Mistinguette #1 - 'En Quête d'Amour' (2011).
Amandine is a French comic book artist and illustrator, who has worked extensively for a juvenile readership. Her manga-inspired artwork has appeared in several French youth magazines and in comic booklets by Éditions Carabas. Since 2011, she has been working with writer Greg Tessier for Éditions Jungle on the popular teenage drama series 'Mistinguette', which has also spawned several spin-offs. A longtime member of the Nekomix collective, Amandine has also worked on more adult-oriented projects, including erotically-themed stories published in Soupir and a couple of anthology titles. Working only under her first name, Amandine should not be confused with another French female comic artist, Amandine Wadre Puntous (b. 1983).
'Brume', from: Nekomix #8 (2012).
Nekomix
Amandine Samoreau was born in 1980 in the Val d'Oise department in Northern France. She graduated in Graphic Arts from the Paris 8 University in Saint-Denis, after which she published her first stories in the collective projects of Nekomix, an association of professional and amateur comic creators. Among their publications are the thematic Nekomix fanzines in full-color, as well as the black-and-white Soupir series with erotic comic stories. Besides a regular contributor to the collective's publications, Amandine has remained active as the group's treasurer and host of comic workshops.
'Ils Viennent Heureux'.
Early comics
In 2006, Amandine created her first comic book, 'Les Envolées de Violette', about a young woman in Avignon. Published by Théloma, the story was written by Sarah Hatchuel and Isabelle Gonzalez under the collective pseudonym Sarabelle. Amandine then teamed up with fellow Nekomix member Tomatias for a series of pantomime comic booklets aimed at the youngest readers, published in the Petits Chats Carrés collection of Éditions Carabas: 'Valentine' (2007), 'Valentin' (2009) and 'Ils Vecurent Heureux...' (2010). In 2008, Amandine created the 18-page comic story 'Le Maître du Temps' for the Fécamp Tourist Office, based on a puzzle trail in the city.
Mistinguette #8 - 'Pagaille et Retrouvailles!'.
Mistinguette
A meeting in 2009 with the scriptwriter Greg Tessier resulted in the popular comic book series 'Mistinguette' (2011- ), published under the Miss Jungle imprint of Éditions Steinkis. The main star is the thirteen-year old Chloé Blin, nicknamed "Mistinguette", the new girl at the George Brassens College. Shy, sensitive and slightly clumsy, she has to find her way in her new hometown, all while learning to stand her ground against mean girls Anissa, Noémie and Leslie, the school's crazy staff and her meddlesome parents. Luckily, she finds loyal friends in the geeky Marc, the resourceful Fatou and her love interest Alexandre, while her hippie uncle Étienne is always ready to listen and give advice. Created with bright colors in an accessible manga-flavored style, each episode shows another step in Mistinguette's coming-of-age, dealing with romantic insecurities, doing volunteer work, standing up against bullies and gaining independence.
Published since 2011, 'Mistinguette' is one of the longest running series in the Miss Jungle collection. In addition to the regular series, Tessier and Amandine have created a spin-off gag series about a younger Chloé and her kitten Cartoon ('Mistinguette & Cartoon', 2017- ) and an origin story about the bitchy 'Anissa' (2023- ). English-language editions have appeared under the series title 'Chloe' through Papercutz, while the stories are also serialized in the Dutch girls' magazine Tina under the title 'Daantje'.
'Mistinguette & Cartoon'.
Illustrator
In addition to comics, Amandine also began making illustrations and game pages for children's magazines. Over the years, she has contributed to publishers like Fleurus (Les Ptits Sorcières), Disney Hachette Presse (Witch Mag, Mickey Parade Géant, Kid's Mag) and Milan (Julie). She additionally produced artwork for activity sets by Éditions Playbac/Oxybul ('Mon Carnet de Dessins Mariées', 'Mon Carnet de Dessins Fées') and a slumber party quiz game for Éditions Larousse.
Collaborations
Together with Nekomix founder Drac, Amandine also contributed a comic story to the 2008 anthology 'Amour et Désir' by Éditions La Boite à Bulles. Working with scriptwriters Eddy Simon or Tomatias, Amandine has created erotically themed comic stories for the Nekomix title Soupir, but also for anthology projects like 'Kâma Sûtra en Bandes Dessinées' (Petit à Petit, 2010) and 'Contes des Indes en Bandes Dessinées' (Petit à Petit, 2010). With Eddy Simon, she also created the 2013 comic book 'Chroniques Ados' for Éditions Jungle dealing with the first romantic relationships of adolescents.
'Bain de Minuit' (Soupir #3, 2012).