Jacques Tardi was born 1946 in the French sector of Germany, son of a professional soldier. He has said that his early childhood experiences and his father's stories of World War I trench battles formed his worldview massively.
Tardi studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (The School of arts in Lyon) and later at Arts Décoratifs de Paris (Decorative Arts of Paris). As many other french artists, his debut was in Pilote. In 1972, "Rumeurs sur le Rouergue" (Rumors on Rouergue) was published, with story by Pierre Christin.
In 1976, Tardi started his popular series, "Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec" (The Extraordinary Adventures of Isabelle Eveningred - Blanc-Sec actually means White-Dry), a story of Adéle/Isabelle, a journalist late in the 19th century, who experiences Lovecraftian monstrosities.
Tardi's style is mostly black and white, high contrast ink drawings, with lots of shadow and darkness. This suits his stories well.
Tardi started another series in 1996, adapting Léo Malet's "Nestor Burma" stories of 1943.
See also other Comics creators.