Reinhard Kleist was born in 1970 near Cologne. After graduating from the School of Graphic Art and Design in Mu¨nster, he moved to Berlin, where he has lived and worked as a freelance comics artist and illustrator ever since. Kleist’s books have been translated into many languages and have received several prizes. His graphic novel Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness was nominated for both the Eisner and Harvey awards, as well as receiving the Max und Moritz Prize for the Best German-language Comic. With The Boxer, Kleist became the first cartoonist to receive the German Youth Literature Award. Nick Cave: Mercy on Me is an international bestseller.