Aka Gnoan Kacou Maxime, alias Mendozza, was born in 1962 in Dabou, Côte d’Ivoire. A graduate in communications from the Abidjan Fine Arts School, he was an art teacher before “the call of the press” drew him towards a vocation as a press cartoonist. In 1999, he founded GBICH, a weekly publication 60% devoted to cartoons, which continues today, mainly online. Committed to press cartooning and freedom of expression, he set up the Tâche d’encre association, followed two years later by the Cocobulles festival, a platform for international cartoonists. His cartoons and his commitment have won him several awards and led him to work with a number of NGOs.
