Lambil

Willy Lambil, whose real last name is Lambillote, studied Fine Arts in Brussels and started out working as a letterer for Spirou magazine at the age of sixteen. He learned the comics profession while working in the illustration studios of Dupuis, doing lay-outs for such collections as Gags de Poche and illustrations for Bonnes Soirées. It was 1959 when he created his first comic: the first episode of the 'Sandy et Hoppy' series. This realistic series, about a boy and his kangaroo ran for several years in Spirou.

From 1960, he occasionally created stories of the parodying spin-off, the funny animal series 'Hobby et Koala'. After the death of Louis Salvérius in 1972, he took over the comical Civil War series 'Les Tuniques Bleues', written and created by Raoul Cauvin. The series increased in popularity and became one of Spirou's highlights. Lambil had to drop 'Sandy' and his realistic style to eventually settle on the semi-realistic drawing style that has characterized the 'Tuniques Bleues' comic for many years now. As a side project, Lambil and Cauvin created 'Pauvre Lampil' in 1973. In this autobiographical gag series, the authors give an inside look at the life of a comic artist and his scenarist.