Back in May, French publisher Éditions Delcourt published Elon Musk: Enquête sur un nouveau maître du monde (titled, in English, “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter”) by British comic artist and writer Darryl Cunningham – his latest graphic biography. But, so far, no English-language publisher has picked up the publishing rights for this new book about the controversial South African billionaire.
ComicsBeat reports that Darryl took to his Patreon page to share that publishers are apparently “frightened about the potential legal repercussions of releasing the book”.
“I’m told that there was interest from various international publishers at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair, but there was concern over possible legal consequences,” he explained. “This shouldn’t be a problem, as I was careful not to write anything that hadn’t already been published elsewhere and Delcourt’s lawyers examined every word and line for problems.
“Nevertheless, we live now in a climate of fear where the worst people have immense power, and because of this there’s going to be a tendency for individuals, institutions, businesses, and the state to run for cover. Big thanks to Delcourt for having the courage to publish the book.”
It seems a bit surprising that there’s such reticence, particularly when you consider that Myriad Editions had no qualms about publishing his previous biography, Putin’s Russia: The Rise of a Dictator. Surely that carried more danger than a new biography about Musk, whose life and work has been documented several times, by Ashlee Vance in Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future in 2016, published by Virgin Books; K Connors self-published work, Elon Musk: The Founder of Tesla, Paypal, and Space X; Elon Musk: A Biography of an Entrepreneur by Joseph Greene; and, most recently, SpaceX: Elon Musk and the Final Frontier by Brad Bergan, released in April, and Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk, published by Simon & Schuster in July (promoted with the line, “is Musk a genius or a jerk?, which didn’t stop it climbing the the Number One spot in the book sales charts).
For those who’d like to read Darryl’s latest book in its French edition, copies of Elon Musk: Enquête sur un nouveau maître du monde are available from AmazonUK (physical and digital), and you may be able to order it elsewhere- although OK Comics in Leeds has already sold out of its stock.
“Who is Elon Musk really?” the book’s promotional copy asks. “From his childhood in South Africa to his arrival in the United States, from the creation of Zip2 to that of PayPal, from the birth of SpaceX to that of Tesla and the takeover of Twitter, the success and personality of Elon Musk leave no one indifferent. Darryl Cunningham, author of Putin: The Rise of a Dictator, has conducted a painstaking investigation dissecting the personal life and spectacular professional career of one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. A fascinating piece of investigative work, unique in comics.”
French critics in general praised Darryl’s depth of investigation, but some found the style of the book, working to a six-panel grid, sometimes heavily worded, a little off-putting – but praised his research.
Darryl has shared a few pages of the book in English, the book titled Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, to whet the appetite of the curious. These show the political and family environment that formed Elon Musk.
“Knowing what I know about the man, my conclusion is that it’s incredible that such a mediocre figure can amass such wealth, but it was ever thus,” Darryl comments.
Perhaps some enterprising English language publisher, now alerted to the book’s existence, will get in contact with Darryl and consider it for release.
UPDATE: Darryl has announced today that since reports about his book first appeared, he has been interviewed about it by The Observer and The Washington Post – and says one US publisher has been in touch to show interest in the book.
• Elon Musk: Enquête sur un nouveau maître du monde (“Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter”) by Darryl Cunningham is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link, French edition) | ISBN: 978-2413086123 | 184 Pages
• Darryl Cunningham is online on Patreon | Instagram | X
Reviews – in French
• ActuaBD: Elon Musk: l’enquête en BD
• Ligne Claire: Elon Musk, qui est-il vraiment?
• Le Quotidien: [BD] Mais qui est vraiment Elon Musk?
• ToutenBD.com: ELON MUSK – Enquête sur un nouveau maître du monde
- About the Author
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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. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 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: Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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