Willy Linthout was born in Eksaarde, Belgium in 1953. He was a comics collector when he met Flemish comedian Urbanus. They decided to create a comic strip together called Urbanus. The first book appeared in 1983, and it soon became one of the most popular Flemish comic strips. So far, 135 books have appeared in the series. For this Linthout has been called, "The Charles Schultz of Belgium." However, after the suicide of his son Linthout wrote and drew the autobiographical graphic novel Years of the Elephant, which is still used as a textbook for overcoming grief. For this book he was nominated for an Eisner Award in North America and many awards for the Flemish and Dutch versions.