Gérardel was one of the original artists that filled the early issues of Pat... épate, the magazine of the National Association of Patronages that started in 1946. He was the author of the title comic, 'Les Aventures de Pat', and several other stories, such as 'Le Mystère de la Caverne'.
At the time, the magazine was apparently made on a more amateur basis, as can be seen by the work of the other artists, who signed with names like Raimo, Hello, Frédéric, Jyssé and Déa. It got a more professional feel when it started to reprint stories from Coeurs Vaillants, Bayard, Fripounet et Marisette and the Italian magazine Il Vittorioso.
