The child of teachers, he studied economics and then did his military service in the navy, which provided him with material for his prizewinning first book, Carnets d’un matelot [A Sailor’s Sketchbook, Albin Michel, 1994]. He has collaborated with David B. on the western series Hiram Lowatt & Placido (Dargaud, 1997–2000) and Joann Sfar on the philosophical comedy Socrate le demi-chien [Socrates the Demi-Dog, Dargaud, 2002-2009]. In addition to the second volume of Isaac the Pirate in 2005, NBM has also published the second Speed Abater (2003), and First Second has published the first volume of his western series Gus (2008). In 2013, Chronicle Books debuted Blain’s nonfiction: In the Kitchen with Alain Passard, culled from three years of trailing the master chef through kitchen and garden. Blain’s rough, dynamic style has been widely praised and imitated. As an illustrator, he has worked on magazines, movie posters, and covers for books and albums.