TaDuc

Fascinated from an early age by Asterix, Lucky Luke, and Tintin, TaDuc has built a body of work in which classic adventure constantly intersects with new horizons, focusing on those whom legend overlooks. His realistic style firmly places him in the tradition of Jijé, Giraud, and Hermann. 

Born Olivier Ta on March 5, 1962, in Le Perreux-sur-Marne to a family of Vietnamese origin, he began studying medicine out of a sense of family obligation before switching to an art school, which he left after just a few months, unsatisfied. His encounter with the writer Dieter truly launched his career: in 1986, he published his first children’s series, La Forêt de Nouhaud, in the Triolo magazine, before taking on a growing number of illustration projects. 

In 1988, he joined Atelier 44 alongside Pierre-Yves Gabrion and Thierry Robin, where he    co-created Sark (Glénat, 1990–1991), again with Dieter. Spotted by Delcourt to take over Les Voyages de Takuan, he met screenwriter Serge Le Tendre there. Together, in 1997, they created a work based on themes close to TaDuc's heart: Chinaman, a nine-volume Western blending the conquest of the West, Chinese immigration, and martial arts, which has become the flagship work of his career. This was followed by the lighter-hearted series Mon pépé est un fantôme (2008) with Nicolas Barral, and then Griffe blanche, another collaboration with Le Tendre set in a fantastical medieval China. 

TaDuc returned to Chinaman in 2021 for the one-shot Le Réveil du tigre, winner of the 2021 Albert Uderzo Award for Best Art, to which the Daniel Maghen Gallery dedicated an exhibition in 2022. Recognized for the documentary rigor and energy of his realistic classicism, he remains one of the great masters of the French-style Western.