Mikael Ross has been an avid reader and drawer of comics from an early age and only came to the ninth art via detours. Born in Munich in 1984, he initially trained as a theatre cutter at the Bavarian State Opera. During a year abroad at the Brussels School of Bande Dessinée, he met the Belgian scenarist and illustrator Nicolas Wouters. They shared a fascination for punk and subculture. Together they wrote and drew the graphic novel "Lauter Leben!" (2014), which immerses its two restless protagonists in the Berlin squatter scene of the 1980s. Followed by "Totem", also published by avant-verlag. After two years of research in Neuerkerode, the illustrator ventured a change of perspective with his graphic novel "Der Umfall" (2018), which tells the story of the low blows and highs of a young man with a mental disability from Noel's point of view. In 2020, he received the Max & Moritz Award for the "Best German-language Comic" for his work. 2020 saw the publication of "Goldjunge", an entertaining biography of Beethoven that portrays the genius' youthful years. 2024 sees the publication of "Der verkehrte Himmel", a new graphic novel in delicious black and white and as fast-paced as a manga. What is behind the mysterious discovery of a severed finger in sleepy Berlin-Lichtenberg? A thriller with social depth.