Francis Vallès

Francis Vallès has established himself, saga after saga, as one of the leading figures of Franco-Belgian classical realism, applying his elegant and precise style to work in ambitious historical narratives. 

Born on December 11, 1959, in Saint-Chély-d’Apcher, Lozère, he studied history and geography before enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts in Saint-Étienne. His career began in 1983 with the youth magazine Triolo, then continued in Je Bouquine and Okapi, where he illustrated adaptations of classics such as Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers) and Oliver Twist. That same year, he published his first album, Simon Francoeur, writing the script and creating the artwork for the publisher Magic Strip.

In 1989, he teamed up with writer Jean-Louis Bocquet to launch the Dorian Dombre series at Glénat. However, it was his collaboration with Jean Van Hamme on the epic saga Maîtres de l’Orge that brought him widespread recognition: this saga, which follows a family of brewers across several generations, earned its first volume the France Info Prize for Current Events and Reportage Comic Art in 1993. Vallès subsequently collaborated with Stephen Desberg on the series Tosca and Rafales, before returning, more recently, to historical epics with Les Damnés de l’or brun (Glénat, 2022–2025). 

Praised for his elegant artwork and the documentary rigor of his stories, Francis Vallès ranks, alongside Delaby, Hubinon, and Vance, among the artists featured by the Daniel Maghen Gallery in its 2020 exhibition dedicated to the classics of Franco-Belgian comics.