Incidents in the Night, Book 2

Nominated for the Eisner Award and L.A. Times Book Prize, the critically acclaimed first volume of David B.’s Incidents in the Night was a (fictional) autobiographical quixotic odyssey written for an imaginary literary journal, which pulled the semifictional protagonist into a dark labyrinth of metaphysics and murder, all inspired by B.’s own dreams. This extraordinary narrative would be a tough act to follow for any graphic novelist, particularly since it ended with his own murder at the hands of Illuminati-like grotesques. But B., a French cartooning innovator best known in the U.S. for The Epileptic, has more stories to tell. Book two neatly sums up the previous action in the first three pages, then plunges deeper into the macabre secrets of a treacherous literary cabal, with reporter Marie and Paris police commissioner Hunborgne (a keenly meta version of fictional French cops like Maigret) in pursuit. The daring, nimble narrative has more bizarre, thought-provoking ideas than an entire shelf of historical conspiracy novels, and the deep shadows and dark streets of Paris are captured in sinister, inky blacks. This is a metaphysical Tintin-esque adventure with a vivid, confident story and artwork to match, as well as a cunning cliffhanger ending to set up volume three. Agent: Nicholas Grivel Agency (May)