After graduating from the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the age of 23, in the comics magazine Pilote, initially illustrating short stories written by Jean Giraud and Serge de Beketch, before creating the political fiction story Rumeur sur le Rouergue from a scenario by Pierre Christin in 1972.
A highly versatile artist, Tardi successfully adapted novels by controversial writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline or crime novelist Léo Malet. In Malet's case, Tardi adapted his detective hero Nestor Burma into a series of critically acclaimed graphic novels, though he also wrote and drew original stories of his own.
Tardi also created one of French comics' most famous heroines, Adèle Blanc-Sec. This series recreates the Paris of early 20th century where the moody heroine encounters supernatural events, state plots, occult societies and experiments in cryogenics.
Another graphic novel was Ici Même which was written by Jean-Claude Forest, best known as the creator of Barbarella. A satire, it describes the adventures of Arthur Même who lives on the walls of his family's former property.
Tardi has produced many antiwar graphic novels and comics, mainly focusing on the collective European trauma of the First World War, and the pitfalls of patriotism spawned several albums (Adieu Brindavoine, C'était la guerre des tranchées, Le trou d'obus, Putain de Guerre...). His grandfather's involvement in the day-to-day horrors of trench warfare, seems to have had a deep influence to his artistic expression. He also completed a four-volume series on the Paris Commune, Le cri du peuple.
Fantagraphics Books made an announcement in March 2009 that they had signed a deal to translate and publish a wide range of Tardi's books, done by editor and translator Kim Thompson. The three books released so far are West Coast Blues (Le Petit bleu de la côte ouest, ISBN 1606992953), You Are There (Ici Même, ISBN 1606992945), and It Was the War of the Trenches (C'était la guerre des tranchées, ISBN 1606993534); a single album collecting the first two Adele Blanc-Sec volumes is planned for the Fall of 2010 (ISBN 1606993828).
His style can at times seem similar to Hergé's early ligne claire style (clear line), paired with meticulous research and typically featuring an asexual hero (Adèle Blanc-Sec can be quite a misandrist at times), but Tardi's work also satirises the concept of the flawless hero by using a series of inept, naive or anti-heroic main characters. His audience is mainly the literary, French-speaking adult public.
Adieu Brindavoine followed by La fleur au fusil (Casterman, 1974)
Le démon des glaces (with characters by Léo Malet) (Casterman, 1974), ISBN 2-205-00857-9
La véritable histoire du soldat inconnu (Futuropolis, 1974)
Mouh Mouh (Pepperland, 1979)
Déprime (Futuropolis, 1981)
Le trou d'obus (Imagerie Pellerin, 1984), ISBN 2-86207-073-4
C'était la guerre des tranchées (Casterman, 1993), ISBN 2-203-35905-6
Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (Casterman, 1976—2007)
Adèle et la bête (1976), ISBN 2-203-30501-0
Le démon de la Tour Eiffel (1976), ISBN 2-203-30502-9
Le savant fou (1977), ISBN 2-203-30503-7
Momies en folies (1978), ISBN 2-203-30504-5
Le secret de la salamandre (1981), ISBN 2-203-30506-1
Le noyé à deux têtes (1985), ISBN 2-203-30507-X
Tous des monstres! (1994), ISBN 2-203-30508-8
Le mystère des profondeurs (1998), ISBN 2-203-30509-6
Le labyrinthe infernal (2007), ISBN 2-203-00736-9
Adaptations
Jeux pour mourir based on a novel by Géo-Charles Véran (Casterman, 1992), ISBN 2-203-35902-1
Nestor Burma, based on novels by Léo Malet (Casterman, 1982—2000)
Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac (Casterman, 1982), ISBN 2-203-33413-4
120, rue de la Gare (Casterman, 1988), ISBN 2-203-34302-8. Published in English as The Bloody Streets of Paris ISBN 0-7434-7448-1
Une gueule de bois en plomb (Casterman, 1990), ISBN 2-203-34802-X
Casse-pipe à la Nation (Casterman, 1996), ISBN 2-203-39903-1
M'as-tu vu en cadavre? (Casterman, 2000), ISBN 2-203-39925-2
Le cri du peuple, based on a novel by Jean Vautrin (Casterman, 2001—2004)
Les canons du 18 mars (2001), ISBN 2-203-39927-9
L'espoir assassiné (2002), ISBN 2-203-39929-5
Les heures sanglantes (2003), ISBN 2-203-39930-9
Le testament des ruines (2004), ISBN 2-203-39931-7
Le petit bleu de la côte ouest, based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette (Les Humanoïdes Associés, 2005). Published in English as West Coast Blues, ISBN 978-1-60699-295-1
Artwork
Rumeur sur le Rouergue (scenario by Pierre Christin) (Gallimard, 1976)
Polonius (scenario by Picaret) (Futuropolis, 1977)
Griffu (scenario by Jean-Patrick Manchette) (Square, then Dargaud, then Casterman, 1978)
Ici Même (scenario by Jean-Claude Forest) (Casterman, 1979), ISBN 2-203-33401-0. Published in English as You Are There ISBN 978-1-60699-294-4
Tueur de cafards (scenario by Benjamin Legrand) (Casterman, 1984), ISBN 2-203-33803-2
Grange bleue (scenario by Dominique Grange) (Futuropolis, 1985)
Le sens de la houppelande (scenario by Daniel Pennac) (Futuropolis, 1991), ISBN 2-7376-2739-7
Un strapontin pour deux (scenario by Michel Boujut) (Casterman, 1995)
L'évasion du cheval gris (scenario by Verrien) (Sapristi, 1996)
Sodome et Virginie (scenario by Daniel Prevost) (Casterman, 1996), ISBN 2-207-24487-3
Le der des ders (scenario by Didier Daeninckx) (Casterman, 1997), ISBN 2-203-39906-6
Varlot soldat (scenario by Didier Daeninckx) (L'Association, 1999), ISBN 2-84414-010-6
La débauche (scenario by Daniel Pennac) (Futuropolis, 2000), ISBN 2-07-078800-8
Scenario
Le voyage d'Alphonse (artwork by Antoine Leconte) (Duculot, 2003)
Sketchbooks
Mine de plomb (Futuropolis, 1985)
Chiures de gommes (Futuropolis, 1985)
Tardi en banlieue (Casterman, 1990), ISBN 2-203-38018-7
Carnet (JC Menu, 2001), ISBN 2-84414-099-8
Illustrated novels
Céline adaptations:
Voyage au bout de la nuit (Futuropolis, 1988), ISBN 2-7376-2615-3
Casse-pipe (Futuropolis, 1989), ISBN 2-7376-2658-7
Mort à crédit (Futuropolis, 1991), ISBN 2-7376-2703-6
Jules Verne adaptations:
Un prêtre en 1839 (Cherche Midi, 1992), ISBN 2-86274-247-3
San Carlos (Cherche Midi, 1993), ISBN 2-86274-267-8
Novel
Rue des Rebuts (Alain Beaulet, 1990)
Books about Tardi
Olivier Maltret, Presque tout Tardi (Sapristi, 1996), ISBN 2-911429-01-X
Michel Boujut, Tardi par la fenêtre (Christian Desbois, 1996)
In English
In Greek
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