Ilija Jakovljević, also known as EL JAKK, is a comic book author and illustrator from Beška,
born in 1995 in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Inspired by alternative comics, manga, and 90s animation, he began his career as a comic book author in 2016.
Unable to attend art school, he primarily acquired his knowledge on comics through the internet,
analyzing the works of other artists and practicing by publishing his short comics in the form of fanzines.

In 2021, he was selected as the winner of a cross-residency competition in the field of comics
between Serbia and France, and he went to Angoulême, where he spent two months working on his series,
"Big Rock Energy". The first of the four books in the series has been completed, and work on the second book is underway.

He has participated in several exhibitions, notably the "Horizons" exhibition of resident works held in 2022
as part of the renowned Angoulême Comics Festival, and the "Trois ans de Résidences croisées dans le domaine
de la bande dessinée France-Serbie" held in Paris in 2023.

In his comics, EL JAKK opens the doors to distant and unusual worlds, taking us through the adventures
of bizarre outsider heroes. The protagonists of these often comedic stories are to some extent rejected
by society but still strive to change that same society for the better through their actions.

EL JAKK fights for greater visibility of authorial comics and young authors in his work,
showcasing the various possibilities for promoting comics locally and on the internet
through his endeavors. He is the creator of the D.I.Y. Strip Fest, an event dedicated
to independent authorial comics, which has brought a refreshing change to the
domestic comics scene and received an excellent response from numerous visitors.