Jerome Charyn

Jerome Charyn (born May 13, 1937) is an American author whose prolific, genre-spanning career includes significant contributions to comics. He is best known in the medium for his graphic novels, often created in collaboration with European artists, which blend hard-boiled crime with surreal, historical touches. Charyn’s path to comics came later in life, after he had already established himself as a novelist; his first graphic work appeared in the mid-1980s. His signature style in comics is literary and atmospheric, favoring morally complex characters and moody, urban settings. Key collaborators include artists François Boucq, with whom he created the acclaimed *Little Tulip*, and Jacques Tardi. Charyn co-created the detective Isaac Sidel in his prose novels, a character who also appears in some of his comic work. He was a Distinguished Professor of Film Studies at the American University of Paris until 2009. A finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, he has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. France named him a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Charyn continues to live and work in Paris and New York City.