L'évasion d'Ivan Casablanca

Claude Renard is a Belgian comic artist and art teacher. He is generally credited with drawing a couple of short stories in the educational series 'Les Belles Histoires de l'Oncle Paul' for Spirou magazine between 1963 and 1966, but the signature of this "Renard" was most likely an early pen name for Gilles van Dessel (Mister Kit). Claude Renard attended the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, where he studied painting. He took a few courses in comic art by Eddy Paape, and became his assistant until 1976. For eight years, he ran the famous Atelier R., where he educated a great number of famous Belgian comic artists, including Andréas, Benoît Sokal, Philippe Foerster, Antonio Cossu, Yves Swolfs and Philippe Berthet. Every year, he edited 'Le Neuvième Rêve', listing his students's work. In 1980, with François Schuiten, he created 'Aux Médianes de Cymbiola', and 'Le Rail' a year later. They also did the art direction and costume design for the movie 'Gwendoline' by director Just Jaeckin in 1984. In 1983, he created the series 'Ivan Casablanca' for the magazine Métal Hurlant. In collaboration with Yves Vasseur, he illustrated 'Les Elfes de Pomariolus' in 1986 and 'Moneuse' in 1987. An accomplished comic artist, Renard is even more famous for the work he has done in the educational field. Text (c) Lambiek