Peyo

Peyo, born Pierre Culliford on June 25, 1928, in Brussels, Belgium, was a Belgian comics artist and writer best known for creating The Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs). He began drawing professionally in the early 1950s for Dupuis's Spirou magazine, where he introduced the knight Johan and his squire Peewit in 1952. The Smurfs emerged as a separate series in 1958, featuring small blue humanoids living in a forest village. The characters gained rapid popularity in Europe and beyond, and were developed into a major international franchise.

The Smurfs reached a global audience through a highly successful animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera beginning in 1981, which helped to establish the Smurfs as mainstream children’s entertainment. The franchise expanded to numerous comic albums, merchandising, and later feature films. Peyo continued to work on the Smurfs with colleagues and assistants, and after his death on December 24, 1992, his son Thierry Culliford and other artists continued the series.

Peyo is regarded as a major figure in Belgian comics and as a pioneer of European animation influence on global popular culture. His work is characterized by clear, economical linework, light humor, and the creation of a richly imagined, family-friendly fantasy world that has endured for decades.