Guy Bara was born in Latvia as the son of Belgian diplomats. His real name was Guy Willems, although several sources erroneously mention Guy Herzog (the correct name was confirmed to us by his daughter). He spent his childhood in several countries and returned to Belgium in 1940. He founded the literary and artistic magazine La Faune in 1945, before working in advertising for several years. His first drawings were published in La Dernière Heure in 1948, and a year later, he became editor-in-chief of the current-affairs magazine Vivre. He settled in Paris in 1950, where he made humorous illustrations for magazines like Marius, Le Hérisson and Ici-Paris.
