Gotlib

Gotlib is a semi-autobiographical alter ego of French cartoonist Marcel Gotlib, blurring the boundary between author and character in the auteur comics tradition. The persona appeared in the satirical anthology L'Écho des savanes and became a vehicle for Gotlib's signature absurdist, self-referential humor.

A self-named creation born in the pages of L'Écho des savanes in 1973, Gotlib is a fascinating artifact of the Bronze Age Franco-Belgian comics scene — a character who shares their name with their own creator, blurring the line between author and invention in that wonderfully playful tradition of auteur comics. Published under the Audie banner across an impressive three-plus decades, Gotlib turns up most frequently in Fluide Glacial and Rhââ Lovely, those beloved showcases of irreverent French comics culture. Along the way, this character keeps some remarkable company — rubbing panels with the likes of Superdupont, Gai-Luron, and Commissaire Bougret, a roster that reads like a who's-who of classic French humor comics. For collectors with a taste for the rich, anarchic world of French BD beyond the usual suspects, Gotlib is a genuine insider's discovery.