Le Chevalier d'Eon

A gruesome cult of villains and the murder of dozens of beautiful young women spread fear through the streets of 18th-century Paris. This intricate gothic fantasy manga is adapted from a popular anime, which in turn was loosely based on the real life Chevalier d'Eon, a spy who lived the second half of his life as a woman. In this tale, a group of possessed poets hunt beautiful young virgins to write their dark poetry in fresh blood on the palms of their victims. Only D'Eon de Beaumont can hunt these vicious murderers. A bumbling yet discreet police officer by day, he is secretly a member of his majesty's private police by night, and with the help of his sister Lia de Beaumont, D'Eon fights the Palms. Lia, also known as the Sphinx, is one of the killer's victims, but her soul enters her brother's body to extract vengeance and help bring salvation to Paris. The popular and award-winning SF writer Ubukata creates fantasy within reality. The deeply involved world of the manga is both gruesome in its content and beautiful in its art, and should draw fans into a seedy historical underworld. (June)