Régis Loisel

Régis Loisel created his first drawings for Pieds Nickelés Magazine in 1970, before contributing to Pilote, Pif Gadget, Mormoil, Fluide Glacial and Métal Hurlant. He then co-founded the magazine Tousse Bourin with Taffin and Loro in 1975, in which he published Les Nocturnes, released as an album by Kesselring in 1978. After the magazine ceased publication, Loisel devoted himself primarily to illustration; he created Norbert le Lézard in 1977 for the magazine Plop, before launching the now-legendary La Quête de l’Oiseau du Temps (The Quest for the Time-Bird) in Charlie Mensuel (to which he contributed starting with the first issue in April 1982), based on a script by Serge Le Tendre. With his powerful linework, Loisel created unforgettable characters, dreamlike landscapes unique to Franco-Belgian comics, and an original fantasy universe—long before the genre became popular in Europe. His art miraculously manages to combine characters with medieval countenances with creatures that are by turns charming and terrifying, all carried by a fluid and dynamic narrative that avoids any lulls, while never sacrificing an astonishing attention to detail. Thanks to this series, Loisel almost instantly became a star of the Ninth Art and was recognized as one of the greatest artists of his generation. In 1990, he confirmed that this reputation was well-deserved with a loose adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. 

In his work—a world apart from Disney’s take—the dreamlike quality of fantasy blends with a poetic realism reminiscent of Dickens. Alongside this major personal work, he published La Dernière goutte (The Last Drop), an album that showcases his talent for eroticism, already evident in La Quête de l’Oiseau du Temps. He added a second cycle to the series, L'ami Javin (Our Friend Javin) , featuring Le Tendre and Lidwine, in 1998. Lacking the time to illustrate all the dreams in his mind, he also embarked on a full-fledged career as a screenwriter and collaborated on film projects, before once again making a lasting impression with a new series, Magasin Général (General Store, six volumes published by Casterman). Set in Quebec, where he now lives, this series was co-illustrated with Jean-Louis Tripp in a style closer to magical realism than to fantasy. Still collaborating with Serge Le Tendre, he wrote two new adventures in La Quête de l'Oiseau du Temps, illustrated by Mohamed Aouamri (2007) and then by Vincent Mallié (2010), with whom he has been working since 2007 on the series Le Grand Mort (The Great Dead, Glénat, 5 volumes published).