Zviane (pen name of Sylvie-Anne Ménard, born in 1983 in Longueuil, Quebec) is a prolific Canadian cartoonist and musician from Montréal, Quebec. she holds a bachelor's degree in composition from the Université de Montréal and initially pursued music before gaining recognition in the comic arts.
Her creative breakthrough came in 2006 when she won the first Concours québécois de bande dessinée with Le point B. Since then, Zviane has produced numerous acclaimed works, including Apnée, Les deuxièmes, and Football-Fantaisie. She earned significant accolades such as the Grand Prix de la Ville de Québec for Apnée (2010) and Les deuxièmes (2014), the Bédélys Prize for Le bestiaire des fruits, and the Joe Shuster Award for Best Cartoonist in 2014.
She is known for blending her musical roots with graphic storytelling, Zviane’s work often features playful, emotionally honest narratives while showcasing her animation, blogging, and music composition pursuits. She also participated in creative residencies such as at the Maison des auteurs in Angoulême.
Biography
A musician since her youth, Zviane earned a baccalaureate in music from Université de Montréal. She teaches music theory and plays piano.
Through the art group Vestibulles in cégep du Vieux Montréal, Zviane's works were noticed by Jimmy Beaulieu, who published them in the collections of publishers Mécanique générale and Colosse. Her web blog was noticed by French creator Boulet, who helped her become better known in Europe. Her work Le point B won a contest earning that book to be published by the Monet Library.
In 2009, Zviane spent six months at the Maison des auteurs in Angoulême.
Zviane publishes several comic works each year. She combines music and comics. Music is almost always present in her comics.
Publications
Books and other works
Zviane (center) with comics creators Capucine (left) and Iris (right), at the Québec International Book Fair, 2013The cover of Ping-pong (2014), "a sort of essay, with lots of text"
Les constats de la vie que l'on constate, Grafigne.com, coll. "Cœur de loup", 2004
Dans l'estomac, Grafigne.com, coll. "Cœur de loup", 2005
Le monstre, Grafigne.com, coll. "Cœur de loup", 2006
"Devenir grand", with Luc Bossé, in Partie de pêche, collective by the winners of the Hachette Canada bande dessinée contest 2011, Glénat Québec, 2011
Ping-pong, edition commented by other authors, éditions Pow Pow, 2015, 236 p., ISBN978-2-924049-24-2
Other
La leçon de classique, with Julien Cayer as writer, a monthly webcomic about classical music, on the website of Espace musique, the music channel of the Société Radio-Canada, 2008
Zviane collaborated with a professor of music at Université de Montréal to make L'œil qui entend, l'oreille qui voit: A model of analysis for the tonal harmonic discourse, an online book about music, using comics, versions in French and in English.
Awards and nominations
Awards
Winner of the first Concours québécois de bande dessinée