Jayme Cortez was born in 1926 in Lisbon, Portugal. He began his career in 1944, drawing comic strips in the weekly newspaper O Mosquito. In 1947, he migrated to São Paulo in Brazil and started creating cartoons, comic strips and illustrations for several newspapers. During the 1950s, Cortez enjoyed tremendous success in Brazil, thanks to his work in the magazine O Terror Negro (The Black Terror), published by La Selva; however, he also illustrated western, sci-fi, crime and adventure magazines. In 1951, with Miguel Penteado, Cortez organized one of the world's first international comics exhibitions. In 1959, he became partner, art director and principal cover artist for Outubro, which published numerous successful magazines. In 1986, he was awarded the Caran D'Ache prize for illustration. Cortez passed away in São Paulo in 1987, at the age of 60, leaving behind an enormous collection of work across various fields of illustration.