Jean Van Hamme signed his first scenarios in 1968. He then expanded his collaborations and quickly became one of the best-known European scenario writers. Among his most popular successes, one can name Thorgal with Rosinski, XIII (illustrated by Vance and published by Dargaud), and Largo Winch (illustrated by Francq and published by Dupuis). In 2005, the French Minister of Culture decorated him with the rank of "Officier des Arts et des Lettres." As for Philippe Francq, after artistic studies, he started to work at the Herge Studios. In 1988, his encounter with Jean Van Hamme would change his life: More than 50,000 copies of the first volume of Largo Winch have been sold, and the sales of the tenth volume are near 500,000 copies!