With his last work, Journal d’Italie, David B., one of the masters of French comics, confirms the originality and richness of his artistic career, confronting himself with the narrative intimacy of the diary stile but without falling into a sterile autobiographism.
The first volume of the series Journal d’Italie, subtitled "Trieste Bologna", is coming out in France in January 2010 by Delcourt. It is a fascinating carnet de voyage in which the author explores some Italian towns (Bologna, Trieste, Venice, Parma), dwelling on the atmospheres and mysteries that they arose, with an approach between fascination and sense of strangeness for Italy.
Retracing the stages of David B.’s journey, the reader is immerse in an imaginary and surreal universe, following the thread of the author’s thoughts. Wandering about the streets of Trieste, Venice and Bologna, David B. dwells on eye-catching details from which he builds the stories, the fantastic dimension stand out from the real one.
The stories of this Italian diary show a series of definite references- a films, a book, a news item- that the author revisits through his imagination. In this work can be traced the themes that have always fascinated him: dreams, esoterism, autobiography, and the reminding of historical events and characters.
The imperative black&white graphics of his previous works is enriched in Journal d’Italie with the use of colour, that enriches the atmospheres evoked by the narration.
The Italian version of the first volume of Journal d’Italie (italian translation by Francesca Scala) is going to be published by Coconino Press in occasion of Bilbolbul.