Haunted by the Future

June 16, 2013 8:53 AM

Enki Bilal: Haunted by the Future -Paul Gravett on the Yugoslavian/French comics superstar.
posted by Artw (9 comments total)

Great post, love Bilal.
posted by MartinWisse at 9:29 AM on June 16, 2013

Here's some artwork from the first book in the Nikopol trilogy, from a site that has a large selection of his art online.
The stories in the lettering don't work nearly as hard as the art does, and for me they don't have to.
posted by the Real Dan at 11:25 AM on June 16, 2013

Glad to see one of my favourite comic book artists on Metafilter!
posted by Termite at 1:42 PM on June 16, 2013

Enki Bilal on Tumblr
posted by Artw at 2:43 PM on June 16, 2013

Huh - I recognized that Nikopol series from the movie that was evidently an adaptation - Immortal. That movie is totally bonkers (and a bit rapey), but kind of interesting. Not sure if I'd go so far as to call it 'good', tho.
posted by FatherDagon at 3:21 PM on June 16, 2013

I've been told it's worth avoiding, FWIW.
posted by Artw at 3:22 PM on June 16, 2013

I've been a huge fan of Enki Bilal since the early 80s. Too bad that his movie projects never lived up to the quality of his drawn work. Immortal had terrible CG, a so-so actress and a meandering plot. It's difficult to make visionary movies of this kind without a solid budget and an experienced team. I've always thought that he should team up with a good director rather than try to direct movies himself.
posted by elgilito at 4:42 PM on June 16, 2013

I just heard an interview on CBC Radio with the director of Mars et Avril, a sci-fi movie which had François Schuiten as production designer.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:07 PM on June 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Like elgilito, I've been a big Bilal reader for decades. Created a LARP inspired by the Nicopol books.
Thank you for this article, Artw. Good to know about Bilal's Balkan background. Helps explain the passion (and detail) in Hunting Party.
posted by doctornemo at 5:13 AM on June 17, 2013