| As of album 35 (2013) drawings by Didier Conrad and text by Jean-Yves Ferri. | |
| René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo |
Writer: René Goscinny (1926-1977) René Goscinny René Goscinny was born in Paris and moved to Argentina after two years. He spent his school years at the French school in Buenos Aires. When he was 17, his father died, and he had to find a job. He became an assistant bookkeeper, definitely not what he dreamed of. In 1945, he moved to New York, USA, where he worked for three years at an import and export firm. After that, he finally found a job in an art studio. Here, he met artists like Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, and John Severin, who later founded the satirical magazine 'MAD'. He also met two Belgian artists: JiJé and Morris (Morris was the one who created the Lucky Luke comics). Morris asked Goscinny to be his scriptwriter for Lucky Luke. Goscinny accepted this job but was also interested in drawing. He created his own hero called Dick Dicks but had to admit he was better at writing, especially writing with humor. He went back to Europe in 1951, and at the news agency 'World Press,' he met Albert Uderzo for the first time. Their cooperation resulted in several series like Pistolet, Luc Junior, Benjamin and Benjamine, Bill Blanchart, and Ompa-Pa. Ompa-Pa was published in the magazine 'Kuifje,' and again Goscinny met other famous artists like Franquin, Berck, Tibet, De Moor, Attanasio, Mancherot, and many more. For many of them, he was their scriptwriter. In 1959, Goscinny, Uderzo, and Jean-Michel Charlier founded a new comic magazine: Pilote. From the beginning, Pilote was a big success. After troubles with finances, finding good employees, and distributing the magazine, Georges Dargaud, the representative in France of the magazine 'Kuifje,' took over the magazine Pilote. Until his death in 1977, Goscinny was editor-in-chief of Pilote and wrote many humorous scripts. |
Illustrator: Albert Uderzo (1927-2020) Albert Uderzo was born in 1927 in Fismes, France. His parents immigrated from Italy to France in 1923. When Uderzo was born, he had six fingers on each hand. Fourteen years later and two fingers less, his first work was published. The famous illustrator Edmond Calvo encouraged him to continue his work, but in 1945 Uderzo was not an illustrator but an assistant engineer instead. He found a job as an illustrator for an animated cartoon. He didn't like the job too much and soon resigned. At 19 years old, he started to work for magazines. For O.K., he made Arys Buck (also an invincible Gaul!), Prince Rollin, and Belloy. After his military service, he worked for France-Dimanche and France-Soir in 1950. One year later, he started working for International Press. In this year, he met Jean-Michel Charlier and René Goscinny. In most cases, Uderzo draws in a (half-)caricature style. In 1952, Uderzo and Goscinny created Luc Junior and Pistolet. They also started with Ompa-Pa, but it was 1958 when it was published for the first time in the magazine Kuifje. Ompa-Pa already contained many elements of Asterix. The way of drawing, the humor, and the visual jokes can all be seen in Asterix. Uderzo, Goscinny, and Charlier decided to start their own magazine called Pilote. This magazine appeared for the first time on October 29, 1959. Uderzo and Charlier created a realistic airplane comic for Pilote. Together with Goscinny, Uderzo also made another comic for Pilote. That comic was called Asterix. |
