Olivier Massebeuf was born in Lyon, attended the Paris Beaux Arts Academy in the 1980’s and took pleasure in studying the work of graphic artists such as Hugo Pratt and Jacques Tardi but did not feel inclined to devote himself entirely to painting as a way of life.
In those days, he made a few acrylic paintings in black and white.
Between 1983-1987 he concentrated on his British studies but continued to draw and to indulge his fascination with the comic strip as an art form. With his sister Pascale he carried out a project called "Rosa". This involved the writing of a story which inspired the accompanying illustrative cartoon.