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The Armed Garden And Other Stories
David B., the creator of the acclaimed Epileptic, gives full rein to his fascination with history, magic and gods, not to mention grand battles, in this literate, witty, and absorbing collection of stories — all based on historical fact, or at least historical legend, and delineated in a striking stylized two-color format.
“The Veiled Prophet”: During the 8th century (the time of Harun al-Rashid, the Caliph of 1001 Nights fame), Hakim al-Muqanna, the lowly Persian fabric dyer, is assaulted and enveloped by a piece of white cloth come from the sky. When a bystander recognizes in the folds of the cloth the visage of Abu-Muslim, defender of the oppressed, al-Muqanna becomes a prophet and great leader — and within a year his followers have defeated seven armies sent to stop him!
“The Armed Garden,” set in the 15th century, tells the story of the bloody quest for a Paradise on Earth. Rohan, a humble Prague blacksmith, is visited by Adam and Even who urge him lead his followers, soon dubbed “Adamites,” on this mission. They soon must contend, bloodily, with the rival Paradise-seekers the “Taborites,” led by John Zizka.
“The Drum Who Fell in Love,” a sequel of sorts, begins with Zizka’s death: His people have him skinned and his skin stripped onto a drum, and the drum, speaking in Zizka’s voice, leads the Taborites into battle anew. But the touch of a beautiful girl softens Zizka’s spirit, and the unlikely couple begin a journey together…
“The Veiled Prophet”: During the 8th century (the time of Harun al-Rashid, the Caliph of 1001 Nights fame), Hakim al-Muqanna, the lowly Persian fabric dyer, is assaulted and enveloped by a piece of white cloth come from the sky. When a bystander recognizes in the folds of the cloth the visage of Abu-Muslim, defender of the oppressed, al-Muqanna becomes a prophet and great leader — and within a year his followers have defeated seven armies sent to stop him!
“The Armed Garden,” set in the 15th century, tells the story of the bloody quest for a Paradise on Earth. Rohan, a humble Prague blacksmith, is visited by Adam and Even who urge him lead his followers, soon dubbed “Adamites,” on this mission. They soon must contend, bloodily, with the rival Paradise-seekers the “Taborites,” led by John Zizka.
“The Drum Who Fell in Love,” a sequel of sorts, begins with Zizka’s death: His people have him skinned and his skin stripped onto a drum, and the drum, speaking in Zizka’s voice, leads the Taborites into battle anew. But the touch of a beautiful girl softens Zizka’s spirit, and the unlikely couple begin a journey together…
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
402 people want to read
About the author
David B.
133 books204 followersPierre-François Beauchard, who uses the pen name David B., was one of the initiators of the French alternative editorial house L'Association, and is now well-known among the French comics audience. After his Applied Arts studies, David B. had his first publications in magazines such as Chic, Circus, Okapi and A Suivre. Among his early creations are 'Le Timbre Maudit', a story published in Okapi, and 'the mini-series 'Zèbre' in Chic. As a scenarist, he cooperated with Olivier Legan on 'Pas de Samba pour Capitaine Tonnerre', an album published by Glénat in 1985.
After he co-founded L'Association in 1990, he began using the pseudonym David B. and specialized in short black-and-white stories, detailing nightmarish dreams, collected in the album 'Le Cheval Blême' in 1992. As powerful as his dream imagery is in itself, it is amplified by his masterful use of black and white drawings. In the Association's magazine Lapin, he published series like 'Le Prophète Voilé', 'Le Jardin Armé' and 'Le Voyage de l'Est'. From 1996, Beauchard has concentrated on the autobiographical series 'L'Ascension du Haut-Mal', which earned him the highest praise from comics critics.
In addition to his work for L'Association, David B. cooperated with the publishing house Cornélius, where he published the quarterly comic book Le Nain Jaune from 1993 to 1994, as well as 'Les Quatre Savants' from 1996 to 1998. He was also present in the reviews Fusée and Le Cheval sans Tête (with 'Les Incidents de la Nuit'). Also present at Dargaud, he made 'Le Tengû Carré', an allegory of Japanese legends, and the scenarios of 'La Révolte d'Hop Frog' and 'Les Ogres', which were illustrated by Christophe Blain. For the publisher's collection Poisson Pilote, he made 'Urani - la Ville des Mauvais Rêves' (script by Joann Sfar) and 'Les Chercheurs de Trésor'.
After May 2000 David B's work would reach a wider public when his artwork was featured in the collection Aire Libre by the popular publisher Dupuis. After 'Le Capitaine Écarlate' (with artwork by Emmanuel Guibert) in 2000, David wrote and drew the album 'La Lecture des Ruines' in 2001. David B has also been active as an illustrator for Le Seuil, Automne 67, Albin Michel and Coconino Press.
After he co-founded L'Association in 1990, he began using the pseudonym David B. and specialized in short black-and-white stories, detailing nightmarish dreams, collected in the album 'Le Cheval Blême' in 1992. As powerful as his dream imagery is in itself, it is amplified by his masterful use of black and white drawings. In the Association's magazine Lapin, he published series like 'Le Prophète Voilé', 'Le Jardin Armé' and 'Le Voyage de l'Est'. From 1996, Beauchard has concentrated on the autobiographical series 'L'Ascension du Haut-Mal', which earned him the highest praise from comics critics.
In addition to his work for L'Association, David B. cooperated with the publishing house Cornélius, where he published the quarterly comic book Le Nain Jaune from 1993 to 1994, as well as 'Les Quatre Savants' from 1996 to 1998. He was also present in the reviews Fusée and Le Cheval sans Tête (with 'Les Incidents de la Nuit'). Also present at Dargaud, he made 'Le Tengû Carré', an allegory of Japanese legends, and the scenarios of 'La Révolte d'Hop Frog' and 'Les Ogres', which were illustrated by Christophe Blain. For the publisher's collection Poisson Pilote, he made 'Urani - la Ville des Mauvais Rêves' (script by Joann Sfar) and 'Les Chercheurs de Trésor'.
After May 2000 David B's work would reach a wider public when his artwork was featured in the collection Aire Libre by the popular publisher Dupuis. After 'Le Capitaine Écarlate' (with artwork by Emmanuel Guibert) in 2000, David wrote and drew the album 'La Lecture des Ruines' in 2001. David B has also been active as an illustrator for Le Seuil, Automne 67, Albin Michel and Coconino Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 24, 2017
Drums Bound in Human Skin & the Women Who Love Them
I was blown away by the art of David B the first time I encountered it, in a late-nineties/early-aughts French anthology called 'Lapin' ('Rabbit', in English; it was issue 26, pictured above). He was one of the long-running anthology's creators, and a founding member of the seminal French comic publisher, 'L'Association', along with some of the best French auteurs of his generation, including Killoffer, Joann Sfar, and Lewis Trondheim. 'The Armed Garden' collects three stories that were published in the English-language comics anthology 'Mome', each one a grim historical episode united by their macabre oddity and absolutely fucking beautiful artwork, executed in a two-tone wash that demands frequent re-reading for anyone who appreciates the artistic genius of David B.
'The Armed Garden' by David B., published by Fantagraphics:
'Epileptic', his breakthrough on both sides of the Atlantic, is a memoir that recounts the story of how his family coped with his elder brother's severe epilepsy. His long suffering and open-minded parents sought out less-traditional approaches when modern medicine proved ineffective, uprooting the family and criss-crossing France, joining various communes that dedicated themselves to new age philosophies. Most of them had gurus and differed little from cults, stressing various dietary regimes and holistic treatments, some of which seemed to work for a time, but never very long. It's a fascinating picture of the French counter-culture of the 60's and 70's, with whimsical historical digressions pulled from the young auteurs childhood obsessions with blood-stained battlefields and besieged castles, escaping the bizarre domestic circumstances through the same fascination with the brutal, fantastic and profoundly odd twists and turns of history that inspired 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories'.
From 'Epileptic' and the long-awaited sequel, 'Babel':
The young David B avoided the pseudo-science, bullshit philosophies and hippie-infighting to immerse himself in history books, particularly the strangest and most gruesome chapters, often found in military and religious history from various areas and epochs. As a popular and critically acclaimed artist, many of his latest and greatest books indulge this passion. 'Black Paths' takes us to the Italy of the early 20th Century, where artists & poets take movements like Futurism into the realm of the manifesto and revolutionary politics, taking up arms to establsh a city-state separate from Italy, based on social idealism that is far ahead of its time, specifically OF its time, and doomed to failure. 'Best of Enemies' is an ambitious two-volume (so far) series that traces the tangled roots of the millennia-old tensions between the West and the Middle East, using his typically dream-like story-telling to give us a remarkably clear-eyed and fascinating account of this ancient clusterfuck
From 'Black Paths' and 'Best of Enemies', fine examples of his historical fiction and non-fiction, respectively:
In 'The Armed Garden and Other Stories', David B provides some of his most spectacular artwork to date, telling three stories of religious warfare that are among the strangest and most compelling you're likely to hear; obscure episodes from the Dark Ages of Eastern Europe, where a noble general is killed in battle, and his skin used for a drum that a young girl falls in love with... to a terrifying Islamic heretic who is nameless and veiled -- glimpsing his countenance means certain and instant death, but not by any human weapon.
From 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories':
His storytelling is a mix of traditional sequential art and illustration, relying heavily on narrative captions more than dialogue bubbles, with gorgeously composed pages; I recall an issue of The Comics Journal from 2001 or 2002, guest-edited by the Fort Thunder crew at the pinnacle of their defiant snottiness, which had an online chat transcribed in micro-fine print on the bottom of every page. The young cartoonists took a lot of snarky delight in slaughtering a number of the Comics Journal's sacred cows, dismissing Prince Valiant, EC Comics, and representational art in general; this was a trend that continued with some of the Kramer's Ergot and Mome cartoonists, talking more about the artists they hated than the ones that inspired them. I was shocked when a young Dash Shaw attacked his fellow Mome contributor David B. in a bizarrely close-minded attempt to label the work of one of the most original and brilliant masters of BD as something less than sequential art. Fuck Dash Shaw. It seemed like a cheap shot born of jealousy, and he came off as a petty, arrogant prick. There's thrice the power and beauty in this relatively slim volume than the entire stiff, ponderous stack of Shaw's digital doodlings.
From 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories':
For anyone who loves the art and artistic possibilities of the medium, David B should be high on your list. He's too good, too stylistically original and quietly, unpretentiously profound to ignore. The Armed Garden is a great place to start, as is 'The Littlest Pirate King', an adapted 48-page mini-masterpiece that perfectly condenses the power of his storytelling abilities. One of the aspects of sequential art I find thoroughly fascinating is the medium's suitability for exploring the world of dreams in a way that is compelling and convincing, while dream-sequences in literature are something even the best novelists consistently fail at. David B. has captured the essence of dream logic in books like 'Nocturnal Conspiracies' and 'Incidents in the Night' volumes 1 and 2. In fact, most of his prolific career has been devoted to exploring twin obsessions: the human subconscious and history. 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories' feels like a perfect fusion of both... medieval history seen through dreaming eyes.
From 'Incidents in the Night' and 'Nocturnal Conspiracies', two of his brilliant dream exploration stories, and 'The Littlest Pirate King':
Books by David B.. (Sometimes searching his name is difficult, what with the initial and all; Norwegian cartoonist 'Jason' can be even worse):
I was blown away by the art of David B the first time I encountered it, in a late-nineties/early-aughts French anthology called 'Lapin' ('Rabbit', in English; it was issue 26, pictured above). He was one of the long-running anthology's creators, and a founding member of the seminal French comic publisher, 'L'Association', along with some of the best French auteurs of his generation, including Killoffer, Joann Sfar, and Lewis Trondheim. 'The Armed Garden' collects three stories that were published in the English-language comics anthology 'Mome', each one a grim historical episode united by their macabre oddity and absolutely fucking beautiful artwork, executed in a two-tone wash that demands frequent re-reading for anyone who appreciates the artistic genius of David B.
'The Armed Garden' by David B., published by Fantagraphics:
'Epileptic', his breakthrough on both sides of the Atlantic, is a memoir that recounts the story of how his family coped with his elder brother's severe epilepsy. His long suffering and open-minded parents sought out less-traditional approaches when modern medicine proved ineffective, uprooting the family and criss-crossing France, joining various communes that dedicated themselves to new age philosophies. Most of them had gurus and differed little from cults, stressing various dietary regimes and holistic treatments, some of which seemed to work for a time, but never very long. It's a fascinating picture of the French counter-culture of the 60's and 70's, with whimsical historical digressions pulled from the young auteurs childhood obsessions with blood-stained battlefields and besieged castles, escaping the bizarre domestic circumstances through the same fascination with the brutal, fantastic and profoundly odd twists and turns of history that inspired 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories'.
From 'Epileptic' and the long-awaited sequel, 'Babel':
The young David B avoided the pseudo-science, bullshit philosophies and hippie-infighting to immerse himself in history books, particularly the strangest and most gruesome chapters, often found in military and religious history from various areas and epochs. As a popular and critically acclaimed artist, many of his latest and greatest books indulge this passion. 'Black Paths' takes us to the Italy of the early 20th Century, where artists & poets take movements like Futurism into the realm of the manifesto and revolutionary politics, taking up arms to establsh a city-state separate from Italy, based on social idealism that is far ahead of its time, specifically OF its time, and doomed to failure. 'Best of Enemies' is an ambitious two-volume (so far) series that traces the tangled roots of the millennia-old tensions between the West and the Middle East, using his typically dream-like story-telling to give us a remarkably clear-eyed and fascinating account of this ancient clusterfuck
From 'Black Paths' and 'Best of Enemies', fine examples of his historical fiction and non-fiction, respectively:
In 'The Armed Garden and Other Stories', David B provides some of his most spectacular artwork to date, telling three stories of religious warfare that are among the strangest and most compelling you're likely to hear; obscure episodes from the Dark Ages of Eastern Europe, where a noble general is killed in battle, and his skin used for a drum that a young girl falls in love with... to a terrifying Islamic heretic who is nameless and veiled -- glimpsing his countenance means certain and instant death, but not by any human weapon.
From 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories':
His storytelling is a mix of traditional sequential art and illustration, relying heavily on narrative captions more than dialogue bubbles, with gorgeously composed pages; I recall an issue of The Comics Journal from 2001 or 2002, guest-edited by the Fort Thunder crew at the pinnacle of their defiant snottiness, which had an online chat transcribed in micro-fine print on the bottom of every page. The young cartoonists took a lot of snarky delight in slaughtering a number of the Comics Journal's sacred cows, dismissing Prince Valiant, EC Comics, and representational art in general; this was a trend that continued with some of the Kramer's Ergot and Mome cartoonists, talking more about the artists they hated than the ones that inspired them. I was shocked when a young Dash Shaw attacked his fellow Mome contributor David B. in a bizarrely close-minded attempt to label the work of one of the most original and brilliant masters of BD as something less than sequential art. Fuck Dash Shaw. It seemed like a cheap shot born of jealousy, and he came off as a petty, arrogant prick. There's thrice the power and beauty in this relatively slim volume than the entire stiff, ponderous stack of Shaw's digital doodlings.
From 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories':
For anyone who loves the art and artistic possibilities of the medium, David B should be high on your list. He's too good, too stylistically original and quietly, unpretentiously profound to ignore. The Armed Garden is a great place to start, as is 'The Littlest Pirate King', an adapted 48-page mini-masterpiece that perfectly condenses the power of his storytelling abilities. One of the aspects of sequential art I find thoroughly fascinating is the medium's suitability for exploring the world of dreams in a way that is compelling and convincing, while dream-sequences in literature are something even the best novelists consistently fail at. David B. has captured the essence of dream logic in books like 'Nocturnal Conspiracies' and 'Incidents in the Night' volumes 1 and 2. In fact, most of his prolific career has been devoted to exploring twin obsessions: the human subconscious and history. 'The Armed Garden & Other Stories' feels like a perfect fusion of both... medieval history seen through dreaming eyes.
From 'Incidents in the Night' and 'Nocturnal Conspiracies', two of his brilliant dream exploration stories, and 'The Littlest Pirate King':
Books by David B.. (Sometimes searching his name is difficult, what with the initial and all; Norwegian cartoonist 'Jason' can be even worse):
October 10, 2025
Strange and original...try it. If you have not encountered David B. yet then this would be an excellent 'gateway' book to enter into! Magical and surreal, containing elements of folklore that add a timelessness to the tales. The art is amazing; if I had to try to describe it I would call it an 'echo' of Robert Crumb and Steve Ditko!
December 2, 2011
This was pretty badass.
I was all euh why am I reading about Muslim stories after I just finished a definitive comic book on Muslim stories. With not entirely dissimilar swirly-exact artwork. But no, this was an entirely different type of thing -- The Veiled Prophet was one of those existential tales of old that was eerie and sad and boundlessly frightening as the seas, just because of a dude with a giant turban. The other two stories were related to the religious revolts of the Adamites and the Taborites -- that perfect blend of medieval religious fervor and absurdity in ladies making love to drums, men turning into false suns, paths to paradise and hell, that make no sense and at the same time, all the sense in the world. The beauty and terror of legend, largely forgotten in our rational present day, is well realized here. David B. does it without too much flourish or commentary, and it is much appreciated. I hope there is more where this comes from.
I was all euh why am I reading about Muslim stories after I just finished a definitive comic book on Muslim stories. With not entirely dissimilar swirly-exact artwork. But no, this was an entirely different type of thing -- The Veiled Prophet was one of those existential tales of old that was eerie and sad and boundlessly frightening as the seas, just because of a dude with a giant turban. The other two stories were related to the religious revolts of the Adamites and the Taborites -- that perfect blend of medieval religious fervor and absurdity in ladies making love to drums, men turning into false suns, paths to paradise and hell, that make no sense and at the same time, all the sense in the world. The beauty and terror of legend, largely forgotten in our rational present day, is well realized here. David B. does it without too much flourish or commentary, and it is much appreciated. I hope there is more where this comes from.
December 6, 2011
This is an absolutely brilliant collection representing one of the world's premier graphic novelists at the top of his game. Although these pieces previously appeared in the pages of Mome, it is rewarding to have them gathered together in a single volume featuring larger page impressions than English-speaking readers have previously seen for these same works. David B's work is outstanding on every level - stunningly beautiful pen work, highly original story-telling, and well-conceived page layouts that manage to serve as thought-provoking eye candy. David B is an amazing talent, and The Armed Garden further demonstrates the wonderful creations that are his stock-in-trade.
October 19, 2011
Bizarre and badass Christian and Persian legends from the eighth and fifteenth centuries. David B rubs some brown watercolors over his drawings which somehow makes his style a lot more appealing to me than it was in EPILEPTIC. The color scheme reminds me of Jason's IRON WAGON, but in that book the drab colors made an already boring story seem even worse, and here I guess it reminds me of a crumbly parchment, I like it. If you look closely at the pages though you notice that some of the drawings are little bit pixely, like maybe Fantagraphics printed the pages just slightly bigger than they were originally drawn, or like maybe this was printed in some dude's office. I also wish there would have been a paragraph or two about where these stories came from, cuz now that I've read these I wanna go on some more historical/metaphysical/Christian/Muslim/Zoroastrian adventures.
September 20, 2013
Great art work, especially. I preferred his memoir, Epileptic, which I thought was terrific, but these part history, part legend/part fantasy stories do help to work toward B's strengths as a "fantasy" artist (some of the best sequences in Epileptic are those that help us imagine what a Grand Mal Seizure might have been like for his brother..). The art is the thing to spend most of your time reading, in these tales.
June 25, 2012
History and Mythology are often intermingled in David B.'s wonderful, beautiful, and imaginative stories. I know I had already read at least one of the stories, but it didn't matter I was glad to re-read them.
I love his drawing style!
I love his drawing style!
March 29, 2015
D...damn.
March 24, 2025
The Armed Garden wasn’t David B’s best work. Although I loved how he portrayed a national hero, Al-Muqanna, in the first story, the artwork wasn’t as surreal as his previous works, and the storytelling lacked the same impact.
June 10, 2022
Not what I thought it was going to be, but still not bad. A unique combination of history and fantasy, with way more nudity than I’d anticipated lol
November 8, 2024
What a trip
December 29, 2011
The book contains three long-ish stories; The Veiled Prophet, The Armed Garden, and The Drum Who Fell in Love. All three books contain David B's unique drawing style which lends itself nicely to the surreal nature of the stories.
The first story has something of the 1001 Arabian Nights about it, telling the tale of a prophet whose face is covered by a veil and the quest others took upon themselves to see beyond it. I'm not sure if this story is an original by David B or is an adaptation from the Muslim faith or another book, but it's mythical and religious overtones make it seem that way.
The Armed Garden tells of a blacksmith who becomes convinced that he is doing the work of the Lord and that Eve is telling him to seek out Paradise, which inevitably ends badly.
The Drum Who Fell in Love concerns a real historical figure, Jan Zizka, a 15th century Czech general who died in 1424. His followers have his skin taken off of him, tanned, and turned into a drum. Whenever the drum is beaten, Zizka's ghost appears and joins them in battle.
All of the stories are imaginative and well-illustrated but the way they're told is not very involving for the reader - this person did this, they were told this, they did this, that happened - it feels very much like you're reading a story so you're never lost in it, you're too aware for that to happen. Also the overly religious and mythical tones were quite off-putting as they never felt like they made the stories better, rather it made them seem more silly and story-like (if that makes sense).
I like David B's work but "The Armed Garden and Other Stories" is not his best book and, were it not for some explicit scenes, I would say it would be more suited to children who are perhaps less judgmental about the flaws in the book and more ready to accept the way the stories unfold. For anyone curious about David B I would direct them to his best book yet, "Epileptic", rather than this one.
The first story has something of the 1001 Arabian Nights about it, telling the tale of a prophet whose face is covered by a veil and the quest others took upon themselves to see beyond it. I'm not sure if this story is an original by David B or is an adaptation from the Muslim faith or another book, but it's mythical and religious overtones make it seem that way.
The Armed Garden tells of a blacksmith who becomes convinced that he is doing the work of the Lord and that Eve is telling him to seek out Paradise, which inevitably ends badly.
The Drum Who Fell in Love concerns a real historical figure, Jan Zizka, a 15th century Czech general who died in 1424. His followers have his skin taken off of him, tanned, and turned into a drum. Whenever the drum is beaten, Zizka's ghost appears and joins them in battle.
All of the stories are imaginative and well-illustrated but the way they're told is not very involving for the reader - this person did this, they were told this, they did this, that happened - it feels very much like you're reading a story so you're never lost in it, you're too aware for that to happen. Also the overly religious and mythical tones were quite off-putting as they never felt like they made the stories better, rather it made them seem more silly and story-like (if that makes sense).
I like David B's work but "The Armed Garden and Other Stories" is not his best book and, were it not for some explicit scenes, I would say it would be more suited to children who are perhaps less judgmental about the flaws in the book and more ready to accept the way the stories unfold. For anyone curious about David B I would direct them to his best book yet, "Epileptic", rather than this one.
January 10, 2018
Trio satirických pohledů na náboženské půtky, lídry, proroky apod. První "arabská" povídka je zdaleka nejlepší; je vypointovaná, má nápady a skvěle pracuje s mystičnem. Druhá "husitská" odvážně variuje tuzemskou historii, ale je to průběhem až příliš to samé co ta první; jen v horším provedení a bez pointy. No a finální "žižkovská" povídka už je čistá haluz, kde snaha o originalitu za každou cenu naprosto zabijí jakoukoli strukturu.
Výsledek je každopádně hodný pozornosti (a to nejen kvůli dvěma "našim" povídkám) i nesporně zajímavý, akorát není příliš dobrý.
Výsledek je každopádně hodný pozornosti (a to nejen kvůli dvěma "našim" povídkám) i nesporně zajímavý, akorát není příliš dobrý.
February 17, 2013
David B's illustrations are flawless, and the stories here are pretty interesting. I'd read parts of them in MOME but I don't think I actually read any of the stories in this book in their entirety before now. I enjoyed Epileptic more, partly because I really like autobiographical graphic novels but also because it just felt like a much stronger story. Nonetheless, I thought this was a fun read and would definitely recommend it based on the illustrations alone.
October 16, 2013
Beautifully drawn, and memorably told, this is a dream-like exploration of Persian and Christian mythology. It's very dark, almost nightmare-like at times, and light and cartoonish at other times. The writer/artist is clearly talented, and I enjoyed his versions of these stories. I'm not sure I'd ever re-read it, but it was well worth the journey.
July 26, 2023
Perfectly-realized mythic tales of blasphemers, prophets, warriors, and women. The narrative tone is in complete accord with David B.'s incredible sepia ink illustrations. Design, pacing, style, meaning, everything in this slim collection of 3 tales is frankly perfect. For fans of Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, and the 1001 Nights.
August 22, 2013
Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant are 3 short stories by David B. Mythic and heretical and full of passion and longing. Not only am I thoroughly enchanted by these stories but I am intensely curious about the historical Al-Muqanna, Jan Zizka & the Adamites. David's artwork is exquisite.
June 24, 2015
Lovely! Part fable, part history, part mysticism, these three tales by David B. are decidedly good. He has a knack for writing things that get under your skin and itch. Of the three, my favorite is probably, "The Veiled Prophet." The more I see of his work, the more I like it.
October 8, 2011
Best known for his autobiographical graphic novel, Epileptic, David B. has created three incredible fairy tales based on medieval Christian and Muslim history and mysticism.
February 16, 2012
weird, the first story had a great ending, but the others.....
November 3, 2015
Dafuq did I read?
Jan Žižka bojuje ve vesmíru se Sluncem. Jan Žižka je kouzelný buben. Duch Jana Žižky vyvolává mrtvé tábority.
.
.
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Ne, fakt nejsem zhulený. V tom komiksu to je.
Jan Žižka bojuje ve vesmíru se Sluncem. Jan Žižka je kouzelný buben. Duch Jana Žižky vyvolává mrtvé tábority.
.
.
.
Ne, fakt nejsem zhulený. V tom komiksu to je.
August 14, 2018
This is the second time I read this book, though I don't remember when I first read it. It has kind of lurked in the back of my mind since then and was brought back to active regard by listening to the lecture series, The Terror of History and also stumbling across the book Hasib and the Queen of Serpents, which is by the same author.
I found that my memory of this work wasn't particularly clear (in particular, I'd pretty much forgotten the first story, "The Veiled Prophet", probably because it isn't connected like the other two are). But I can also see why it stuck with me. As with other works by David B. that I have read, there is this very matter-of-fact way in which in which the narration advances into weirdness, as well as art that has a simple, cartoonish abstraction to it, yet is also incredibly lively and detailed.
In the first story, I like the weird scale of things, the way that what lies under the veil is somehow a well in a desert with a giant turban-moon overhead instead of a face. I like how Masrur is drawn with black eyes and white pupils. And I like the twist ending and how it leaves as a question the will of god.
That is also an open question in the second story, "The Armed Garden". The Adamites (which I sadly realized were not one of the heresies mentioned in The Terror of History), are explicitly said to have strayed from the true path, but they also have some sort of mystical power, working in conjunction with wild beasts and animate trees, and ultimately merging with creation. Things that stand out for me are that horrible savage army of armed, naked people accompanied by beasts and trees wielding weapons; how when Zizka is first introduced, he is drawn with a goose and no explanation is given, and it isn't for a chapter or two before the goose is suddenly important; Zizka's warpick is cool looking, with a head modeled like a hand grasping a dagger or spike.
The third story should really be title "The Girl Who Fell in Love with a Drum" in my opinion, since the girl is the more active character. It is interesting how much time passes in these stories: the Adamites begin around 1415, Zizka dies in 1424, but it isn't until 1434 that his army falls and the girl makes off with the drum. Also, I like how Jesus is portrayed in this story: mostly similar to common Western European iconography, but the sword he wears calls to mind the Heiland, an Old Saxon poem adapting the story of Jesus to a more rugged adventurism appropriate for the target audience; and I also like his sort of indirect, almost riddling manner, in line with various mystic traditions, though perhaps not with mainstream Christianity.
I realize that the last two stories stuck with me most because they helped inform my view of the European Wars of Religion, though I realize now that the events depicted are about a century to early and were part of an entirely different schism within the church. Still, the brutality, fanaticism, and madness seem to match what I have heard of that period of history.
I found that my memory of this work wasn't particularly clear (in particular, I'd pretty much forgotten the first story, "The Veiled Prophet", probably because it isn't connected like the other two are). But I can also see why it stuck with me. As with other works by David B. that I have read, there is this very matter-of-fact way in which in which the narration advances into weirdness, as well as art that has a simple, cartoonish abstraction to it, yet is also incredibly lively and detailed.
In the first story, I like the weird scale of things, the way that what lies under the veil is somehow a well in a desert with a giant turban-moon overhead instead of a face. I like how Masrur is drawn with black eyes and white pupils. And I like the twist ending and how it leaves as a question the will of god.
That is also an open question in the second story, "The Armed Garden". The Adamites (which I sadly realized were not one of the heresies mentioned in The Terror of History), are explicitly said to have strayed from the true path, but they also have some sort of mystical power, working in conjunction with wild beasts and animate trees, and ultimately merging with creation. Things that stand out for me are that horrible savage army of armed, naked people accompanied by beasts and trees wielding weapons; how when Zizka is first introduced, he is drawn with a goose and no explanation is given, and it isn't for a chapter or two before the goose is suddenly important; Zizka's warpick is cool looking, with a head modeled like a hand grasping a dagger or spike.
The third story should really be title "The Girl Who Fell in Love with a Drum" in my opinion, since the girl is the more active character. It is interesting how much time passes in these stories: the Adamites begin around 1415, Zizka dies in 1424, but it isn't until 1434 that his army falls and the girl makes off with the drum. Also, I like how Jesus is portrayed in this story: mostly similar to common Western European iconography, but the sword he wears calls to mind the Heiland, an Old Saxon poem adapting the story of Jesus to a more rugged adventurism appropriate for the target audience; and I also like his sort of indirect, almost riddling manner, in line with various mystic traditions, though perhaps not with mainstream Christianity.
I realize that the last two stories stuck with me most because they helped inform my view of the European Wars of Religion, though I realize now that the events depicted are about a century to early and were part of an entirely different schism within the church. Still, the brutality, fanaticism, and madness seem to match what I have heard of that period of history.
June 7, 2023
A lightly humorous, yet epic telling of historical legends spanning medieval Europe and the Middle East. The first story in the collection, "The Veiled Prophet", was easily my favorite. It follows a dyer who accidently is struck in the face by a blanket, but the local populace sees this as a sign and hail him as a prophet. They rally around him to rebel against the local caliphate and it leads to a bloody scuffle between the factions. It's clear how silly the story is, but the grandiose artwork does the story justice by also taking it seriously enough. The other two stories, "The Armed Garden" and "The Drum Who Fell in Love" are connected and they follow the Adamites, a group of early Christians that practiced religious nudity. They come into conflict with Jan Žižka, and the ensuing conflicts are witty, wild and wonderful to behold. The fun storytelling is accentuated by David B.'s sharp cartooning which evokes similar imagery found in religious and mythological texts. Those who have read his memoir, Epileptic, will be familiar with this style since there were similar sequences in that book. This was a really fun book, which is a sharp contrast to Epileptic which was undoubtedly a dire read.
April 6, 2018
It has been a while since I read 'Epileptic' which is considered his master-piece, but I think I enjoyed this more. I had a lot less of a problem with David B. using his wild thick hallucinogenic inks and umbers to create the wild mytho-religious phantasmagorias of the prophets, fanatics and warriors in these three stories than I did with his more autobiographical material with his brother and family in the earlier work. While I don't think these stories claim strict historical accuracy to the time and place of One Thousand and One Nights or medieval Europe, it does feel like they evoke how people might have looked at the world back then.
January 26, 2019
I liked that this was a bizarre look into Persian and Christian mythology, but it didn't do much for me. I don't know if it was the pacing or the lack of color, but I kept wishing for it to end and finding it too weird to even find it fun to guess what the ending would be. This is my first comic by David B. and it seems like the other reviews really were about liking his style and getting a better understanding of his work from others that he's done. Maybe I'll revisit it someday, and I'll be enlightened having read more, but for now I'm staying with my two star assessment.
December 21, 2016
This is quite the complex story.
I don't think I understood any of the individual stories perfectly the first time, and I don't think that was necessarily meant to happen. There's an aesthetic to this book, something wonderful and wonderfully confusing.
I think I'll check it out again another time and see if I understand it better then.
For now: great art, gorgeous stories.
I don't think I understood any of the individual stories perfectly the first time, and I don't think that was necessarily meant to happen. There's an aesthetic to this book, something wonderful and wonderfully confusing.
I think I'll check it out again another time and see if I understand it better then.
For now: great art, gorgeous stories.
December 20, 2020
These were bit odd for the kinds of stories I'm used to, especially in graphic novel form, but I know they aren't odd for their own genre of storytelling. Loved the artwork. Interesting overall but nothing that will stick with me long-term I don't think. Some of the points may have even gone over my head.
January 28, 2018
Místy infantilní kresba a příběh plný zajímavých náboženských podobenství a nápadů. Jedním z nejlepších je asi co by se s lidmi stalo, kdyby dokázali proniknout před biblické stvoření člověka. Ze všech tří povídek jemně kape Lovecraft, a to nejen kvůli stromům s očima.
May 14, 2017
Who cares
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