Greg (1933-1999) was one of the leading and most prominent French-Belgian comics artists of the second half of the 20th century. He was both scriptwriter and illustrator, mentor to many new authors, as well as animator, writer, editor and publisher. He published his first comic in Vers l’Avenir at the age of sixteen. Like with most of his early works its focus was on a brilliant story and less so on the artwork, which would mature later. In the 1950s, Greg met André Franquin, who let him in on many professional secrets and helped him perfect his drawing skills. At first, Greg worked for Héroic Albums, moved to Spirou in 1954, and started his own magazine Le journal de Paddy, with little success, a year later. In the 1960s he started to work for Tintin, where one of his many works was the very popular comic ‘Rock Derby’. At the same time, he worked for other magazines such as Vaillant (‘As’) and Pilote (‘Achille Talon’), which led to the establishment of his own studio. In 1965, Greg was appointed the editor-in-chief of Tintin, but he continued to work, with great success, on many other projects. In 1975 he moved to France to work for the publishing house Dargaud, which sent him to the U.S. in the late 1970s to promote French comics. He returned to France in the mid 1980s. One of the biggest icons of French-Belgian comics, Greg worked as a writer or an illustrator on more than 250 comics.

Michel Régnier – Greg: “Rock Derby”, 1976, 36 x 46 cm

Michel Régnier – Greg: “Les grosses têtes / The Big-heads” #23, 1963, 37 x 47 cm