Gotlib saw there was a strong market for adult comics and decided to start a new publication and have it run more professionally. To do this, he enrolled childhood friend, Jacques Diament, as administrator and another "Pilote" veteran, Alexis to help with the creative direction, and founded "Fluide Glacial" and parent publishing company 'Audie', a comically misspelled acronym of "Amusement, Umour, Derision, Ilarité Et toutes ces sortes de choses". "Fluide Glacial" launched the career of a number of unknown or little-known cartoonists, most of whom were influenced by Gotlib in the first place: Édika, Goossens and Dupuy & Berberian. Belgian veteran André Franquin contributed his "Idées Noires" strip. Alexis died of aneurysm rupture in 1977, leaving Gotlib and Diament in charge, though he is credited to this day as "Director of conscience" of "Fluide Glacial".