Al Crane. Le train fou.

Alexis was one of the most original French cartoonists of the 1970s, and a regular contributor to the magazines Pilote and Fluide Glacial, for which he mostly stood out for his comic parodies in the tradition of MAD Magazine. Born Dominique Vallet in Boulogne-Billancourt, he made humorous illustrations for magazines like Judo, Planète and Lui, while a student with the Charpentier Academy in Paris. By 1968, he assumed the pen name Alexis and found his way to the legendary magazine Pilote. Among his early work were topical cartoons and short stories, most of which were collected in the book 'Et Patati, et Patata' by Dargaud in 1978). He created his first series in cooperation with Fred, who served as the scriptwriter of 'Timoléon' between 1969 and 1973. In 1970, he began 'Cinémastok' with Gotlib, in which the authors parodied literary works, television series and movies. It was followed in 1976 by the hilarious western parody 'Al Crane', that Alexis made with scriptwriter Gerard Lauzier. Text (c) Lambiek