Born in Etterbeek (a commune of Brussels) on 4 September 1932, Lucien De Gieter studied art at Saint-Luc before working for a shop fitter company, first as a decorator at the 1958 Universal Exhibition, then as an industrial aesthetics designer.
In 1961, he made his debut in the world of cartoons as a writer of short stories for Spirou, and in this form then launched a series with his own drawings entitled “Pony” recounting the misadventures of a charming young cowboy. He collaborated with Peyo in inking the “Schtroumpfs” and for a period revived a series of mini-strips with his cat “Poussy”. However, it was with “Tooot et Puit”, a young Japanese fisherman and a mermaid, that he gained the reputation of a fully rounded author.
In 1974, the first strips of “Papyrus” appeared in Spirou. This Egyptian saga quickly turned into a classic, and its success enabled the author to visit the country that inspired him for several extended periods. Under the revealing title of “Aventures merveilleuses de Papyrus” these albums told the story of the tribulations of the young fisherman Papyrus and the princess Théti-Chéri, the daughter of Pharaoh Merenptha, and provided a highly detailed recreation of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty).
The meticulous documentation of this series would serve as reference material for many history teachers and created amongst many young readers a desire to become an Egyptologist. The character and universe have now been transferred to animated cartoons, illustrated books for young people and educational electronic games.
