Benjamin Lacombe

A French author and comic artist born in Paris on July 12, 1982, Benjamin Lacombe is one of the leading figures of the new French illustration movement. In 2001, he enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) in Paris, where he received formal artistic training. Alongside his studies, he worked in advertising and animation, and at the age of 19 released his first comic book, followed by several illustrated works. His graduation project, Cerise Griotte, which he entirely wrote and illustrated, became his first children's book, published by Seuil Jeunesse in March 2006. The following year, it was published by Walker Books (USA) and was selected by the prestigious Time Magazine as one of the 2007 ten best children's books in the United States.

Since then, Benjamin Lacombe has written and illustrated around thirty books, with nearly three million copies sold. Several of his works have been translated into around ten languages and have received awards worldwide. These include Genealogy of a Witch, The Melody of the Pipes, The Fairy Herbarium, Macabre Tales, Alice in Wonderland, and FRIDA. In 2024, he created Papillon Noir ("Black Butterfly"), a new collection of illustrated books for adults published by Gallimard, in which he released his own illustrated adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Great Gatsby.

He regularly exhibits his artwork in galleries and collaborates notably with Ad Hoc Art (New York), Dorothy Circus (Rome), Maruzen (Tokyo), Nucleus (Los Angeles), and Galerie Daniel Maghen (Paris).