Ralph Lazar is a writer, artist and illustrator. Partnering with his wife Lisa Swerling, they are best known for their cartoon creations Harold's Planet, Vimrod and The Brainwaves.
Harold's Planet and Vimrod sell as greetings cards in the millions,[1] and have been published by Penguin Books, Harper Collins and Andrews McMeel. The Brainwaves are cartoon characters that populate Dorling Kindersley's children's reference titles, published in over a dozen languages. Their artwork appeared weekly in The Financial Times and The Scotsman from 2006 to 2009.
Awards and nominations include The Royal Society Prizes for Science Books (shortlist - 2008), Annecy International Animated Film Festival Grand Prix winner 1998 (International Project Competition), The Royal Society Prizes for Science Books (shortlist - 2007 [2]), The Washington Post Book of the Week (April 2007[3]) and The US Parent's Choice Awards 2006[4] and 2009 .[5]
Ralph Lazar was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1967, and has degrees in Law & Economics from the University of Cape Town, and a degree in Economics from The London School of Economics. He was formerly an investment strategist at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston.
He lives with his wife and children in Marin County, California.