As a child, Philippe Katerine was obsessed with cartoon cowboy Lucky Luke. With his nose glued to the hero's comic books, he would spot the risqué paintings hanging on the walls of saloons where the cowboy stopped to sip lemonade. In the later part of his career, Lucky Luke's creator, Morris (1923-2001), did indeed enjoy drawing very discreet female nudes in the ornate frames decorating the Wild West drinking establishments. Sketched with a few strokes, these licentious miniatures escaped the eyes of the censors of the youth publications commission. But not that of young Philippe Blanchard, his real name.

Using a copy machine, the boy would then make enlargements of his discoveries, which he distributed to friends and neighbors in the small town of Chantonnay, in western France, where he grew up. This led to complaints from parents. Reprimands, too. "That allowed me to realize very early on the impact that drawing could generate," he recalled. "A drawing is faster than a song. A single glance is enough for it to be understood."

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