Belgian comics, the authors and the magazines are generally regarded as being central in the development of the European comic. Hergé, with Tintin, and Jijé, as a comics teacher, are considered as the most influential of the early Belgian authors. French author Tibet said that the comics artists consider Hergé as God the Father and Jijé as the Godfather.Dierick, Beeldverhaal, p. 64 Jijé was not only the teacher of important Belgian authors like André Franquin, but also of major French authors like Jean Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières. In the Hergé Studio worked French authors like Jacques Martin, and Swiss author Derib worked for years in the Studio Peyo. The comic magazines Tintin and Spirou were translated in different languages,Dierick, Beeldverhaal, p. 154 and the major comics from the magazines were reprinted in the main comics magazines in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, or the Netherlands. Albums of the main series and authors have been translated in dozens of languages, and even many minor series have been translated in different languages in Western Europe. Artists like the Dutch Joost Swarte, American Chris Ware, Australian Bill Leak or Norwegian Jason are heavily influenced by the ligne claire of Hergé, while others like the Spanish Daniel Torres, Finnish Pora and French Yves Chaland more closely followed the "Atom Style" of Jijé and Franquin.Dierick, Beeldverhaal, p. 95 More recent artists like Kamagurka and Philippe Geluck are especially popular in France.Dierick, Beeldverhaal, p. 99 More recently, Belgian graphic novels have been translated in English as well, like Jean-Philippe Stassens Deogratias, while many older series are reprinted as well, though often with limited success.
