The Kingdom

Benoît Feroumont was born in in Belgium in 1969. Naturally attracted to drawing, the young Benoît was lucky enough to have a grandfather who was a wood craftsman and advertising professor in Liège who advised him on his progress. Mostly motivated by his love of images, Benoît read a lot of comic books and also soon discovered the joys of animated movies. As a teenager, he began to split his time between the two disciplines that would structure his life. At the age of 18 he enrolled at the Saint-Luc School in Liège, and came out a few years later with a comic book and illustration diploma under his belt. He soon realized that he had a little more work to do before going pro, and so decided continue his studies at La Cambre animation school in Brussels. His student portfolio gained notice at comics festivals, with one of his pieces, "Chapeaux," even winning international prizes. Following these promising beginnings in animation, the illustrator dedicated himself to cartoon animation for a time, leaving comic books on the side. He started his own business, using his know-how in the service of others, either in cinema or advertising. In 2000, he completed his first professional animated short, "Bzz," which won him the Anima Grand Prix and was a front-runner for the Cartoon d'Or at Cannes and Annecy. Around the same time, Feroumont was featured in "Spirou" magazine, accompanied by debutant writer (at the time) Fabien Vehlmann. Together, they created several short stories, and the poetic urban-fantasy series "Wondertown," of which two volumes were released in the early 2000s. Following that, Feroumont moved on to more high-caliber projects, such as "The Triplets of Belleville" and "Brendan et le secret de Kells." In 2008, he directed a Tuscan-inspired animated short, a tragicomedy called "Dji Vou Veu Volti." His research for this 13-minute film would then serve as a basis for his comic book series "Le Royaume," first published by the magazine "Spirou" (Dupuis; "The Kingdom," Europe Comics). With this engaging medieval comedy, Feroumont made a name for himself as one of the pillars of contemporary "Spirou." In 2013, he published the erotic social satire "Gisèle et Béatrice" as part of the Aire Libre collection (2017 Europe Comics, "Giselle and Beatrice"). Both comic book artist and cartoon film director, Benoît Feroumont is one of the flagbearers of "Spirou" as we know it today. His humor and enthusiasm are transposed to all his characters.