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Michel Tacq Mitaq was born June 10, 1927 in Uccle, close to Brussels, Belgium. He was a Scout in the Troop Saint Aléne where his totem was Toucan. He was Assistant Cub Master (Balou) from 1951 till 1954 in the Saint Aléne pack at Saint Gilles Bruxelles. He later visited the 1957 World Jamboree at Sutton-Coldfield. His love of Scouting would play a big role in his later comic work as an artist.
Using the pseudonym “Mitacqö he published his first artwork at age seventeen, and joined the famous World Press Agency in 1947. In 1954, his collaboration with Jean-Michel Charlier took off with the publication of the first 'Patrouille des Castors' (Beaver Patrol). Mitacq used the neckerchief from Saint Aléne for the Beaver Patrol; yellow with blue stripe.
The Beaver Patrol adventures included summer camp and visits to other countries. In 1965 the Beavers became "Pionniers" (older scouts) and change their uniforms. Mouche was modeled on the son of Pierre Joubert, the “French Norman Rockwell.”
The Beaver Patrol comic strip was published by DUPUIS, Marcinelle, Belgium in the cartoon magazine "Robbedoes" starting in 1954. The Robbedoes magazine is the Dutch translation of Spirou. In 1960, Mitacq illustrated 'Patrouille des Zoms', a parody of the Castors, written by Yvan Delporte. In 1959, he illustrated Charlier's 'Jacques Le Gall' for the magazine Pilote. From 1968 until 1979, Mitacq did the artwork for 'Stany Derval.' His work appeared in the medium of cartoon graphic novels or Les BD (bandes dessinees). In Europe, fans of BD call it 'the 8th Art.'
Mitacq passed away in 1994 and the Beaver Patrol cartoon series ended. A few months after his death, Spirou magazine justly honored one of its greatest contributors by giving him a grand homage. The Belgium Scouts also published his illustrations on their 1995 calendar. His books remain popular today among fans and are translated into several languages.
Belgium issued a commemorative mini sheet of 9 se-tenant postage stamps on October 4, 1999 during BRUPHILA '99 [Scott# 1771d, perf, p/o 1771]. This issue was a continuation of a series of cartoon strip stamps with the theme of "Philatélie de le jeunesse" (Youth Stamps). The individual stamps in this issue pay a posthumous tribute to eight masters of Belgian comic strips, including Michel Tacq - "Mitacq," The Scouts in the stamp are sitting around a campfire telling the value of the stamp: BEF (17bef), and Euro (0.42 € ) each.
This stamp issue also marks the 10th anniversary of the "Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée" (Belgian Comic Strip Center), a museum and research library located in Brussels. The central stamp on the sheet shows the Comic Strip Center. The issue design was by MVTM (Design Cell of The Post).
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