Most of his work had animals as the main characters, which together with his popularity and productivity gave him the nickname "The French Walt Disney".
[2][3] His best known work is La bête est morte (started clandestinely in 1942, published as a book after the liberation in two parts in 1944-1945), a satire on the second World War with the different countries depicted as different animals, a system that would later be used by Art Spiegelman in his graphic novel Maus.
The story was written by Victor Dancette and Jacques Zimmermann, and the comic was translated in English and Dutch.
Other well-known works include Patamousse (1943-1946), about a rabbit, and Rosalie from 1946, where the main character wasn't an animal but a living car.
Only Albert Uderzo, the artist of Asterix, was directly influenced by Calvo after visiting him while still young.