Michel Garneau studied to become a geographer at the University of Quebec. In the mid-1970s, he published his first comics in Zone Libre, Baloune, Graf iti and Le Temps Fou, signing his work Garnotte. His themes were highly political and social, which led to his position as caricaturist for the Nouvelles CSN, information periodical of the Centrale des Syndicats Nationaux. For this syndicate, he also cooperated on the collective comics project 'Santé et Sécurité en Bandes Dessinées', as well as the juvenile publication 'La Double Échelle'. Garnotte drew for the comic magazine Croc from its first issue in 1979. He created the humorous satire 'Pauvres Riches', but also covers, short stories and 'Espèces en Voie d'Apparition'. He was also present in Croc-Hebdo with a series of political gags with texts by Michel Lessard. He was the editor-in-chief of Jacques Hurtubise's magazine Titanic, which appeared from 1983 to 1984. He also created the series 'Bougon des Grands-Routes' for this magazine, together with Hurtubise. In 1985, he began a steady collaboration with the juvenile scientific magazine Je Me Petit-Débrouille, for which he created the character 'Stéphane, l'Apprenti Inventeur'. This series ran until 1997 and was collected in several albums. Garnotte then left comics to become an editorial cartoonist and illustrator.