George Bess

Born in 1947, Georges Bess made a name for himself, sometimes under pseudonyms (Tideli, Nisseman), in Scandinavia, where he went into exile at the age of twenty-three, and in the United States. Playing the role of luxury replacement for Sweden's top designers, he developed, as he puts it, a "mercenary" hand, capable of surpassing his role models in every style. Thanks to this multi-faceted technique, he contributed to the Scandinavian version of Mad. From 1977 to 1987, Bess drew the stories of the Phantom, a famous masked hero battling the forces of evil deep in a strange Bengal jungle. In 1987, he returned to Paris, where he met Alexandro Jodorowsky, who asked him to illustrate the story of Gabriel Marpa, the White Lama. The first volume of the series won the Grand Prix RTL de la bande dessinée. Subsequently, Bess and Jodorowsky created a children's story, Les Jumeaux magiques, for the Journal de Mickey. In 1990, Bess and Jodorowsky permanently compromised James Bond's reputation, transforming him for two albums into an explosive, sex-obsessed android in Anibal 5. With Juan Solo, Bess and Jodorowsky created the character of a South American killer without scruples or friends. The book won the Alph'art award for best scenario at the 1996 Angoulême Festival. In 1998, Georges Bess produced Escondida, his first French solo work.