Best known as the author of Asterix, Goscinny is
also the talent behind the scenario of Lucky Luke, the hugely popular
comic book of 'the cowboy who shoots faster than his shadow'. Goscinny
was born on 11 August 1926 in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, the son
of Stanislas (Simkha) from Warsaw and of Anna Beresniak from
Khodorkow, a small Ukrainian village. In 1928, his parents took him to
Argentina, where his father, a chemical engineer, had been
seconded. He spent a happy childhood in Buenos Aires, and studied at
the French Lyce just before the Second World War. He had a habit of
making every one laugh in class, probably to compensate for a natural
shyness. He started drawing very early on, inspired by the illustrated
stories which he enjoyed reading. In 1945, he emigrated to the United
States. "I went to the United States to work with Walt Disney" he was
to say later "but Walt Disney didn't know that". He found himself in
New York, jobless, alone and totally broke. The next 6 years, which he
spent in New York, are often considered his formative years. As he
said "It was not so bad...it toughened me up, although I would have
liked it better if others had been toughened up on my behalf". It is
during these years that he met his first friends, some who were to
publish "Mad" in 1945, and others with whom he was to collaborate for
a long time to come. Among these was Maurice de Bvre aka Morris, the
cartoonist and first author of Lucky Luke. He also met Georges
Troisfontaines, the boss of the World Press Agency ... See more
Best known as the author of Asterix, Goscinny is
also the talent behind the scenario of Lucky Luke, the hugely popular
comic book of 'the cowboy who shoots faster than his shadow'. Goscinny
was born on 11 August 1926 in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, the son
of Stanislas (Simkha) from Warsaw and of Anna Beresniak from
Khodorkow, a small Ukrainian village. In 1928, his parents took him to
Argentina, where his father, a chemical engineer, had been
seconded. He spent a happy childhood in Buenos Aires, and studied at
the French Lyce just before the Second World War. He had a habit of
making every one laugh in class, probably to compensate for a natural
shyness. He started drawing very early on, inspired by the illustrated
stories which he enjoyed reading. In 1945, he emigrated to the United
States. "I went to the United States to work with Walt Disney" he was
to say later "but Walt Disney didn't know that". He found himself in
New York, jobless, alone and totally broke. The next 6 years, which he
spent in New York, are often considered his formative years. As he
said "It was not so bad...it toughened me up, although I would have
liked it better if others had been toughened up on my behalf". It is
during these years that he met his first friends, some who were to
publish "Mad" in 1945, and others with whom he was to collaborate for
a long time to come. Among these was Maurice de Bvre aka Morris, the
cartoonist and first author of Lucky Luke. He also met Georges
Troisfontaines, the boss of the World Press Agency in Belgium, who
persuaded Goscinny to work for him.
