Jens Harder, born in 1970, studied graphic design at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee and works as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator in Berlin. Harder found his first publishing home with the French publisher Actes Sud, who published Harder's wordless comic story "Leviathan" in 2003, which was awarded the Max and Moritz Prize in 2004. The first part of his evolution story "Alpha ... directions" was also first published in France, before the volume was published by Carlsen in 2010 and immediately won the Max und Moritz Prize. For "Alpha ...directions", Jens Harder was also awarded the Hans Meid Prize for book illustration in 2011. Jens Harder worked for four years on "Beta...civilisations volume I", the second part of his four-volume picture story. His comic adaptation of the epic "Gilgamesh" was published in 2018. The third volume of his illustrated history of humanity will follow in 2022: "Beta... civilisations volume II".