Jean-Claude Claeys was born in Paris. After some advertising work, he focused on making comics in 1975. He made his comics debut with 'Jonathan Foolishbury', a series about a curious private investigator published in Mormoil magazine. In 1977, he followed up the film noir theme in 'Whisky Dreams' (Ed. du Cygne), and later, in 'Magnum Song' (À Suirvre, 1978) and the 'Lüger et Paix' series (in Métal Hurlant, 1986). Claeys made 'Paris Fripon' for the Editions du Fromage in 1981, which was followed by two portfolios. Claeys draws his influences from American cinema of the forties and fifties. He uses a hyper-realistic style in black and white, reworking from photographs, which gives his oeuvre a dark mood. Claeys also works as a cover artist for the crime collection of the Néo publishing house, as well as Hitchcock Magazine.
Text (c) Lambiek
