'Le Goût du Chlore'.
Bastien Vivès is one of the most innovative and most productive present-day French comic authors, who experiments with different styles and techniques. He has studied animation at the Gobelins School and grahics at the ESAG Pnninghen. He did his first comics work through his own studio in Paris. Under the name Bastien Chanmax, he published the webcomic 'Poungi La Rataille'.
Vivès came to attention with the graphic novels he created for Casterman's KSTR collection since 2007, including 'Elle(s) - Alice, Charlotte & Renaud', 'Le Goût du Chlore' (2008), 'Hollywood Jan' (with Michaël Sanlaville, 2008), 'Amitié Étroite' (2009), 'Dans Mes Yeux' (2009) and 'Polina' (2011).
'Elle(s)'.
In addition, Vivès published 'La Boucherie' at Wraoum and 'Juju Mimi Féfé Chacha', scripted by Alexis de Raphelis, published at Ankama. In 2010 he teamed up with Merwan to create 'Pour l'Empire' in the Dargaud collection Poisson Pilote. Vives has a very large production. At the age of 27, he has already published eleven graphic novels during a period of 4 years.
Vivès draws most of his graphic novels with the computer, such as 'Le Goût du Chlore' and Amitié Étroite', but he also uses other techniques, such as crayons and colored pencils for 'Dans Mes Yeux'. In 2012 he was interviewed for the documentary 'Sex in the Comics' (2012).
On 28 September 2018 Vivés caused controversy with a comic book named 'Petit Paul'. The story deals with a ten-year old boy who is born with a gigantic penis, which causes him to be stalked by adult women fascinated by his organ. Quite some people felt the book was close to child pornography, which is forbidden by law in France. Two thousand people signed a petition to protest against its publication. Some French book stores already removed the book from their shelves. Publisher Glénat defended the work as a "work of fiction." Vivés stated that "the book is a huge joke, meant to make people laugh. Certainly no excuse for paedophilia." In an interview with Huffington Post, he pointed out that the entire story is told from the naïve viewpoint of a ten-year old boy who doesn't think about sex.
Bastien Vivès was an influence on Lae Schäfer and Maarten Vande Wiele.
'Dans Mes Yeux'.