Jean Dufaux has always told stories that resonate between words and images. Initially attracted by the 7th art, he studied film production at the Institut des Arts et Diffusion in Brussels. But words remained such an important part of his life that he became a journalist, playwright and novelist, before once and for all embracing his true calling as a comic book author.
Over his career, Jean Dufaux has produced a massive body of work, comprising some 200 titles. His work is original, always remaining fiercely independent of trends, and holds more complexity than might be apparent at first glance: “Complainte des landes perdues” (Dargaud, “Lament of the Lost Moors” Cinebook), “Double masque” (Dargaud, “Game of Masks” Europe Comics), “Murena” (Dargaud, Europe Comics in English), “Rapaces” (Dargaud, “Raptors” Europe Comics), “Djinn” (Dargaud, Europe Comics in English), “Croisade” (Le Lombard, “Crusade” Cinebook), “Barracuda” (Dargaud, Cinebook in English), “Sortilèges” (Dargaud, “Spellbound” Europe Comics), “Loup de Pluie” (Dargaud, “Rain Wolf” Europe Comics), Dixie Road (Dargaud, Europe Comics in English), “Saga Valta” (Le Lombard, Europe Comics in English), “Conquistador” (Glénat) … The list goes on.
This immense mosaic that rejects neither the exhilaration of the paperback novel nor the narrative ellipses of cinema aims above all to be a work of pleasure and of enchantment, in the fantastic and occult sense of the term. His wildly successful series, selling millions of copies and garnering numerous prizes and awards, have been distributed in a dozen or so countries (across Europe, Japan, and the United States). Among the many prizes awarded to Jean Dufaux, some of them for the entirety of his work, are the ‘Prix Calibre .38’ (prize for the best thriller) for “Hammett,” published by Glénat in 1996, the ‘Prix de la Société des gens de lettres’ for “Murena” in 2007, and the Cheverny prize (for best historical graphic novel) in 2011 also for “Murena.” Jean Dufaux is also president of the Jury for the ‘Diagonale Prize,’ which is awarded annually in Belgium to outstanding comic book artists. In 2009, his work was curated and exhibited under the theme ‘intersecting perspectives on Belgian comic books’ at the Royal Fine Arts Museum of Belgium. Jean Dufaux was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2009.