Artist Bryan Talbot has sent us this panel from his final Grandville story – a homage to the late Leo Baxendale, scripted five years ago, penciled and inked about 15 months ago and coloured in January.
“I’m going to dedicate the book to his memory,” Bryan tells us.
The book will be launched in October at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.
Bryan’s art for the cover of Grandville: Force Majeure
Grandville: Force Majeure is written and drawn by graphic novel pioneer Bryan Talbot.
A gang war rages as, wanted for murder, truly alone and outside the law, Detective Inspector LeBrock is on the run from both the police and gangster assassins, the victim of a diabolical scheme to annihilate himself and everyone he holds dear, engineered by mastermind crime lord Tiberius Koenig, one of the most despicable villains in the history of detective fiction.
Fan favourite characters, Detective Sergeant Roderick Ratzi and LeBrock’s vivacious fiancée, Parisian prostitute Billie, are joined by a new badger in town! Enter Tasso, an Italian badger who’s bigger, meaner and uglier than LeBrock – but is he a force for good – or evil?
A battle royale ensues as LeBrock fights against truly outrageous odds. How can he possibly survive?
A fiendishly ingenious story of love, tenacity, treachery and tragedy, this fifth, final and longest stand-alone volume of the Eisner and Hugo Award nominated Grandville series.
“It’s a veritable roller coaster of a detective thriller,” says Bryan, who’s just headed off to the bookstore Cultura in Roubaix, near Lille for a signing with his wife Mary on 29th April, then on to 16th Arras book fair, Coleres du present.
“It features Grandville’s trademark fusion of high-octane excitement and humour, plus deduction on a Holmesian scale as we finally meet LeBrock’s mentor, Stamford Hawksmoor, and discover LeBrock’s untold backstory.”
Prepare to be royally badgered!
• For all the latest on Grandville and Bryan’s other projects and his latest appearances visit www.bryan-talbot.com or follow Bryan official fan Twitter @bryan_talbot
• Pre-order Grandville – Force Majeure through amazon.co.uk (using this link helps support downthetubes)
• Buy all the Grandville volumes so far from Page 45 Nottingham
John Freeman
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek Magazine) and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of "Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies" for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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