Black Paths

David B

When the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated after World War I, control of the Adriatic port of Fiume (now Rieka, Croatia) was hotly disputed. Enter "Pirate King" Gabriele d'Annunzio, an Italian poet who stormed the city with 3,000 Italian nationalists. D'Annunzio declared Fiume a free republic and himself commander. He envisioned a utopian city-state, but Fiume quickly became a surreal center of violence, looting, and decadence, with shades of the Fascist movement to come. Acclaimed comics artist David B. uses this real event as a backdrop and seamlessly weaves history, hysteria, and highly stylized art into the tragic love story of a beautiful torch singer and a young soldier haunted by the horrors of trench warfare.

Praise for Black Paths

"David B. draws with the chaotic, high-contrast style he used in his best-known work, Epileptic, to capture the distressed, surreal mood of artists struggling to run the world." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Expressive, colorful drawings and vivid character designs" --Booklist

"As with Epileptic, the art in Black Paths is twisted but the writing is straight, charting a clear narrative path through the insanity of Italy in the year following World War I..." --The A.V. Club

"Here's a book that has everything going for it." --Comic Book Resource's Robot6 blog

"Black Paths is a fascinating study of the strange convergence of anarchy, fascism and art a century ago." --The Milwaukee Shepherd Express

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Notă biografică

David B. is a founding member of L'Association, the fiercely independent publisher, which is a major creative force of the French comics scene. His bestselling autobiographical work Epileptic is considered a masterpiece of the comics medium. His many prizes include the Prix de Cheverny (2007), the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist (2005) and the top prizes for Comics Writing (2002) and Best Comic Book (1998, 2004) at the Angouleme International Comics Festival. He received an Eisner Award nomination for "Best Reality-based Work” (2006).

Descriere

At the end of the First World War, the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire loses control of the city port of Fiume. While the victorious Allies divide the spoils of war at Versailles, they are oblivious to the fact that Fiume, long-coveted by the Italians, has been dramatically captured by pirates! A self-styled Pirate King, Gabriele d'Annunzio storms the city with 3000 loyal soldiers and declares Fiume a free Republic with himself as commander. David B. effortlessly draws d'Annunzio along winding roads, constantly challenging expectations with his dark satire.