Luis Eduardo de Oliveira, or simply Leo to comics fans, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1944. A drawing enthusiast, he first went to university to study engineering, and in 1971, a few years after earning his diploma, and becoming involved in the political left, he was forced to leave Brazil to escape the repression of the dictatorship. He moved to Chile and Argentina before finally returning secretly to Brazil in 1974, at which point he left politics behind to concentrate on his art.
Leo began his drawing career with an American company before turning to press illustrations and then comics.
His first full-length comic book was published in the mid-'70s, and after discovering the richness of the comics scene in Europe with publications like 'Pilote' and 'Métal hurlant, ' he decided to try his chance in France, moving to Paris in 1981.
After a hesitant beginning with a few comics publications, Leo turned to advertising for work before finally breaking through in the late '80s. It was then that he met the writer Rodolphe, who invited him to collaborate on his new series "Trent." The first album appeared in 1991 with Dargaud (now republished in English by Europe Comics and Cinebook), launching Leo's comics career for good.
And since then, Leo hasn't looked back, offering readers over the years a seemingly endless string of remarkable comics series, including the long-running "Aldebaran" series, "Trent, " "Kenya, " "Terres lointaines" ("Distant Worlds"), and "The Mermaid Project, " all with Dargaud, and the majority of which have been translated into English by Cinebook and Europe Comics.
And the list goes on, as the artist's passion for comics only continues to grow.
Designer and editor for a number of advertising agencies for ten years, and then literary columnist for several magazines and websites, Corine Jamar broke out as an author in 2003 with her award-winning novel "Emplacement réservé" (Fayard). Jamar followed that up in 2012 with her first comic book series, "Mermaid Project" (Dargaud; Europe Comics/Cinebook in English, 2018), co-written with Leo and illustrated by Fred Simon.
The trio continues to work on the series today, with the first book of the three-part sequel, "Mutations, " coming out in 2018 (Dargaud).
Fred Simon was born in Brittany in 1967. Alongside his brother and best friend, he developed a passion for comics as he devoured the legendary series of masters like Franquin, Morris, Jean Giraud, Didier Conrad, and many others. Together, the three of them would go on to start a fanzine in high school which would allow them to participate in the first editions of the Saint-Malo Comics Festival and meet countless comics professionals.
It was at the fine arts school in Rennes in 1986 that Fred founded the Psurde studio, with other comics lovers such as Etienne Davodeau.
The studio served as a vehicle to publish a variety of their creations, from comics to postcards.
In 1991, Fred met David Chauvel, and together they would go on to create "Rails" (Delcourt), as well as a number of other series with the same publisher, including "Popotka" and "L'île au trésor."
Fred then published one solo project, "L'Appel de la forêt" (Delcourt, based on a book by Jack London), before joining up with Corine Jamar and Leo to work on "Mermaid Project" (Dargaud; Europe Comics/Cinebook in English).
The trio continues to work on the series today, with the first book of the three-part sequel, "Mutations, " coming out in 2018 (Dargaud).
