Born in 1972 in France, Denis-Pierre Filippi studied science in high school before earning a degree in philosophy. Around the age of 18, he also began to write stories. His first creations were fairytales intended for schools, which he presented in the form of slides, allowing him to study his audience's reactions. Along the way, he came to consider himself, like the storytellers of the past, as a sort of transmitter of the spoken tradition by returning to our dark and ancestral origins.
It was at the Salon du Livre in Bordeaux, in 1995, that he met illustrator Tiburce Ogier, who introduced him into the Parisian world of publishing. He wrote a heroic fantasy tale for Ogier for young children, publishing two volumes with Delcourt in 1998 and 2001. In parallel, he also authored several books illustrated by Sandrine Revel. From there, he soon latched on with Dupuis, where his publications included the historical adventure series "Les Corsaires d'Alcibiade" (Dupuis; "The Corsairs of Alcibiades, " Europe Comics), alongside Éric Liberge.
Eric Liberge was very young when he discovered comic book illustration as an expressive outlet.
It was on discovering science-fiction and the Métal Hurlant journal in 1977 that new graphic horizons opened up to him and he started developing his trademark themes: the invisible and the afterlife.
So there he was, at 12-years-old, putting to paper a series of mad adventures about little skeletons in the afterlife, whose stories reflect the author's own existential questions with dark derision.
But it wasn't until 1996 and a few years of comic book practice for fanzines that "Monsieur Mardi-Gras Descendres" (Dupuis, Europe Comics 2016) finally came in to being. The acclaimed series took the form of a metaphysical satire about purgatory and our existence on Earth. The first volume was awarded the René Goscinny prize in 1999.
Eric Liberge doesn't limit himself just to bones. Either in collaboration or by himself, his affinity with the eclectic has pushed him to explore many other avenues: steampunk pirates, Antiquity, the 18th century, WWII, contemporary culture and the odd biography (Camille Claudel and Alan Turing).
His constant quest for renewal has also led him to produce work for the Louvre museum and Versailles palace, amongst others.
The variety of his subjects gives him scope to explore his style with each new album, creating the ideal setting for each project he takes on. He's not chained to just one graphic technique, confining him to the same artistic tools; he uses anything from a biro to a fountain pen or a paintbrush to create his panels.
He is particularly drawn to watercolors and generally insists on applying his own colors to his illustrations.
Alongside his work in comic books, Liberge produces lots of rather large illustrations, generally inspired by his albums, which he puts on display when he does book signings at festivals.
