René Follet

René Follet (10 April 1931 – 13 March 2020), sometimes known by the pen name Ref, was a Belgian illustrator, comics writer and artist.

René Follet was born in Brussels in 1931. His first publication appeared when he was 14, illustrating a promotional issue of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island for Aiglon, a chocolate factory. In 1949, he started working for the two main Franco-Belgian comics magazines of that time, Tintin and Spirou. For both, he collaborated on the series of 4-page historical stories which functioned as a starting point for many young artists like Jean Graton and Hermann Huppen. He also provided numerous illustrations for both magazines, as well as books for Casterman publishing.

In his long cartooning career, spanning over 50 years, Follet never had a long-running or particularly successful series, but his many shorter series and one-shots earned him the acclaim of many of his peers. He worked for the Dutch magazine Eppo, and for the major publishing houses in Belgium and France, including Dupuis, Le Lombard, and Glénat. He also worked as the main penciller for artists Mitacq and William Vance, and made a long promotional comic for Citroën. At the beginning of his career, he was asked by Edgar Pierre Jacobs to help him draw Blake and Mortimer, but Follet refused because Jacobs did not want Follet's name to be included in the credits.

As an illustrator he worked in pencil, acrylic, and other materials, and as a cartoonist was considered a master of the realistic and picturesque drawing style, or as he was dubbed, "the 'most famous unknown' great master of the 9th art".

His major influences were Jijé, whose series Valhardi he continued for two albums, and the Dutch comics artist Hans G. Kresse (known for his American Indian series 'Les Peaux-Rouges' published by Casterman).

Follet died at the age of 88 on 13 March 2020.