Incidents in the night. Book two /

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) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

B. (Epileptic) is an artist of the night-nearly all of his work transpires against a dark background and has a haunted, playful aura. Furthermore, his stories often point inward to other stories-literary, mythological, and personal. The second volume of Incidents is an excellent, if not terribly accessible, example of his artistic project. It finds David B. the narrator (distinguished from B. the author) recently killed by a spectral gang. His epileptic brother, an unsavory police commissioner, an ingénue, and a cranky bookseller are intent on solving his murder. But the plot's not the point-it's more a vehicle for exploring an underground world of Parisian literary magic in which mystical bookshops serve as linchpins to the city's secrets. There are mystery, mythology, and flights of fancy here, compelling in close-up but disjointed and muddled as a larger story. Nonetheless, B.'s illustrations of inhabitants of this shadow world and the winding maze of literary tradition he travels draw you back in again and again. Verdict Intrigues visually and piques one's curiosity, but a willfully murky story line may frustrate the tantalized reader's interest.-Emilia Packard, Austin, TX © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.