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WORK TITLE: The Beautiful Death
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1/9/1987
WEBSITE: http://mathieubablet.ultra-book.com
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: French
http://cinquiemedimension.blogspot.com/
RESEARCHER NOTES: ITs “THE” Beautiful Death.–DP
PERSONAL
Born January 9, 1987.
EDUCATION:Graduated from Ecole Nationale des Arts Appliques et de l’Image (France).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and illustrator.
WRITINGS
Other publications include La belle mort, 2011; Vol Express 666, 2012; Adrastée, Tome 1/2, 2013; Adrastée, Tome 2/2, 2014, Wentikowa, 2014, and Shangri-la, 2016, all published by Ankara. Also author of the blog La Cinquième Dimension.
SIDELIGHTS
French comics writer and illustrator Mathieu Bablet is a longtime fan of horror and low-budget films. The young artist sent his first comic book presentation to the publisher Ankama after graduating from school. Titled “La Belle Mort” in French, or “The Beautiful Death,” the comic quickly became a hit in France. A collection of the series of the comics has been published in English as The Beautiful Death. The story revolves around the invasion of Earth by insect-like aliens of various sizes from outer space. Initially, humanity believed it would be the victor in the battle for the planet. However, humans end up the losers. The graphic novel subsequently follows a small group of misfits in one city who try to survive in a world where the human race is in virtual ruins.
The three main characters in The Beautiful Death, Wayne, Jeremiah, and Soham, are becoming tired of their fight for survival in the empty city. They are also despondent because they believe they are the last people alive on Earth. The three friends bicker among themselves as they continually look for shops or homes that may still have food in them and discuss what the world was like before the alien invaders conquered it. “The world depicted in both the writing and the illustrations is barren and isolating, and the choices that the characters have to make are equally stark, leaving a ‘What would you do’ theme throughout,” wrote a contributor to the Medium website.
As the three began to march across the city once again to look for food to survive, they suddenly see a mysterious sign and decide to investigate. The search leads them surprisingly to another survivor, a strange dark-haired girl named Robin. Initially, it seems as though Robin offers them a new level of hope and mutual companionship. However, before long it is Robin who is at the core of rising divisions among Wayne, Jeremiah, and Soham. Wayne is especially acting in a disgraceful way, leading Jeremiah and Soham to try to control their friend.
Despite their best efforts, Wayne is eventually lost as he is unable to control his actions in a dangerous world. In many ways, Wayne was the anchor among the trio of friends. As a result, Soham and Jeremiah must reconcile their differences, leading them to form what seems to be an unbreakable bond. Meanwhile, Soham is still trying to come to terms with being betrayed by Robin. Still, he has faith that Robin, who seems to have some connection to the aliens, has a plan to fight back, a plan that Jeremiah knows nothing about. As the story progresses, there is a growing sense that something is happening out in the darkness.
Soham and Jeremiah, who temporarily went their own ways, are reunited, becoming increasingly aware that they are likely the last men alive on Earth. They have come together to defeat the evil darkness that has almost destroyed the entire planet. Jeremiah is optimistic about the future, but Soham is less so as he knows the truth that Robin has kept hidden. The truth is that the world of yesteryear is not coming back, and the end of the world may be near.
“Babet’s forceful, haunting visuals fascinate,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor, adding: “This debut heralds the arrival of a comics talent with great potential.” Noting that Bablet’s story does not follow a “traditional plot structure,” Nathan Wilson, writing for the website ICv2: The Business of Geek Culture, went on to comment that The Beautiful Death “succeeds the most … in defying expectations and challenging storytelling tropes.” Alain Elliott, writing for the Nerdly website, commented on the graphic novel’s artwork, calling the illustrations “realistic in a ‘cartoony’ kind of way, with colours that suit the dynamics of what is happening on each page.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, June 11, 2018, review of The Beautiful Death, p. 52.
ONLINE
Comic Bastards, https://comicbastards.com/ (September 27, 2017), Daniel Vlasaty, review of The Beautiful Death.
ICv2: The Business of Geek Culture, https://icv2.com/ (June 4, 2018), Nathan Wilson, review of The Beautiful Death.
Mathieu Bablet website, http://mathieubablet.ultra-book.com (October 15, 2018).
Medium, https://medium.com/ (March 7, 2018), review of The Beautiful Death.
Nerdly, http://www.nerdly.co.uk/ (July 12, 2018), Alain Elliott, review of The Beautiful Death.
Mathieu Bablet is a French creator born in 1987. A fan of horror and series B films, Bablet graduated from the ENAAI in Chambéry (teaching in applied arts & image), and sent a presentation of his first comic book to Ankama editions. The Beautiful Death, or "La Belle Mort", was an immediate hit, recognising this young artist of Grenoble as an incredible talent.
The Beautiful Death
Publishers Weekly. 265.24 (June 11, 2018): p52+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Beautiful Death
Mathieu Bablet, trans. from the French by
Edward Gauvin. Titan Comics, $24.99 (144p), ISBN 978-1-78586-134-5
Babet's sumptuously illustrated tale opens on a melancholic scene, as three young men navigate a city ravaged by alien insects. Initially more Waiting for Godot than Starship Troopers, the three main characters bicker about where to stay, for how long, and about life before the end of the world. They're bored, fed up with each other, and unraveling at the stress of finding ways to stay alive. But the pace accelerates with the introduction of Robin, a woman with a strange connection to the invading insects. From meditating on the postapocalyptic human experience, Babet veers into an action-adventure romp of celestial conspiracies, gunfights, and world saving escapades. Bizarre, intricately drawn elements are introduced, such as when two characters make love surrounded by giant insects, or when a corpse is infested and reanimated by sentient bugs. These eerie set pieces are fantastic individually, showcasing Babet's artistic range, but the story loses all logic. Characters who were once concerned about concrete human issues--like having enough food--are suddenly bounding like superheroes out of building windows, all guns blazing. Still, Babet's forceful, haunting visuals fascinate. This debut heralds the arrival of a comics talent with great potential. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Beautiful Death." Publishers Weekly, 11 June 2018, p. 52+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A542967337/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8b84b0b1. Accessed 30 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A542967337
REVIEW: THE BEAUTIFUL DEATH #1
September 27, 2017
BY DANIEL VLASATY
The Beautiful Death is another book I had never heard of until I saw it pop up on our review list. Maybe I'm just out of the loop. It has been a while since I worked in a shop and had all the important info about every fucking thing happening in the industry right as it was happening. The Beautiful Death is also another book that I jumped right into without knowing a single thing about. It's interesting to read a book like this because I feel like it makes it fresher or something. Like my judgment isn't tainted before I even get to the book if that makes sense. The Beautiful Death is an apocalypse book, and in all honesty, if I knew that beforehand, I might not have even started to read it. Because I'm kind of tired of apocalypse books. There's just been a lot of them lately, and at times I feel like I need a break from the end of the world.
But like I said, I did not know this before I started reading The Beautiful Death. This is the first issue. It's the first issue of the apocalypse book so it's mostly just getting to know the setting and the characters. There is some vague indication of what happened before, why most of the humans in this city – and probably the whole world – are dead. But we are not given that information just yet. Just that it has something to do with insects. Which is intriguing to me. Which leads me to imagine all kinds of different possibilities that could involve insects and the end of the world.
Like I kind of hope it's literally just some normal ass bugs that revolted and took over the world. Or whatever. Just like a fuck-ton of spiders and gnats and centipedes and those roly-poly bugs got together and decided to fuck up the human race. Although I've got a feeling that that's probably not the case. I have a feeling they're insects from outer space. Maybe even Mars. And this is because two of the characters are talking about a movie where bugs take over the world and they're arguing about where the bugs come from, and one of the characters thinks it's Mars.
Beautiful Death cover.png
I don't know. I think that this might be the problem I have with "end of the world" stories. It's a subject that's been done to death and even when you think maybe this book or that creator or whatever can do something really interesting and different and unique, it never ends of working out like that. Most apocalyptic books, in my opinion, end up taking the safe way to the end of the world. Things never end up getting too crazy or "out there."
But it's still too early to tell how The Beautiful Death is going to handle the end of the world. What I will say, though, is so far it's got a pretty decent set-up. Three people alone in a city, scrounging for food, looking for other survivors, trying to avoid the insects. The main problem I have with the story so far is that I kind of find every character (all three of them!) super fucking annoying. But I think that might be the point. I think it might show that they're just human. That they're acting like most other humans would act in a shit situation like this one. Think about it: If you were one of three people left in the city/world/whatever and the other two happened to be your loved ones, close friends or whatever, I'm sure there would come a time when you'd probably start to fucking hate each other something fierce. You just can't spend that much time, in that high-stress of a situation, and not hate each other. Even a little. The problem, though, is this isn't the real world. It's a comic book, and the characters spent a little too much time bickering and just being annoying for my liking. None of them gave me anything to latch onto. But, like most of the books I review, this is only the first issue. Hopefully, they'll grow up or at least stop bickering in the coming issues.
I'm not familiar with Mathieu Bablet. He both writes and illustrates The Beautiful Death. I did enjoy the art for the most part. The characters are kind of boring and without many features, but I thought he killed it on the backgrounds and scenery. They are rich and dense and desolate. They are perfect, and they are probably my favorite part of the book as a whole. The colors are also something that stands out to me. They have a watercolor/digital feel, and I think they add to the feel of the book. The Beautiful Death takes place in an abandoned city, and the beige and tan and gray colors are taking over. There is almost nothing green or living. Which only adds to the feeling of isolation and death that haunts the pages of this book.
All in all, The Beautiful Death is not a bad book. There wasn't anything about it that I outright hated or anything like that. But it just didn’t blow me away either. And it's also almost impossible to tell what kind of book it's going to become from this initial issue. If it's going to be good or bad. Issue #1 just kind of ends, leaving us hanging there. I'm not sure if it's enough to hold me until the second issue comes out. As I said, the one thing this book has going for it is the art, mainly the setting and backgrounds. Also, it's got a great fucking title. But there's the mystery of the insects that has me slightly intrigued. It's probably enough to get me to come back to it again. At least for another issue. Maybe this next one will make it easier to decide if it's worth it or not.
SCORE: 3/5
The Beautiful Death #1
Titan Comics
REVIEW: 'THE BEAUTIFUL DEATH' HC
ICv2 Stars: 5 (out of 5)
Posted by Nathan Wilson on June 4, 2018 @ 1:28 pm CT
Originally released as Le Belle Mort in 2011, The Beautiful Death is the latest offering in Titan Comics’ expanding line of English-language bandes desinnees. Collecting the entire five-issue mini-series, the new hardcover edition includes a cover gallery as well.
The Beautiful Death is a difficult book to assess primarily because the traditional plot structure recognized in most Western fiction is absent. Yes, this is a story of a post-apocalyptic earth devastated by an alien invasion and the efforts of several individuals attempting to survive; yet, epic battles against the alien hordes or wars between survivor clans over resources are nowhere to be found. Instead, The Beautiful Death is more about mood than plot—it is about the everyday efforts at survival, the mundane nature of life, and humanity at its most basic and often violent level.
Combined with sparse dialogue and narration, the opening issues of this epic allow the art to breathe and move the story forward. While the characters may not be that memorable or offer any hero for audiences to champion, this advanced style of science fiction requires more from its readers. An urban nightmare, the richly detailed world Bablet has crafted is more a character than the figures themselves.
Readers expecting the routine premise, static character development, or a well-conceived plot often associated with the dystopian genre will be disappointed by The Beautiful Death. But that is where it succeeds the most—in defying expectations and challenging storytelling tropes. Retailers wanting to diversify their offerings or librarians wanting to expand on their Euro Comics line should look to Titan for The Beautiful Death and other excellent English-language editions (see review for "'Century’s End'" and "'Pacific'").
Doctor YakFollow
Mar 7
Book Review — “The Beautiful Death”: A fantastic post-apocalyptic graphic novel
I enjoy reading, and take immense pleasure from tucking into my Kindle after a long day’s work. However, when I really want to treat myself I like to read Graphic Novels. I offer to the reader that this medium can provide unique experiences through a combination of word and artwork, and should be judged separately from “classical” literature.
The Beautiful Death from Titan Comics
As I love tales of dystopian or post-apocalyptic words, I chanced upon “The Beautiful Death”, a new 5-part series from French creator Mathieu Bablet. This is titled La Belle Mort in French, which undoubtedly sounds more enticing. I glanced at a few scenes and was immediately reminded of some classic horror manga by the Japanese legend which is Kazuo Umezu, as well as the great Junji Ito.
Basically, this is a tale set on our planet, where insects of varying sizes have taken over and humanity, as we know it, has ended. We follow three survivors who are trying to survive in this desolate world, as they follow and repeat their routine of finding a shop or home to get some canned food. They haven’t met anyone else in a long time.
Giant alien caterpillars? Source: Titan Comics
I won’t give much else of the plot away, suffice to say that it is gripping and the relationship between the characters grabs you from the beginning. What I love about this story, and indeed much Japanese manga, is that you can’t take anything for granted. The world and the protagonists are never black-and-white, but multiple shades of grey. Perhaps this is often missing in other graphic novels where there is often a hero we need to “root” for.
The world depicted in both the writing and the illustrations is barren and isolating, and the choices that the characters have to make are equally stark, leaving a “What would you do” theme throughout. The finale to the book left me gasping and has stayed with me for a while. In fact, it has rekindled my love of short-series books, as one can pick them up and finish them in an evening in the time it takes to watch a movie. I’m going to look out for this author in future, and indeed he has opened my eyes to other French artists in this medium.
If you have read this far, please feel free to share any books that you have read. I would be particularly interested in other dystopian or post-apocalyptic stories where the characters are complex and the reader is made to think.
‘The Beautiful Death’ Graphic Novel Review
by Alain Elliott
Written by Mathieu Bablet | Art by Mathieu Bablet | Published by Titan Comics
As far as comic books go, I cant say I’ve read many ‘end of the world-type’ books that didn’t involve zombies. But I have of course watched many films with different ideas, so I was looking forward to see what the graphic novel world had to offer.
The Beautiful Death has a very distinctive and very cool visual style. Realistic in a ‘cartoony’ kind of way, with colours that suit the dynamics of what is happening on each page. Sometimes bright to show the characters of each person and sometimes dark, like the apocalyptic world it is set in. The style works whether it is a group of people chatting or a giant monster attacking them.
The story is unlike any I have read before. With insects this time the ones who have taken over the world. But even that is not as simple as it sounds because when humans and the insects start crossing paths more regularly, things get even more interesting and very strange. We do run through some of the usual things that come from this genre. A group bump into someone new who they’re not sure they can trust, there’s arguments between them all, there’s a big finale to ‘save’ the world. But that’s about it and even these things don’t get boring. Just the insects being the main enemy, gives this an edge that similar stories don’t have.
If there’s any complaints about A Beautiful Death, then it would be that some of the storylines feel a little rushed. Coming and going, it seems, in a matter of seconds. Sometimes you’ll feel like you missed the start of what is being explained and sometimes something ends with you desperate to know more.
The first few pages are great but like a completely different comic to the rest of the novel. It’s serious, almost poetic, kind of too much so but then it takes a complete U-turn in the most perfect way and everything falls into place. It’s a really clever and fun way to start proceedings. And thankfully the overall big story arc stays highly entertaining.