Tenas

(Louis Santel)

(Belgium)

Cyprien Bravo, by Tenas and Rali
Tenas is the pseudonym for Louis Santel (often misspelled as Louis Saintels). He started his comic career in 1947 with illustrations published in Le Moustique. He teamed up with Rali with whom he founded an art studios, that was soon joined by Tibet and André-Paul Duchateau. The studios provided the core of the comics published in the Belgian magazine Bravo! until 1950. Tenas and Rali drew several series together in varying styles, including 'Cyprien Bravo', 'Phill Blue-Eyes', 'Capitaine Hardell' and 'Ivanhoé'. They additionally made 'Le Triangle de Feu' for Spirou magazine in 1952.
From Pep, by Tenas 1964
Tenas' studio was also involved in the launch of the Belgian Mickey Magazine in 1950, and later Le Journal de Mickey in France. Tenas was the first artist to draw Disney characters for an original French when he illustrated the cover of the magazine's first issue. He subsequently made numerous illustrations for the magazine, as well as Disney-based material and the series 'Onkr' (with scripts by Yvan Delporte). He also made the 'Pep' comic for the Disney Productions (text by André-Paul Duchateau), which eventually gave its name to a Dutch comic magazine.
Heroic Albums, by Tenas
Onkr, by Tenas
First Cover of Mickey, by TenasCover for Mickey, by Tenas
Inducks entry