| 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 was born in Paris but moved to Argentina when he was two years old. He attended the French school in Buenos Aires during his school years. At the age of 17, following the death of his father, he had to find work and became an assistant bookkeeper, a job far from his aspirations. In 1945, he relocated to New York, USA, where he worked for three years at an import and export firm. Eventually, he found a position at an art studio, where he met artists such as Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, and John Severin, who later founded the satirical magazine 'MAD'. During this time, he also encountered Belgian artists JiJé and Morris, the creator of the Lucky Luke comics. Morris invited Goscinny to be his scriptwriter for Lucky Luke. Although Goscinny accepted the job, he was also passionate about drawing and created his own character, Dick Dicks. However, he soon realized that his true talent lay in writing, particularly humorous writing. In 1951, Goscinny returned to Europe and joined the news agency 'World Press,' where he met Albert Uderzo. Their collaboration led to the creation of several series, including Pistolet, Luc Junior, Benjamin and Benjamine, Bill Blanchart, and Ompa-Pa. Ompa-Pa was published in the magazine 'Kuifje,' where Goscinny met other renowned artists like Franquin, Berck, Tibet, De Moor, Attanasio, Mancherot, and many others. He served as a scriptwriter for many of them. In 1959, Goscinny, Uderzo, and Jean-Michel Charlier founded a new comic magazine called Pilote. From the beginning, Pilote was a big success. After facing financial difficulties, challenges in finding good employees, and issues with distributing the magazine, Georges Dargaud, the representative in France for the magazine 'Kuifje,' took over Pilote. Until his death in 1977, Goscinny served as the 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. Fourteen years later 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. He found a job as an illustrator for an animated cartoon but didn't like it much and soon resigned. At 19 years old, he started working for magazines. For O.K., he created 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. During this year, he met Jean-Michel Charlier and René Goscinny. In most cases, Uderzo drew in a (semi-)caricature style. In 1952, Uderzo and Goscinny created Luc Junior and Pistolet. They also started with Ompa-Pa, but it wasn't published until 1958 in the magazine Kuifje. Ompa-Pa already contained many elements of Asterix. The drawing style, humor, and visual jokes can all be seen in Asterix. Uderzo, Goscinny, and Charlier decided to start their own magazine called Pilote. This magazine first appeared on October 29, 1959. Uderzo and Charlier created a realistic airplane comic for Pilote. Together with Goscinny, Uderzo also created another comic for Pilote. That comic was called Asterix. |
