Midam

Midam studied at Institut Saint-Luc. The recorded working language is French. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are Franco-Belgian comics. Employment is recorded with Spirou and Hello Bédé. Works named in the authority record are Kid Paddle, Game Over and Grrreeny. Distinctions recorded are Prix Diagonale.

• Birth Name — Michel Ledent • Born — 16 May 1963 • Birthplace — Etterbeek, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium • Nationality — Belgian • Area — artist, writer • Notable Works — Kid Paddle • Awards — see awards section

Michel Ledent was born in Etterbeek near Brussels in 1963. He studied illustration and interior decoration at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, and started creating comics in 1989 for the computer magazine Micro-Systèmes. Under the pseudonym Midam, he joined Spirou magazine in 1992 as an illustrator for the videogames section. The character he created there, Kid Paddle, soon got its own series, which became very popular, with over 4 million copies sold in French. New albums sell some 400,000 copies in French alone, making it one of the top ten best-selling French language comics series. In 2002, a separate Kid Paddle magazine was launched, and an animated TV series was created as well, with so far 104 episodes. The spin-off series Game Over was created in 2004, presenting the misadventures of the main character of the video games Kid Paddle is fond of playing in his own albums. The comic is wordless and is according to Midam inspired by the everfailing quests of Wile E. Coyote. The first album sold 60,000 copies. Other series by Midam were Le Gowap, which was continued by Curd Ridel, and Durant les Travaux, l'Exposition Continue with Clarke. Midam is married to Chilean Araceli Cancino, who translates his works into Spanish. In April 2024, Midam was the subject of a rape complaint. He was acquitted by the Brussels Criminal Court on June 18, 2025. The plaintiff stated: "I let men's justice work and it failed me, and the 99.4% of rape victims who never see their attacker convicted. Nevertheless, I remain grateful for the existence of the justice system. I continue to hope that one day, rapists will no longer need to be in flagrante delicto to be convicted, and that retrograde and misogynistic arguments will no longer have a place in the defense of aggressors or in the mouths of prosecutors. I will continue, at my level, to fight with integrity, ethics and values so that victims like me are believed and heard in our country, which is so far behind in this area.".