Black Paths

Little Deer Comics Verified independent store

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by David B. published by Self Made Hero. 128 pages, B&W, hardcover, 2007 When the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated after World War I, control of the Adriatic port of Fiume (no w Rieka, Croatia) was hotly disputed. Enter "Pirate King” Gabriele d’Annunzio, an Italian poet who stormed the city with 3,000 Italian nationalists. D’Annunzio declared Fiume a free republic and himself commander. He envisioned a utopian city-state, but Fiume quickly became a surreal center of violence, looting, and decadence, with shades of the Fascist movement to come. Acclaimed comics artist David B. uses this real event as a backdrop and seamlessly weaves history, hysteria, and highly stylized art into the tragic love story of a beautiful torch singer and a young soldier haunted by the horrors of trench warfare. Praise for Black Paths:David B. draws with the chaotic, high-contrast style he used in his best-known work, Epileptic, to capture the distressed, surreal mood of artists struggling to run the world.” Show more