Sylvie Claire / November 20, 2023
Bob de Groot, best known for the Léonard series he created with Turk, died on Friday at the age of 82, according to Brussels-based publisher Le Lombard.
After publishing a mini-story in the Journal Spirou when he was still in his twenties, it was his meeting with cartoonist Philippe Liégeois, alias Turk, that was to prove decisive for Bob de Groot. The tandem would go on to make Tintin magazine, which was at the time headed by Greg, a great success. They created their first series, "Robin Dubois", in which de Groot launched an old inventor, Léonard, in 1974.
The slightly mad scientist soon became a hero in his own right, and his own series met with considerable success. Le Lombard recalls other achievements of the "scriptwriter, illustrator and talent scout". Bob de Groot "ventured onto the shores of realistic storytelling, writing the darkly moving 'Des villes et des femmes' for Philippe Francq. He was editor-in-chief of the magazine 'L'œuf', where he was the first to believe in an up-and-coming humorist named Philippe Geluck.
He succeeded in following in the footsteps of Goscinny, Franquin or Macherot to write Lucky Luke, Modeste et Pompon or Clifton. "As part of Le Lombard's 77th anniversary celebrations, the company recently published a project conceived by Turk and de Groot in the '70s to create 'The World's Biggest Picture'". This 52-page collection of humorous images forms a fifteen-meter-long frieze.