The French illustrator Charles Popineau studied at the ateliers of Maître Fougerot and the printmaker Paul Colin in the 1940s. Prior to his comic strip work, he was an illustrator for magazines like Paris-Match and Elle. Popineau was one of the main illustrators of the vertical strips 'Le Crime ne Paie Pas' and 'Les Amours Célèbres' by Paul Gordeaux, that appeared in the daily France-Soir from 1950 to 1970. These "vertical" comics, written by Paul Gordeaux and later Robert Mallat, told the story of famous police enigmas or love stories.
Popineau also created horizontal strips like 'Le Poignard Kirghiz' (1953), 'Ben-Hur' (1961), 'Papillon' (1970) and 'A Chacun son Mensonge' (1971). He also produced advertising comics, such as 'Ecoutez ce que dit Catherine' for Butagaz in 1958. He left France-Soir in 1972 and focused on book illustration for publishers like Editions du Cerf, Albin Michel and Hachette.
