René Goscinny was a French comic editor and writer, who created the Astérix comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. He was raised primarily in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schools, as well as lived in the United States for a short period of time. There he met Belgian cartoonist Morris. After his return to France, they collaborated for more than 20 years on the comic series Lucky Luke.
Iznogoud is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Jean Tabary. The comic series chronicles the life and times of Iznogoud, the Grand Vizier of the Caliphate of Baghdad at an undefined period in the past. His greatest desire is to replace the Caliph, leading him to repeatedly utter the phrase "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph", a phrase that has been adopted in French and some other European languages to characterize overly ambitious people. Iznogoud is supported by his dimwitted yet faithful servant, Wa'at Alahf.
Claire Bretécher was a French cartoonist, known particularly for her portrayals of women and gender issues. Her creations included Les Frustrés, and the unimpressed teenager Agrippine.
Pilote was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as Astérix, Barbe-Rouge, Blueberry, Achille Talon, and Valérian et Laureline. Major comics writers like René Goscinny, Jean-Michel Charlier, Greg, Pierre Christin and Jacques Lob were featured in the magazine, as were artists such as Jijé, Morris, Albert Uderzo, Jean (Mœbius) Giraud, Enki Bilal, Jean-Claude Mézières, Jacques Tardi, Philippe Druillet, Marcel Gotlib, Alexis, and Annie Goetzinger.
Jean-Claude Mézières was a French bandes dessinées artist and illustrator. Born in Paris and raised in nearby Saint-Mandé, he was introduced to drawing by his elder brother and influenced by comics artists such as Hergé, Andre Franquin and Morris and later by Jijé and Jack Davis. Educated at the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art, he worked upon graduation as an illustrator for books and magazines as well as in advertising. A lifelong interest in the Wild West led him to travel to the United States in 1965 in search of adventure as a cowboy, an experience that would prove influential on his later work.
Marcel Gottlieb, known professionally as Gotlib, was a French comics artist/writer and publisher. Through his own work and the magazines he co-founded, L'Écho des savanes and Fluide Glacial, he was a key figure in the switch in French-language comics from their children's entertainment roots to an adult tone and readership. His series include Rubrique-à-Brac, Gai-Luron, and Superdupont.
Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian comics writer. He was a co-founder of the famed Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote.
Michel Régnier, best known by his pseudonym Greg, was a Belgian cartoonist best known for Achille Talon, and later became editor of Tintin magazine.
Notable events of 1968 in comics.
The René Goscinny award, named after the writer of Asterix and Lucky Luke, is awarded to comic writers at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. It was first awarded in 1988 and 1992, every year between 1995 and 2008, and again since 2017. The award is given in order to encourage young comic writers, those whose comic careers have only begun to flourish. The awardee is chosen by a jury mostly composed of comics specialists: authors, journalists, and Angoulême festival organizers. The winner receives 5000 euro.
Richard Peyzaret, better known by his pen name F'Murrr or F'Murr, was a French cartoonist and comic book writer. He was most famous for the long-running series Le Génie des alpages.
Rubrique-à-Brac is a humorous comic strip series created in 1968-1972 by Gotlib. The title is a portmanteau of the French words rubrique (section) and bric-à-brac. Initially published in Pilote magazine, the series was republished as five hardbound books between 1970 and 1974 by Dargaud, and again in 2002 as one volume, which also included previously unpublished content. It is widely regarded as one of the cornerstones of today's humorous bande dessinée.
Frédéric Othon Théodore Aristidès, known by his pseudonym Fred, was a French cartoonist in the Franco-Belgian comics tradition. He is best known for his series Philémon.
Nikita Mandryka was a French cartoonist.
Alexis was the pseudonym of Dominique Vallet, a French comics artist, best known for his work on the series Al Crane and Superdupont.
Notable events of 1967 in comics.
Maurice De Bevere, better known as Morris, was a Belgian cartoonist, comics artist, illustrator and the creator of Lucky Luke, a bestselling comic series about a gunslinger in the American Wild West. He was inspired by the adventures of the historic Dalton Gang and other outlaws. It was a bestselling series for more than 50 years that was translated into 23 languages and published internationally. He collaborated for two decades with French writer René Goscinny on the series. Morris's pen name is an Anglicized version of his first name.
Georges Dargaud was a French publisher of comics, most famously Tintin magazine, Asterix, and Lucky Luke, through his Dargaud company.
Jacques Acar, was a Belgian comic book writer and journalist. He is best known as being a pillar of Tintin and Strapontin from 1962 to 1975 working alongside René Goscinny, and was an author “Représentatif de la bande dessinée Franco-Belge classique”.
Les Frustrés is a comic strip series by the French writer Claire Bretécher, published from 1973 to 1981 in the center-left weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, in line with Salades de saison published in Pilote from 1971 to 1973.
