History's Greatest Villains - Dracula: Dracula

Julien Solé, aka Julien/CDM, is the son of artist Jean Solé. He was born in 1971 in the suburbs of Paris. In high school, with a group of artists that included Ralph Meyer, he contributed to the creation of a fanzine, before going on to study at the École Boulle in Paris, followed by the École Duperré, and finally starting his professional life at "Fluide Glacial" as a graphic artist. In 1997, Manu Larcenet began writing science fiction short stories for him, which turned into "À l'ouest de l'infini" (Fluide Glacial), and Solé would continue to explore the futurist genre in the years to come, publishing "Cosmik Roger" (Audie) and "Planet Ranger" (Le Lombard). Alongside Yan Lindingre, he then created the political satire "Business is Business" (Glénat, 2009) and the series "The Zumbies" (Audie), a punchy mix of rock and zombies. Having discovered a new passion for sharks, he published "Shark Book" (Audie 2014) and "Les Requins" (Le Lombard, "La Petite Bédéthèque des saviors"; "The Little Book of Knowledge," IDW), with the help of marine biologist Bernard Séret. In parallel, Solé often works for "La revue dessinée" and "Technikart," occasionally collaborating with writers such as Jorge Bernstein and Hervé Bourhis. In recent years, alongside Fabcaro, Solé has also produced the monthly page "Zeropedia" for the magazine "Science & Vie Junior" (published as an anthology by Dargaud in 2018; Europe Comics in English). And switching creative gears somewhat, in 2018 he also published, alongside author Bernard Swysen, the first volume of the historical non-fiction series "Les Méchants de l'Histoire" (Dupuis; "History's Greatest Villains," Europe Comics), introducing readers to Vlad Dracula, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler.

Bernard Swysen, born in Brussels in 1964, is a Belgian artist. He took his first steps in the world of comics with publications in weekly magazines, before becoming an assistant for the series "Chlorophylle" and "Modeste et Pompon," at Hergé's and Peyo's studios—meeting, at the latter, André-Paul Duchâteau, with whom he created the series "Rouletabille," recognized at the 1990 Festival du Crime in Saint-Nazaire (France). A prolific creator, Swysen has published almost a dozen titles, including French adaptations of several American cartoons, collaborations with the filmmaker Claude Lelouch, as well as publications of his own (including "Les aventures de Capucine," inspired by his eldest daughter). Currently, Swysen is working on the equally historical and hysterical non-fiction series "Les méchants de l'Histoire" (Dupuis; "History's Greatest Villains," Europe Comics), with volume one, "Dracula," released in 2018 in collaboration with artist Julien Solé.