Ju Loyola

Juliana Loiola de Paula, also known as Ju Loyola, (born 1979) is a Brazilian cartoonist and illustrator. She is one of Brazil's first deaf female comic creators. Ju Loyola gained international recognition for her work on "silent manga", a manga genre where the lack of dialogue allows the work to be understood regardless of the reader's native language or level of literacy. Since 2015, she has been participating in the Silent Manga Audition, an international competition of the silent comic format.

Early life Ju Loyola was born in São Paulo in 1979. Her mother, Regina Mara Loiola de Paula, contracted the rubella virus while she was pregnant with Juliana, contributing to the artist being born deaf. She was diagnosed when she was 3 years old. These works inspired her to pursue a career in comics.

Ju Loyola began her education in a traditional school. In 1991, she enrolled in a special school for the deaf, focused on teaching Brazilian Sign Language. She had trouble adapting and later returned to traditional schooling.

In 2003, Ju Loyola graduated with a graphic design degree from the Pan-American School of Art and Design in São Paulo, In 2007, she worked as an animator and collator for Lightstar Studios, including on the animated film Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury, which was directed by Luiz Bolognesi.