Maxentius

As far back as he can remember, Carlos Rafael Duarte has always drawn. This passion quickly became a fundamental need, and at 18 years old, the Brazilian artist decided to enter the world of professional comics authors. Following his graphic design studies, Duarte studied sequential art at the Impacto Studio of São Paolo. After graduating, the young man opened a new branch of his school in Rio de Janeiro, where he still lives. In parallel, he began working with comics publishers in the United States. His first comic book, "Lazarus: Immortal Coils" (with the script by Joseph P. Gauthier), was published in 2008. He joined the team of Dabel Brothers, and then Dynamite Comics. Influenced by illustrators such as Jim Lee, Adam Hughes, Terry Dodson, and Adriana Melo, he illustrated his first Franco-Belgian "bande dessinée" in 2014, "Maxence" (Le Lombard; "Maxentius," Europe Comics).

Born in 1974, Romain Sardou comes from a lineage of artists, which includes his father, the singer Michel Sardou; his grandmother, the actress Jackie Sardou; and his grandfather, the actor Fernand Sardou. Passionate about opera from a young age, he got into theater and dropped out of high school in order to dedicate himself to the stage, with the goal of becoming a playwright. After two years in Los Angeles where he wrote stories for children, Sardou came back to France, where he completed his first novel, "Pardonnez nos offenses" (Editions XO, 2002). This medieval thriller, which is a bestseller in France and was published in 20 countries, was followed by the sequel "Délivrez-nous du mal." "Maxence" (Le Lombard; "Maxentius," Europe Comics) is his first foray into the world of comics.