Jérôme Ruillier

Jérôme Ruilier was born in 1966 in Madagascar and has spent much of his adult life living in France. After spending the first dozen years of his career as a children’s book illustrator, Ruillier wrote and drew his first graphic novel, Le Coeur-enclume, in 2009. The book was a deeply personal account of the first six days following the birth of a child with disabilities. Ruillier’s next graphic novel, Les Mohamed, was based on interviews with immigrants from North Africa conducted by the writer Yamina Benguigui. Focusing on a theme that he would later return to, Les Mohamed explored the challenges that many immigrants in France face as they attempt to integrate in a new society. The Strange is Ruillier’s first graphic novel translated in English.