Bernadette Després was a French illustrator and comic book artist. She was born in Paris and studied at the Ecole de l'Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs there. She began working as an illustrator at Bayard Presse, where she worked on the magazines Pomme d'Api and Okapi. In 1977, she introduced Tom-Tom and Nana, probably the most popular French comics series for young people, in the magazine J'aime lire; the series has also been adapted for television. In 1990, she was awarded the Prix RTL. In 1993, she received the Prix Bernard Versele from La ligue des Familles de Belgique. In 1999, she received the Prix Jeunesse du festival d'Angoulême for Dégâts à gogo. In 2001, Tom-Tom and Nana received the Prix spécial du public jeunesse at the Le Festival de la bande dessinée de Darnétal. In 2002, she was awarded the Grand prix de l'Humour Tendre at the Salon international du dessin de presse et d'humour de Saint-Just-le-Martel for Radio casserole et les premiers de la casse.

Emmanuel Guibert has written a great many graphic novels for readers young and old, among them the Sardine in Outer Space series and The Professor’s Daughter with Joann Sfar. In 1994, a chance encounter with an American World War II veteran named Alan Cope marked the beginning of a deep friendship and the birth of a great biographical epic. Another of Guibert's recent works is The Photographer. Showered with awards, translated around the world and soon to come from First Second books, it relates a Doctors Without Borders mission in 1980’s Afghanistan through the eyes of a great reporter, the late Didier Lefèvre. Guibert lives in Paris with his wife and daughter.