Beautiful Darkness (graphic novel)

Last updated

Contents

Beautiful Darkness
(Jolies Ténèbres)
Jolies Tenebres Cover.png
French cover
Page count112 pages
Publisher Dupuis
Creative team
WritersMarie Pommepuy
Fabien Vehlmann
ArtistsMarie Pommepuy
Sébastien Cosset
(as Kerascoët)
Original publication
Date of publication2009
2017
Language French
ISBN 978-2-80014238-8
978-2-80017458-7
Translation
Publisher Drawn & Quarterly
Date2018
ISBN 978-1-77046336-3
TranslatorHelge Dascher

Beautiful Darkness (French : Jolies Ténèbres) is a graphic novel illustrated by French illustrators Marie Pommepuy and Sébastien Cosset [1] under their pen name Kerascoët, and written by Pommepuy and Fabien Vehlmann. Beautiful Darkness was first published in English by Drawn & Quarterly in 2018 in a translation by Helge Dascher. [2]

In the story, people the size of fruit flies are expelled from their home and thrust outside into the woods. The novel tells the tale of Aurora, a sweet girl who finds herself taking a leadership role in the community of tiny people. The story starts out with a whimsical tone but rapidly devolves into a morbid narrative. Although much of the plot revolves around Aurora, small segments of the story focus on side characters who serve to emphasize the contrast between the daunting situation at hand and the playful way characters interact.

Plot

The protagonist Aurora is on a date with Prince Hector when they are suddenly expelled from their home, which happens to be the corpse of a young human girl. Everyone else living in the corpse is forced out as well, leaving them to figure out how to survive in the woods. Aurora takes leadership and begins helping everyone she can by gathering food and providing company. She befriends the narcissistic Zelie, who has a group of loyal followers that worship and spoil her.

Aurora's naïveté makes her blind to the fact that she is a victim of Zelie's manipulation. Hector, who was seemingly infatuated with Aurora, marries Zelie unexpectedly and Aurora is left alone. Her closest friends become part of Zelie's following. The betrayal strips Aurora of her sympathy and purity; her only goal from then on is to survive, no matter what the cost.

Aurora comes across a giant's cabin, where she can live without the others. Eventually, Zelie and her posse discover this cabin as well and make themselves at home. Aurora desperately wants them out of her new home, so she tricks them into gathering under a stove and watches as the giant unknowingly burns them alive. Finally, she can live in peace.

Characters

Awards

It received a nomination for an Eisner Award in 2015. [3]

Critical reception

A starred review on Publishers Weekly says the novel is always on readers' minds and "unforgettable". [4] An exclusive preview of the book on Nerdist calls the novel "a sinister saga that you won't be able to put down." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colleen Doran</span> American writer-artist and cartoonist

Colleen Doran is an American writer-artist and cartoonist. She illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, including the autobiographical graphic novel of Marvel Comics editor and writer Stan Lee entitled Amazing Fantastic Incredible Stan Lee, which became a New York Times bestseller. She adapted and did the art for the short story "Troll Bridge" by Neil Gaiman, which also became a New York Times bestseller. Her books have received Eisner, Harvey, Bram Stoker, Locus, and International Horror Guild Awards.

Karen Berger is an American comic book editor. She is best known for her role in helping create DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in 1993 and serving as the line's Executive Editor until 2013. She currently oversees Berger Books, an imprint of creator-owned comics being published by Dark Horse Comics.

"Snow, Glass, Apples" is a 1994 short story written by Neil Gaiman. It was originally released as a benefit book for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and was reprinted in the anthology Love in Vein II, edited by Poppy Z. Brite. It is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White, but from her stepmother's point of view.

<i>Bone</i> (comics) Comic book series by Jeff Smith

Bone is an American fantasy comic book limited series written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, originally serialized in 55 irregularly released issues from 1991 to 2004. The series is primarily self-published by Smith's Cartoon Books; it was also briefly published by Image Comics. The issues were collected into nine volumes, as well as a single omnibus volume. From 2005 to 2009, color editions of the original volumes were published by Scholastic's Graphix imprint. The series intertwines comedy and dark fantasy.

<i>The Goon</i> Comic book series

The Goon is a comic book series written and drawn by Eric Powell. The series mixes both a comical and violent atmosphere with a supernatural slant, which pit the titular character against undead creatures/zombies, ghosts, ghouls, mutants, skunk-apes with an unnatural hunger for pies, giant squids, mob/gang leaders, extra-dimensional aliens, mad scientists and robots.

<i>The Hard Goodbye</i> Comic book by Frank Miller

"The Hard Goodbye" is the first story in the American Sin City Comics series. It was serialized, as "Sin City", in the comics anthology Dark Horse Presents by Dark Horse Comics and named "The Hard Goodbye" in the trade paperbacks. It was created by Frank Miller, and led to a metaseries that has been adapted into a movie.

<i>A Wild Sheep Chase</i> 1982 novel by Haruki Murakami

A Wild Sheep Chase is the third novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. First published in Japan in 1982, it was translated into English in 1989. It is an independent sequel to Pinball, 1973, and the third book in the so-called "Trilogy of the Rat". It won the 1982 Noma Literary Newcomer's Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faith Erin Hicks</span> Canadian cartoonist

Faith Erin Hicks is a Canadian cartoonist and animator living in Vancouver, British Columbia.

<i>The Rats</i> (novel) 1974 horror novel by James Herbert

The Rats (1974) is a horror novel by British writer James Herbert. This was Herbert's first novel and included graphic depictions of death and mutilation.

<i>Beautiful People</i> (manga) Japanese manga volume

Beautiful People is a josei manga by Mitsukazu Mihara. It is a collection of six short stories and was published by Shodensha on October 20, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariko Tamaki</span> Canadian writer and artist (born 1975)

Mariko Tamaki is a Canadian artist and writer. She is known for her graphic novels Skim, Emiko Superstar, and This One Summer, and for several prose works of fiction and non-fiction. In 2016 she began writing for both Marvel and DC Comics. She has twice been named a runner-up for the Michael L. Printz Award.

<i>Rat Queens</i> American fantasy comics series, 2013-19

Rat Queens is an American fantasy comic book series created by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch, published by Image Comics. The series was written by Wiebe until Ryan Ferrier took over in mid 2019. The original 2013–2016 run was drawn by Roc Upchurch, Stjepan Šejić, and Tess Fowler. The series was put on hiatus in April 2016 and returned in March 2017 with the new artist Owen Gieni. Currently, Moritat & Casey Silver are the ongoing artists.

<i>Beautiful Bones: Sakurakos Investigation</i> Japanese light novel series

Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation or A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako's Feet is a Japanese mystery novel series written by Shiori Ōta, with illustrations by Tetsuo. Kadokawa Shoten has published seventeen volumes since 2013 under their Kadokawa Bunko label, with over 1 million copies in print. The final volume in the series was released in March 2021. An anime television series adaptation by Troyca aired in Japan between October and December 2015. A live-action television series adaptation aired between April 23 and June 25, 2017 on Fuji TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erica Schultz</span> American comic book writer, letterer, and editor

Erica Schultz is an American comic book writer, letterer, and editor. She is the first woman to write a Spawn comic, and is best known for her writing work at Marvel on titles like Daredevil, X-23, and Hallows' Eve.

<i>This One Summer</i> 2014 graphic novel by Mariko and Jilian Tamaki

This One Summer is a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki published by First Second Books in 2014. It is a coming of age story about two teenage friends, Rose and Windy, during a summer in Awago, a small beach town. Rose and Windy discover themselves and their sexuality while battling family dynamics and mental disabilities.

Kerascoët is the joint pen name of the French illustrators, comics and animation artists Marie Pommepuy and Sébastien Cosset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-fairy tale</span> Fairy tale with a tragic ending, rather than a happy one

An anti-fairy tale, also called anti-tale, is a fairy tale which, unlike an ordinary one, has a tragic, rather than a happy ending, with the antagonists winning and the protagonists losing at the end of the story. Whereas fairy tales paint a magical, utopian world, anti-fairy tales paint a dark world of nastiness and cruelty. Such stories incorporate horror, black comedy, mean-spirited practical jokes on innocent characters, sudden and often cruel plot twists, and biting satire. The term was introduced by André Jolles in his Einfache Formen (1930).

<i>Children of Blood and Bone</i> 2018 young adult fantasy novel by Tomi Adeyemi

Children of Blood and Bone is a 2018 young adult romantic fantasy novel by Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi. The book, Adeyemi's debut novel and the first in a planned trilogy, follows heroine Zélie Adebola as she attempts to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha, following the ruling class kosidáns' brutal suppression of the class of magic practitioners Zélie belongs to, the maji.

<i>Malalas Magic Pencil</i> Book by Malala Yousafzai

Malala's Magic Pencil is a 2017 picture book authored by Malala Yousafzai and illustrated by Kerascoët. The book was published by Little, Brown and Company in the U.S., and Puffin Books in the U.K., with Farrin Jacobs as editor. It shows Yousafzai growing up in Swat, Pakistan, and wishing for a magic pencil to solve her problems; she learns that she is able to make change, such as advancing rights to female education, without one. The book has received very positive reviews, praising both Yousafzai's writing and Kerascoët's illustrations. The book appears on several lists of best children's books of 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tillie Walden</span> American cartoonist and author

Tillie Walden is an American cartoonist who has published five graphic novels and a webcomic. Walden won the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work for her graphic novel Spinning, making her one of the youngest Eisner Award winners ever. She was named Vermont's Cartoonist Laureate for the years 2023 - 2026, making her the state's youngest-ever Cartoonist Laureate.

References

  1. Alverson, Brigid (27 October 2015). "NBM's spring slate of graphic novels builds on its strengths". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  2. "Beautiful Darkness". Goodreads. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. Asselin, Janelle (22 April 2015). "2015 Eisner Award Nominations Announced". Comics Alliance. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  4. "Beautiful Darkness". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  5. Casey, Dan (12 February 2012). "Exclusive: Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoet's Beautiful Darkness Preview". Nerdist. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.