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“The Cigar That Fell in Love with a Pipe” by David Camus and Nick Abadzis gets UK release next week

By John Freeman on May 9, 2014

Next week (15th May) sees the hardback release of The Cigar That Fell in Love with a Pipe from SelfMadeHero by acclaimed French author David Camus, illustrated by Nick Abadzis, Eisner award-winner for Laika.

An early page from The Cigar That Fell in Love with a Pipe, art by Nick Abadzis

On the eve of the release of his latest movie, The Lady From Shanghai, Orson Welles receives a gift: an admirer has sent him a box of cigars. Rich and full bodied, they are the finest he’s ever tasted. But then these are no ordinary cigars; they’ve been assembled by the most famous cigar roller in Cuba, Conchita Marquez whose colourful story unfolds in the plumed smoke.

David Camus, bestselling French author of the award-winning fantasy novel Knights of the Kingdom, weaves a tale of magical realism around the lives of two of the biggest names from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles, at a time when their marriage was falling apart during the filming of The Lady From Shanghai.

Whilst the dynamics of Orson and Rita help shape the story, it’s the emotional honesty of Conchita’s tragic life that’s at the heart of the book. The dramatic intensity and dreamlike qualities are reflected in the boldly colourful artwork by Nick Abadzis, the Eisner-nominated author of Laika.

It’s already got some good reviews. While Publisher’s Weekly has some criticisms of certain elements the book in their short review it praises Nick’s work, “Abadzis’s page layouts are innovative, and his art adds many layers of charm and tongue-in-cheek humour.”

Nick's layout plans for The Cigar Who Fell in Love with a Pipe, just one image on the book's dedicated tumblr, "Love and Comics" which will take you behind the scenes on the project.

Nick’s layout plans for The Cigar Who Fell in Love with a Pipe, just one image on the book’s dedicated tumblr, “Love and Comics” which takes you behind the scenes on the project.

“The Cigar That Fell in Love With A Pipe is one of my oldest stories,” says David Camus in a special “Director’s Commentary” for the Forbidden International blog which outlines the book’s creation from script to final page. “Before actually writing it, I told the tale to a couple friends of mine, Cécile and Jean-Louis. It was back in 1994, if I remember correctly… I started telling Cécile the first silly story that popped into my head [SNIP] … I was just as surprised and delighted as Cécile to hear it. Don’t ask me where it came from because I haven’t the slightest idea. All I can say is that I’m a huge fan of Orson Welles, who’s always been a source of inspiration for me (or at least since I first discovered him at the age of ten, and was convinced that I’d eventually end my days as he had: fat and smoking cigars).”

A wonderful blend of fact and fiction, The Cigar That Fell In Love With A Pipe weaves romance, history and imagination into a highly original tale that will prove addictive to graphic novel readers and film fans alike.

David Camus is an award-winning writer, whose Knights of the Kingdom won the Prix Relay for best adventure/fantasy novel. He lives in Paris. British-born Nick Abadzis is a writer, artist and editor. His graphic novel Laika won an Eisner Award in 2008. He was recently announced as the writer on Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor, the first ongoing Doctor Who series to be published since the licence transferred to Titan Comics. He now lives in New York.

• David Camus Official web site (in French): www.david-camus.com

• Nick Abadzis Official web site: www.nickabadzis.com

• Nick Abadzis has set up a special tumblr dedicated to this project here

• Author David Camus offers a “Director’s Commentary” on the making of The Cigar Who Fell in Love With a Pipe here on the Forbidden Planet International blog

• SelfMadeHero: The Cigar Who Fell in Love With a Pipe “tag”

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. 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.