Born in Paris, in 1935, Jean Mardikian is a pillar for graphic storytelling. In 1974, he co-founded the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême which is now the main comics art event in Europe. He studied agriculture and political science and worked in professional press publishing. He was as a member of Angoulême’s city council from 1970 to 2008. He's been named Deputy-mayor in charge of cultural affairs, then town planning. From 1989 through 2008, he was President of the Centre National de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image d'Angoulême. In 2008, he co-founded l'Association pour la Promotion de la Bande Dessinée en Arménie (Association for comics art promotion in Armenia) which runs the International comics art festival in Yerevan.