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South African-born Ralph Lazar was working as a global equity strategist in London - but then he gave up it all up for cartooning.
With his wife Lisa Swerling, Lazar has built up a cartoon and graphic art empire of 33 books, greeting cards and merchandise which includes three best-selling cartoon franchises - The Brainwaves, Harold's Planet and Vimrod.
Their latest Brainwaves book, The Most Explosive Science Book in the Universe... by the Brainwaves is available in South Africa, published by Dorling Kindersley, an imprint of Penguin. The book recently won a US Parent's Choice Award.
The book has been translated into more than 20 languages, including Afrikaans. It is the fourth instalment of the Brainwaves series. Brainwaves are squishy cartoon character figures in pyjama-like jumpsuits. They romp and scamper through text and images as they make science fun for children.
Lazar does the drawing. Swerling is responsible for the art direction - layout, palette and Photoshop. They work with different writers on the text for Brainwaves.
In a phone interview, Lazar mused that he...