Jul

What with his substantial experience in social and political parody, and fifteen years of press drawing for the biggest French newspapers, Jul is something of an exception in the world of satirical comic books. Having been brought up on Monty Python and the Marx Brothers as well as René Goscinny and Hara-Kiri, Jul is at a crossroads of diverse influences. He was born in 1974. After his studies, he became a university professor of Chinese history before directing his energies towards press illustration. He got into the Nouvel Observateur in 1998, and then drew for La Dépêche du Midi and Marianne. Since then, he's contributed to Lire, Philosophie Magazine, Psychologies Magazine, L'Huma, Les Échos and also Fluide Glacial. In 2005, he published his first comic book album, Il faut tuer José Bové (Albin Michel), a dizzying dive into the world of anti-globalization. The album had great success with readers, and in 2006 he released his second album, La croisade s'amuse (Albin Michel), which parodies the clash of civilizations. In 2007, his album Le Guide du moutard pour survivre à 9 mois de grossesse (Albin Michel) was awarded the René Goscinny prize. He began publishing his first series, Silex and the City (Dargaud), in 2009. The TV adaptation was broadcast on Arte, maintaining its spot on prime time TV for four full seasons. And more recently, Jul has teamed up with Charles Pépin to explore the realm of philosophy through his graphic novels, with La Planète des sages in 2011 (Dargaud), followed by Platon la gaffe in 2013 (Dargaud; Uh-Oh Plato!, Europe Comics 2018).