Since 2006, he has been residing in Stoke Hill, Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Szpajdel moved from Belgium to England in 2002. A seventh issue of Septicore was in development for release in 1992 but was abandoned before completion. During his time working at Septicore, Szpajdel was often credited under the pseudonyms Necromaniac, and later Volvox. Septicore released six issues between 19, though two had already been published at the time that Szpajdel joined the team. Some of his early illustrations were featured on the Morbid Noise various artists compilation cassette tapes that came with the fanzines. It was during his first year of university that Szpajdel joined Thierry Prince's fanzine Septicore, as a writer and illustrator. In 1989, Szpajdel enrolled at the Université catholique de Louvain where he studied biology, agronomy and forestry, graduating in 1996 with a degree in Forestry Engineering. įrom 1981 to 1989, he attended the Institut Saint-Jean Baptiste, a Catholic primary school in Wavre, Walloon Brabant, Belgium. His parents were originally against his ambitions of becoming a calligraphist and insisted on his continual education and enrollment in a university. Szpajdel began drawing at the age of 3 when he drew a praying mantis while vacationing with his parents in the south of France. He grew up speaking Polish and French, and eventually learned English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
His parents are of Polish origin but immigrated to Belgium before he was born. Szpajdel was born on 29 September 1970 in Gembloux, Namur, Belgium, and grew up in Louvain-la-Neuve, Walloon Brabant, Belgium.