François Bourgeon

• Born 1945-07-05

François Bourgeon is a French comics artist. His graphic novels have ranged from nautical and medieval historical fiction to science fiction, and characteristically, within settings of violence and sexuality, epic stories revolve around strong female characters. Getting illustrations published in magazines from 1971 eventually led him to pursue graphic storytelling. His first major works were the medieval series Brunelle et Colin and Les Compagnons du crépuscule. Les Passagers du vent, for which Bourgeon abandoned Brunelle et Colin, became recognized as one of the most important European comic series of its era. After Bourgeon had finished up Les Passagers du vent saga in 2022, he retired from creating comics and donated his entire body of work, both BD art originals and associated research materials, to the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image museum in Angoulême.