Greg

Born in Ixelles on May 5th, 1931, and deceased in Paris on October 29th, 1999, the artist known as Greg has done everything the world of comic strips has to offer: illustrating and scriptwriting, with overwhelming production in terms of quantity as well as quality; studio animation; discovering new talents; serving as editor-in-chief of the magazine Tintin during ten of its most glorious years; being editor-in-chief at Dargaud; acting as a representative of European comics in the United States; writing novels; and enjoying life to the full. It was at the age of 16 that the Belgian boy born as Michel Régnier published his first comic strip (Les Aventures de Nestor et Boniface) in the newspaper Vers l'avenir, but his talents as a storyteller, greatly appreciated by his friends at school, were certainly more developed than his graphic skills. In 1951, encouraged by legendary editor Charles Dupuis, he met André Franquin, who revealed to him many tricks of the trade with great kindness. Over the coming years, Greg would join the workforce of the Belgian magazine Héroïc-Albums, as well as Spirou, where Dupuis was won over by the author's stories. Greg's production quickly ramped up, though his earnings generally failed to reflect that. He worked for three years in Brussels for International Press, which had recently lost such big names as Goscinny and Uderzo, and also contributed to such newspapers as La Libre Belgique. While winding down his work for International Press, Greg simultaneously pursued his career as an all-around author at the magazine Tintin, where he would create countless stories of his own, to the point where he soon set up a studio where his artist friends could help him while continuing to work on their own projects. The 1960s were a big decade for Greg, marked by the first appeared of Achille Talon in the magazine Pilote, and his becoming editor-in-chief of Tintin in 1965, a position he would hold until 1974. These years would include the introduction of such landmark series as Bernard Prince and Comanche, both with the artist Hermann, the latter being republished by Le Lombard in 2016 (Europe Comics in English 2017). Greg also collaborated with such artists as Eddy Paape (Luc Orient) and William Vance (Bruno Brazil). He even contributed to the scripts for two animated Tintin films, produced by Belvision. The following years and decades would include even more adventures: in 1975 he became literary manager at Dargaud, moving to Paris and acquiring French nationality, and later even moved to Connecticut in the United States to raise awareness for French comics — one of the earliest such ambassadors for European comics across the Atlantic. Greg finally moved back to France in the late 1980s, coming full circle. Equally talented for realistic action stories and verbal excess, deft at handling both gags and adventures, Greg was without a doubt one of the most significant comics figures of the 20th century, and is remembered for both his talent and the pure entertainment he provided for readers around the world.