Illustrated by Grzegorz Rosinski, 'Thorgal' wasn't a typical historical comic about a group of vikings, but an epic fantasy, with science fiction elements. With the creation of 'Thorgal' for Dargaud in 1977, Van Hamme had his first bestseller. He also developed a novel series based on an unused comics project by him and Greg, starring the young billionaire Largo Winch, starting in 1977. Van Hamme and Dany continued their cooperation between 19 with the 'Arlequin' series, and in 1997 with the follow-up of their graphic novel, called 'Vingt Ans Après'. His main writing activities of the 1970s include 'Domino' for André Chéret (written at first by Greg), the aviation series 'Michael Logan' for André Beautemps and the one-shot graphic novel 'Histoire Sans Héros' with Dany. It wasn't until 1976 that Van Hamme cancelled his marketing activities and focused solely on writing. After writing some 'Magellan' stories for Géri in 19, Van Hamme began writing for Tintin magazine on a regular base. He was also involved with the adaptation of this series to animated shorts by the Belvision studios. Also for Cuvelier, Van Hamme wrote some episodes of 'Corentin'. Van Hamme wrote his first comic stories on the side, starting with the erotic and mythological 'Epoxy' for Paul Cuvelier in 1968. After obtaining his degree in political economy from the Solvay School of Commerce, he took on a long career as a marketeer and consultant for companies like the United States Steel Corporation and Philips. A career in writing wasn't his initial focus, however. With such legendary and highly successful titles as 'XIII', 'Largo Winch' and 'Thorgal' to his name, he qualifies as a master in the comics field. Jean Van Hamme is one of Europe's most prominent comic writers since the 1980s. 'Les Maîtres de l'Orge', artwork by Francis Vallès.
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