With Les Chroniques de la Lune Noire, Olivier Ledroit and Froideval have given birth to an entirely new genre of which they will become the standard-bearers: gothic comic art. In a world halfway between the gothic, the esoteric and steampunk, each page becomes a veritable fresco teeming with detail, where sensuality and the macabre coexist. The reader’s eye is constantly drawn to a detail, a flash of light, a touch of colour that adds depth to this rich universe, where the action unfolds at a breakneck pace. Olivier Ledroit has established himself as one of the leading artists in contemporary comic art.
To ensure that your pages are kept in good condition, we recommend that you never expose them to direct light, as UV rays can damage the media used to produce them. Although Indian ink is a perennial material, the paper support may change when exposed to UV light. Note that watercolor plates require special attention, as this medium is particularly sensitive to light. Pieces containing pastel or charcoal require special care to avoid rubbing.
We advise you to display them away from windows, and to use frames made of pH-neutral conservation materials and “Museum” glass with anti-UV and anti-reflective treatment. If you prefer to keep your works unframed, we recommend storing them flat, in drawing cartons, with sheets of pH-neutral permanent paper in between. Keep them away from light and humidity.
Olivier Ledroit began his career as an illustrator for gaming magazines before teaming up with François Froideval to create the series Chroniques de la Lune Noire (Zenda, 1989, then Dargaud), a benchmark in the medieval fantasy genre of the 1990s — he illustrated the series up to volume 5. He reunited with Froideval in 2001 for an instalment of Les Arcanes de la Lune Noire (Dargaud), a prequel to the series. Through his publishing house, Nickel, he co-published Requiem (2000) with Pat Mills – a gothic saga featuring a soldier reincarnated as a vampire knight – as well as Sha (Soleil, 1996–1999). The success of Requiem led to the spin-off series Claudia, chevalier vampire (Nickel, 2005), illustrated by Franck Tacito. In 2003, Daniel Maghen published his anthology L’Univers Féerique, followed by the collective volume L’Univers des Dragons (Daniel Maghen), in 2007. Ledroit has established himself as a master of the gothic genre in comic art. Complete biography