Jean-Claude Mézières (born 23 September 1938) is a French
comic strip artist and illustrator. Born and raised in Paris, he was introduced to drawing by his older brother and influenced by comics artists such as
Hergé,
Andre Franquin and
Morris and later by
Jijé and
Jack Davis. Educated at the Institut des Arts Appliqués, upon graduation he worked as an illustrator for books and magazines as well as in advertising. A lifelong interest in the
Wild West led him to travel to the United States in 1965 in search of adventure as a
cowboy, an experience that would prove influential on his later work.