Greg (cartoonist)

Michel Régnier (5 May 1931 – 29 October 1999), best known by his pseudonym Greg, was a Belgian cartoonist best known for Achille Talon, and later became editor of Tintin magazine.

Biography

Regnier was born in Ixelles, Belgium in 1931. His first series, Les Aventures de Nestor et Boniface, appeared in the Belgian magazine Vers l'Avenir when he was sixteen. He moved to the comic magazine Héroic Albums, going on to work for the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Spirou in 1954. In 1955 he launched his own magazine, Paddy, but eventually discontinued it.

The series for which Greg is best known, Achille Talon, began in 1963 in Pilote magazine, also the source of comics such as Asterix. This series, which he both wrote and illustrated, presents the comic misadventures of the eponymous mild-mannered polysyllabic bourgeois. In all 42 albums appeared, the first years with short gags, later with full-length (i.e. 44 pages) stories. The series was continued by Widenlocher after the death of Greg. An English translation titled Walter Melon was unsuccessful. In 1996, an animated series of 52 episodes of 26 minutes each was produced. This series was also shown in English as Walter Melon. Other series Greg provided artwork for in the early 60s were the boxing series Rock Derby and the revival of Alain Saint-Ogan's classic series Zig et Puce.<ref name=lambiek"">Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Greg". </ref>