René Goscinny

Rene Goscinny began drawing at an early age and found major success later on in life; he served as an influential writer on the western comic series "Lucky Luke" and created the beloved French comic strip "Asterix." After serving as a poster illustrator in the French Army, Goscinny moved to New York and met several influential writers and illustrators, most notably Maurice de Bevere, better known as Morris. Goscinny and Morris collaborated for many years on the best-selling series "Lucky Luke," about a roving cowboy, his intelligent horse, and his idiotic dog. Goscinny's tenure on the often-translated European comic is widely considered to be the golden age of the series, and in addition to his widely praised "Lucky Luke" comic strips, he also helped write and direct the 1971 feature film adaptation, "Daisy Town." In the mid-'50s, Goscinny and several other French writers founded a publishing syndicate; one of his partners, writer and artist Albert Uderzo, became his collaborator on "Asterix," which follows the often-comic exploits of the bumbling Asterix and his best friend, super-strong Obelix, as they travel the world and defend their ancient Gaul village against invading Romans. Goscinny co-wrote and co-directed the 1968 animated feature "Astérix et Cléopâtre," which found the heroic Frenchman helping to build a summer home for the Egyptian queen, and shortly before his untimely death in 1977, he helmed "Les douze travaux d'Astérix," about Asterix's attempt to solve 12 difficult tasks.