An artist from Verneuil-sur-Avre, Daniel Laborne had already created his own magazine at age twelve, titled Le Journal Épastrouillant, which he distributed among his schoolfriends. In 1916 he started drawing more professional, at first as an industrial designer for the Chevallier brothers in Verneuil and the Salmson factories in Argenteuil, but from 1930 as an illustrator, among others for the magazines Le Cri Sportif, L'Auto, L'Intransigeant and Marius.
