This is not the first time that the name Frédéric Richaud, a novelist and essay writer born in 1966 in the Vaucluse (France), has appeared on the cover of a comic book. He was the co-writer of the series "Le Maître de peinture" with Makyo (Glénat, illustrated by Michel Faure). He also adapted his own novel, "La Ménagerie de Versailles" under the title "Le Peuple des endormis" for Dupuis, illustrated by Didier Tronchet, and published "La Prison" (Glénat), with illustrations by Sicomoro.
More recently he collaborated with artist Ivan Gil on the adaptation of "The Battle" (Dupuis 2012, Europe Comics 2015). Following the success of this three-part series, Gil and Richaud then decided to produce a graphic novel account of Napoleon's disasterous Russian campaign in "Berezina" (Dupuis 2016, Europe Comics 2017).
Alongside these forays into the world of speech bubbles, Frédéric Richaud pursued a successful career as a literary man, which he began in the late '90s.
He published several biographies devoted to the writers Luc Dietrich, René Daumal, and Boris Vian, and regularly worked with many magazines (Le Figaro, Le Nouvel Observateur, L'Echo des Savanes). Richaud also made his mark with a number of works of fiction, including "Monsieur le jardinier, " "La Passe au diable, " and "Jean-Jacques, " all published by Grasset and translated all over the world.
Ivan Gil Fernandez was born in Getafe, an industrial city on the outskirts of Madrid, where he began studying biology before choosing to devote himself to his true passion: illustration and comics.
This passion led him, in 2002, to the world of toys, where he pursued the model-making profession for several years, designing figurines and artwork for various companies, mainly Spanish. At the Angoulême comics festival in 2007 he had his first contact with Dupuis, who, interested in his eye for detail, chose him to participate in their upcoming adaptation of "La Bataille" (Dupuis 2012; "The Battle, " Europe Comics 2015).
Following the success of this three-part series, Gil and Richaud then decided to produce a comic book account of Napoleon's disasterous Russian campaign in "Berezina" (Dupuis 2016, Europe Comics 2017). Alongside these activities, Ivan Gil Fernandez is a comics and illustration teacher at the C10 Academy of professional drawing and illustration in Madrid.
