La Nuit des temps (comic book)

La Nuit des temps
Page count	184 pages
Publisher	Éditions Phileas
Creative team
Writer	Christian De Metter, after René Barjavel
Artist	Christian De Metter
Original publication
Date of publication	10 November 2021
Language	French
ISBN	9782491467135

La Nuit des temps is a 2021 French comic book by Christian De Metter.

Background

La Nuit des temps is based on the 1968 novel The Ice People by René Barjavel. Christian De Metter first read The Ice People when he was young and it made him explore more works by Barjavel. For the adaptation, he replaced the original story's Cold War theme with one of ecological disaster, thereby transforming it from pacifist fiction to climate-change fiction. ^[1]

Plot

An international expedition to Antarctica discovers the remnants of a pre-historical civilization with two survivors, a man and a woman, who are kept in suspended animation through advanced technology. ^[2]

Publication

The comic book was published by Philéas on 10 November 2021. ^[2]

Reception

Auxence Delion of ActuaBD  [ fr ] wrote that it is a daring task to adapt The Ice People, because it is one of the most celebrated works of French science fiction. Delion wrote that the comic book retains much of the novel's suggestive power, despite having been shortened and despite that the French scientist Simon—from whose perspective the story is told in the novel—has been reduced to a minor character. ^[3]

References

1. "Christian De Metter (La Nuit des temps) : « L'amour étant un éternel recommencement, gardons espoir. » [INTERVIEW]". ActuaBD  [ fr ] (in French). 21 December 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
2. "La Nuit des temps". Planète BD (in French). 12 December 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
3. Delion, Auxence (13 December 2021). "La Nuit des temps – Par Christian De Metter – Éditions Philéas". ActuaBD  [ fr ] (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2025.