Jacques Terpant retires from comics after 43 years with final graphic novel 'Ce qu'il reste de nous'

French cartoonist Jacques Terpant, 67, has announced his definitive retirement from comics with the release of his final graphic novel 'Ce qu'il reste de nous' on April 2, 2025, published by Futuropolis. The book explores the decline of rural civilization in France through six stories set in the same location from the year 1000 to the present, inspired by his family roots in the Drôme department. Terpant, who began his career at 18 studying in Grenoble and Saint-Etienne, later worked for Métal Hurlant and settled in Lyon. He cites Moebius's observation that artists eventually decline as a reason for retiring at his peak. He will continue with illustration projects, including two drawing books, an exhibition on reading, and a book based on an unpublished text by Jean Raspail. Terpant works traditionally with India ink and watercolor, rejecting digital methods for their lack of collectible value. He notes that the French comics market has shifted due to low production costs and a flood of young artists, with 6,700 albums published last year. He believes comics were the 20th century's popular art but not the 21st's, accelerated by AI.