F'murr

Richard Peyzaret, known as F'murr, has established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in Franco-Belgian comics. Trained at the Duperré School of Applied Arts and later in Raymond Poïvet’s studio, he crossed paths with Mandryka, Gigi, and Dimitri before making his debut in Pilote in 1971 with his Contes à rebours. During a trip to the Alps, he spotted a shepherd and his flock—an image that would inspire his most famous series, Le Génie des alpages (1973, Dargaud), hailed by critics as “a delightful mess and rigorously controlled nonsense, absolutely unique in contemporary sheep-themed comics.” No other author has taken pastoral absurdity this far in a series that is nonetheless enduring and popular.
An ever-evolving artist, F’murr refused to be confined by the success of his graphic novels and contributed to Le Canard sauvage, Circus, Fluide glacial, and Métal Hurlant, where he created Jehanne d’Arc, a picaresque and anachronistic reinterpretation of the Middle Ages that he continued in (À Suivre). From this medieval vein emerged Tim Galère, Le Pauvre Chevalier (Alph-Art de l’humour, Angoulême 1991), and Le Char de l'État dérape sur le sentier de la guerre.
Armed with a schoolboy sense of humor and a mastery of the absurd, F’murr masterfully blends farce and seriousness. His polished work helped shatter the constraints of the Franco-Belgian school while preserving his creative freedom, moving from one movement to another without ever fully belonging to any one of them.