Midam

Like Hergé and Franquin, it is in the common inhabitant of Brussels of Etterbeek that Michel Ledent, known as Midam, is born in 1963. Child, it adores the monsters and dreams to become truck-driver to be able to work during the night and to listen to the radio broadcast " The truck drivers are sympas" in its 30 tons. But when at 18 years it chooses the orientation of its studies, it is turned, a little by chance, worms of the artistic specialities. Initially in architecture of interior during one year then in photography. It is finally in illustration that it takes down a diploma with the Institut Saint-Luc, celebrates school of the Belgian capital. But the revelation of Midam as a draftsman and a scenario writer of data base will have to wait. After its studies of illustration, it makes its military service in the Belgian Naval force as a draftsman-decorator. Follow of the years of galère and small orders for various newspapers and reviews.

In 1992, it animates various headings in the Journal of Spirou, but it is only one year later that it renews the heading devoted to the video games by creating the character of Kid Paddle. The enthusiasm of the readers encouraged Midam and the editor association of Spirou to be passed from the half-page in the full page. Then naturally, in 1996, the first album of Kid Paddle is born.

In 1997, Midam created a new series: Stories with glasses. He collaborates with Clarke (Mélusine) by entrusting the graphic realization of the series to him. From this collaboration are born 3 albums which failing to meet a business success, cause a reception more than favorable criticism.

With the success of Kid Paddle, the idea to exploit this character on other supports did not delay. In 2002, the first Kid Paddle Magazine appeared. One year later, a first season of 52 episodes presents Kid Paddle in cartoon and invades the screens of France, Belgium, Switzerland and of Canada. Midam produced in 2004 a series “spin off” of Kid Paddle entitled Range Over and putting in scene the virtual misadventure of Kid Paddle namely: the Small Barbarian. For this project, Midam is surrounded by several collaborators of which Adam and Laurent Noblet. Frenzy around Kid Paddle and its will to carry out other artistic projects oblige Midam to forsake what were its passions of formerly: microphone-magic and music. It is with regret that it left the " group; the Servant boys Band' Dessiné" it was one of the guitarists since ten years. Nevertheless, there remains one impassioned of music, cinema and makes jogging regularly.

Less than 10 years only after the publication of the first volume, 3 million albums of Kid Paddle was sold. Hundreds of derivative products were created with the effigy of Kid: clothing, shoes, card decks, skateboards, tattooings, video games, bottom of screen for GSM, figurines, toys, puzzles, cloths of beach, feather beds, paper mills, travel goods shops, etc to take care to maximize the quality of these products and to manage the multitude of activities that Kid Paddle causes, Midam joins his wife Araceli Cancino and they create the company Midam Productions.

Midam always adores the monsters, works during the night but did not become truck-driver. And it is so much better! By counting only the number of sold albums of Kid Paddle, it is more than 1.164 tons of cartoons that it should have transported. Of what (almost) to replace the 30 tons of its child's dreams by a cargo liner last generation!

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