Born in Switzerland in 1967, Zep – whose real name is Philippe Chappuis – took his pseudonym from a fanzine he created at the age of 12, when he was a fan of Led Zeppelin. He began drawing and inventing stories at a very early age. At the age of 14, he published his first drawings in the Swiss press, then entered the École des arts décoratifs in Geneva. In 1992, he drew childhood memories in a sketchbook, and the character of Titeuf, who would become the most famous little boy in French-language comics, was born at that time.
Alongside Titeuf, Zep has produced a number of books for both children and adults, including Guide du zizi sexuel (written by Hélène Bruller), a practical guide that humorously explains sexuality to children and their parents (2 million copies sold). In 2007, the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in Paris inaugurated an exhibition adapted from the Guide du zizi sexuel, which broke attendance records (350,000 visitors), before being repeated in Switzerland and Belgium.
In 2004, at the age of 37, Zep was awarded the Angoulême Grand Prix for his body of work.
In 2009, he published Happy Sex, a no-holds-barred, no-holds-barred take on relationships, which attracted over 400,000 readers in France and was translated into many other languages. It also marked the start of a series of humorous books entitled Happy Books, about girls, rock, concerts and parenthood.
Since 2013, he has been developing a realistic style in graphic novels such as Une Histoire d’hommes, The End and Ce que Nous Sommes, published by Rue de Sèvres.
Zep has published over 50 albums, translated into more than 25 languages, and sold more than 24 million copies in French alone. He lives in Geneva.