Greg

Michel Régnier, known as Greg, was born on May 5, 1931, in Ixelles, a suburb of Brussels. The young boy discovered his talent for storytelling at a very young age: as early as 1943, he published his first comic strip, the Journal de Nouny, where he sketched his first caricatures. At just sixteen years old, he published Nestor et Boniface in the newspaper Vers l’Avenir. However, his life took a radical turn in 1951 when he met André Franquin, who mentored him in the craft. Greg patiently learned to refine his linework and composition, while sharpening his attention to detail… The bond between the two men was so strong that the young artist went on to write nearly 100 gags for Modeste et Pompon as well as several episodes of Spirou et Fantasio. 

This is where his unique genius was forged: Greg was an artist, but above all, he was a prodigiously prolific writer who excelled in every genre. Starting in 1957, at Tintin magazine, he established himself as the "go-to" writer, coming to the rescue of artists from one series to the next: Tibet’s Chick Bill, Cuvelier’s Line, and even Modeste and Pompon. In just a decade, he built a vast catalog of series that have since become classics: Bernard Prince and Comanche with Hermann, Luc Orient for Eddy Paape, Bruno Brazil for William Vance, and Olivier Rameau for Dany. Yet, it was as a complete author that he produced his masterpiece: Achille Talon, a smug, potbellied petit-bourgeois character caught up in endless verbal sparring matches with his neighbor Hilarion Lefuneste. It was an ode to verbose humor that would forever become his trademark. 

A multi-talented artist, he served as editor-in-chief of Le Journal de Tintin from 1965 to 1974, bringing a modern touch to this historic publication. In 1974, he took over as literary director of Éditions Dargaud in France. 

His extraordinary career was crowned with accolades: the Grand Prix at the International Angoulême Comics Festival in 1987, the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 1988, and the “Géant de la BD” (Giant of Comic Art) award in 1992 for his entire body of work. After selling the rights to Achille Talon back to Dargaud, he passed away in 1999, leaving behind the memory of a one-man band of comic art who served as the driving force behind an entire generation of Franco-Belgian artists.