Epileptic (Signed First Edition)

David B. (aka Pierre-François "David" Beauchard)

ISBN 10: 0375423184 / ISBN 13: 9780375423185

Published by Pantheon Books (New York), 2005

About this Item

SIGNED first edition. First printing. Hardbound. Very Fine/Very Fine in all respects. A brand new, pristine unread copy, never opened except for signing. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on title page, and he has also drawn a delightful illustration of a book with a face inside it. No inscriptions. Smoke free shop. All books shipped in well padded boxes with bubblewrap. Comes with archival-quality dust jacket protector. Pierre-François "David" Beauchard), who uses the pen name David B., is a French comic book artist and writer, and one of the founders of L'Association. Seller Inventory # CASE1-944

Bibliographic Details

Title: Epileptic (Signed First Edition)

Publisher: Pantheon Books (New York)

Publication Date: 2005

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: New

Dust Jacket Condition: New

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Hailed by The Comics Journal as one of Europe’s most important and innovative comics artists, David B. has created a masterpiece in Epileptic, his stunning and emotionally resonant autobiography about growing up with an epileptic brother. Epileptic gathers together and makes available in English for the first time all six volumes of the internationally acclaimed graphic work.

David B. was born Pierre-François Beauchard in a small town near Orléans, France. He spent an idyllic early childhood playing with the neighborhood kids and, along with his older brother, Jean-Christophe, ganging up on his little sister, Florence. But their lives changed abruptly when Jean-Christophe was struck with epilepsy at age eleven. In search of a cure, their parents dragged the family to acupuncturists and magnetic therapists, to mediums and macrobiotic communes. But every new cure ended in disappointment as Jean-Christophe, after brief periods of remission, would only get worse.

Angry at his brother for abandoning him and at all the quacks who offered them false hope, Pierre-François learned to cope by drawing fantastically elaborate battle scenes, creating images that provide a fascinating window into his interior life. An honest and horrifying portrait of the disease and of the pain and fear it sowed in the family, Epileptic is also a moving depiction of one family’s intricate history. Through flashbacks, we are introduced to the stories of Pierre-François’s grandparents and we relive his grandfathers’ experiences in both World Wars. We follow Pierre-François through his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, all the while charting his complicated relationship with his brother and Jean-Christophe”s losing battle with epilepsy. Illustrated with beautiful and striking black-and-white images, Epileptic is as astonishing, intimate, and heartbreaking as the best literary memoir.

About the Author:

David B. is a founding member of L Association, a group of French cartoonists who banded together as publishers in 1990 and have revolutionized European comics with their groundbreaking approach to format, subject matter, and style. He has received many awards, including the French Alph Art award for comics excellence in 2000, and he was cited as European Cartoonist of the Year in 1998 by The Comics Journal. He lives in France.