popularity of the Smurfs has endured, decades after the demise of their creator.

Albert Uderzo is a French comic book writer and artist, of Italian descent. Albert was born in 1927 in the town of Fismes, in the Marne department of north-eastern France. Marne was created from the remains of the older province of Champagne, and the local capital is Chalons-en-Champagne.

Alnert's parents were Silvio Uderzo (1888-1985) and Iria Crestini. They had met in 1915, during World War I. Silvio was at the time serving in the Royal Italian Army, and Iria was working at the arsenal of La Spezia, Liguria, where she was maintaining and repairing weapons and ammunition. Silvio was discharged from military service in 1919, and the couple married in 1920. Silvio returned to his civilian job as a carpenter, and the Uderzo family soon migrated to the French Third Republic, where there were more job opportunities.

Albert was named after his older brother Albert Uderzo, who had been born in 1925 . The older Albert had died of pneumonia when he was only 8-months-old, and the grieving parents wanted a replacement. The official name of the younger Albert at the birth registry was Alberto Aleandro Uderzo, due to a misunderstanding between Silvio and the employee at the registry. The family rarely used this "official" name.

Albert was born an Italian citizen, and officially gained French citizenship 1934. He experienced racism against Italian immigrants as a child, though he was both born and raised in France. He recalled people blaming him for Benito Mussolini's policies and spitting at him.

In the 1930s, Albert developed a fascination for American comic and animated cartoons, and was particularly impressed with the works of Walt Disney. He was a poor student at school, but received good grades in sketching and art-related lessons. He had been practicing drawing as a hobby since he was in kindergarten, and he was good at it. When he was 11 or 12 years old, his parents realized that Albert was color-blind. It had not affected his sketches, because most of them were black-and-white.

During World War II, Albert was too young to serve in the conflict, but his older brother Bruno was conscripted and fought in the Battle of France (1940). By the 1950s, Albert had become a professional artist, and he met his partner René Goscinny in 1951. During the 1950s, Uderzo provided the artwork for moderately successful series such as the historical fiction series "Oumpah-pah" and "Jehan Pistolet" (both written by Goscinny) and the aviation comic series "Tanguy et Laverdure" (written by Jean-Michel Charlier).

Uderzo and Goscinny created the historical fiction series "Asterix" in 1959, featuring heroic Gauls fighting in the historical Gallic Wars (58-50 BC). It became one of the most successful European comic book series, with Uderzo serving as its main artist from 1959 to 2004. When Goscinny died in 1977, Uderzo decided to take over the writing duties as well. While writing several successful stories of his own, Uderzo is mostly considered an inferior writer to Goscinny. There was a perceived decline in the writing quality of the series over the decades.

In 2005, Uderzo released "Asterix and the Falling Sky", the only science-fiction entry in this historic fantasy series, and intended to serve as a parody of then-popular anime and manga series. The story was widely mocked for its dated humor, and the use of anti-Japanese stereotypes dating back to World War II. It was the last Asterix story written by Uderzo.

In 2007, Uderzo sold his shares of the company "Editions Albert René" (which owns the rights to Asterix) to the publishing company Hachette. He had a public falling out with his daughter Sylvie Uderzo who also owned shares of the original company and disagreed with her father's decision. After a few years of mostly working on short-stories and comic strips, Uderzo announced his retirement in 2011. He died in 2020.

According to UNESCO's Index Translationum, Uderzo was the 10th most often translated French-language author, with Goscinny being the 4th one. He was the third most often translated French-language comics author behind René Goscinny and Hergé.

Jacques Tardi was born on 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme, France. He is a writer and actor, known for The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010), April and the Extraordinary World (2015) and Association de bienfaiteurs (1994).

François Bourgeon was born on 5 July 1945 in Paris, France.

Jean-Michel Charlier was born on 30 October 1924 in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. He was a writer and director, known for The Aeronauts (1967), Les dossiers noirs (1974) and Les nouveaux chevaliers du ciel (1988). He was married to Christiane. He died on 10 July 1989 in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine, France.

Nikita Mandryka was born on 20 October 1940 in Bizerte, Tunisia. He was a director and writer, known for The Lone Cuke: The Garden at the Edge of the World (1992), Zeaux productions: Bande de présentation (1989) and Je veux être... toi (1977). He died on 13 June 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Maurice De Bevere (pen name: Morris) was a Belgian comics writer and artist. He was best known for creating the long-running Western comedy series "Lucky Luke" (1946-), and serving as its main artist from 1946 to his death in 2001. Lucky Luke is one of the best-selling comics series in Europe, and has been translated into 23 languages.

In 1923, Morris was born in the city of Kortrijk, located in West Flanders. It is an on old city, starting out as the Gallo-Roman settlement of Cortoriacum. It has served as a center for the flax and wool industry since the Middle Ages. Morris was educated at a Jesuit school in Aalst, East Flanders. He was bored there, and liked to draw doodles while in class.

After gaining a college degree, Morris was hired by the animation studio "Compagnie Belge d'Actualités" (CBA). Several other stars of Belgian comics started out as staff for this studio. The studio shut down following World War II. Morris then found work as an illustrator for the newspaper "Het Laatste Nieuws" (1888-), and the magazine "Moustique" (1924-). He specialized in drawing caricatures of then-famous movie stars.

In 1946, Morris created the "Lucky Luke" series for the comics magazine "Spirou" (1938-). It is a long-running Franco-Belgian comics magazine, that publishes stories in anthology format. The eponymous character of Morris' new series was a solitary cowboy and gunslinger who traveled across the 19th-century Wild West, persistently helping those in need. The series typically combines adventure themes with humorous situations, and a satirical view of Western tropes.

Early in his work for "Spirou", Morris became closely associated with the magazine's leading artists of this period. They were Jijé (Joseph Gillain, 1914-1980), André Franquin (1924-1997), and Will (Willy Maltaite, 1927-2000). Together, they became known as "La bande des quatre" ("Gang of Four").

In 1948, Morris temporarily moved to the United States, along with Jijé and Franquin. He was interested in finding out what remained of the Wild West, and he also wanted to meet and interact with American comics artist. Morris remained in the United States until 1954. He befriended the American artists Jack Davis (1924 - 2016), and Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993). He helped his new pals launch the humor magazine "Mad" (1952-2018) for the publisher EC Comics.

During his stay in the United States, Morris became acquainted with the French expatriate comics writer René Goscinny (1926-1977). Following their return to Europe, they decided to collaborate in the "Lucky Luke" series. Goscinny served as the series' main writer from 1955 to his death in 1977. He developed a supporting cast for the main character, which helped the series in gaining popularity.

Until 1968, nearly all Lucky Luke adventures and comic albums were printed by the publishing house Dupuis, the parent company of "Spirou". The company had a series of financial difficulties in the late 1960s, and Morris decided to switch publishers. In 1967, the "Lucky Luke" series started being printed in the comics magazine "Pilote" (1959-1989), the flagship publication of the publisher Dargaud.

In 1984, Morris allowed the adaptation of the "Lucky Luke" series into an English-language animated series by the studio Hanna-Barbera. Though it was not the first adaptation of the series in animation, it helped introduce the series to an American audience. It was released in syndication in the United States.

Until the 1980s, Morris focused all his efforts in the "Lucky Luke" series. In 1987, he launched the spin-off comic book series "Rantanplan" (1987-2011), focusing on a dimwitted, accident-prone, and gluttonous guard dog that had served as a supporting character for Lucky Luke since 1960. The character is a spoof of Rin Tin Tin. The spin-off series had the guard dog traveling the world, getting involved in misadventures, and always misunderstanding the world surrounding him.

In 2001, Morris suffered an accidental fall while trying to repair the roof of his residence. He was hospitalized, but suffered a pulmonary embolism while he was bedridden. He died in July 2001, at the age of 77. The "Lucky Luke" series has since continued under other writers and artists. Several of Morris' key characters have remained popular over the decades, and have starred in an ever-increasing number of adaptations.

Joann Sfar was born on 28 August 1971 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. He is a writer and director, known for Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2010), The Rabbi's Cat (2011) and Thomas Fersen: Hyacinthe (2005).

François Schuiten was born on 13 April 1956 in Brussels, Belgium. He is a writer and production designer, known for Mr. Nobody (2009), The Golden Compass (2007) and Mars and April (2012). He has been married to Monique Toussaint since 1980.

Jean-Claude Forest was born on 11 September 1930 in Le Perreux, Paris, France. He was a writer and director, known for Barbarella (1968), Barbarella and Les Poules bleues de l'automne (1974). He was married to Petra Fores. He died on 30 December 1998 in Paris, France.

Frédéric Aristidès was born on 5 March 1931 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for Philemon, Tac au tac (1969) and Pour le plaisir (1964). He died on 2 April 2013 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.

Gérard Lauzier was born on 30 November 1932 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He was a writer and director, known for Le plus beau métier du monde (1996), Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999) and Petit Con (1984). He died on 6 December 2008 in Paris, France.

Yves Chaland was born on 3 April 1957 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He died on 18 July 1990 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.

Manu Larcenet is known for Ordinary Victories (2015), Schmol (2004) and Oggy and the Cockroaches (1995).

Martin Veyron is known for L'amour propre ne le reste jamais très longtemps (1985), Move Along, There is Nothing to See (1983) and Bains de minuit (1987).

Pierre Christin was born on 27 July 1938 in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France. He was a writer, known for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), Bunker palace hôtel (1989) and Time-Jam - Valérian & Laureline (2007). He died on 3 October 2024 in Paris, France.

Nicolas de Crécy was born on 29 September 1966 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He is a production designer, known for DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990), Steamboy (2004) and TaleSpin (1990).