Before going into comics, François Bourgeon worked as an assistant for a stained glass artist. He started his career in 1971, doing illustrations for magazines like Lisette and Nade. He created his first comic, 'L'Ennemi Vient de la Mer', a year later. He began a variety of short stories in Fripounet, as well as the medieval series 'Brunelle et Colin' in Djin with scripts by Robert Génin. He also had a brief stint in Pif Gadget, where he created 'Le Serpent de Mer', 'Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz' and 'La Vouivre'. In 1979, he began the famous historic nautical series 'Les Passagers du Vent' in Circus.

He retuned to the medieval genre with 'Les Compagnons du Crépuscule'. In the early 1990s, Bourgeon was active in the cinema field. In 1993, he began the futuristic saga 'La Source de la Sonde' ('Histoire de Cyann') in À Suivre along with Claude Lacroix. A second episode followed in 1996. Bourgeon already is considered one of the classic comic creators, as much for his story-telling skills as for his sense of authenticity and coloring.