Philippe Berthet

Philippe Berthet took his baccalaureate at the Lycée Français in Brussels. From 1974 to 1977, he attended the École des Arts Graphiques de Saint-Luc, specialising in comics, and contributed to Le Neuvième Rêve, a collective showcasing the work of students such as Cossu, Andreas, Foerster, Schuiten, Goffin and others. At the same time, he attended evening classes taught by Eddy Paape. His first publications appeared in short-lived Belgian magazines such as Curiosity Magazine, Aïe and Spatial. In 1980, his career really took off with the publication in Spirou of Couleur Café, his first long story based on a script by Antoine Andrieu. In 1981, in collaboration with Cossu, he produced the first instalment of Le Marchand d’Idées, which was first published in Circus; four albums in this series were published by Éditions Glénat. In 1983, Le Privé d’Hollywood, written by Rivière and Bocquet, appeared in the Spirou magazine (new format). This was followed by further albums created with various scriptwriters such as Andreas, Foerster and David. These one-offs prompted Dupuis to launch the ‘Berthet’ collection in 1985 (seven titles to date).

In 1990, his meeting with Tome marked a new turning point in his career. Together, they produced Sur la Route de Selma, a noir thriller published in the ‘Aire Libre’ collection in 1991. Building on this experience, he then took a further step forward, establishing himself as a complete author by producing his first solo album, Halona, also published in the ‘Aire Libre’ collection in September 1993. The following year saw the launch of the hugely popular ‘Pin Up’ saga, based on a script by Yann. Berthet established himself as a leading creator and, in 2009, contributed to the spin-off project for the series XIII – Mystery through the character of Irina. Berthet is undeniably the go-to artist for depicting beautiful, strong women in the world of comics!