164 - David B

David B DAVID B THE ASCENT OF THE GREAT EVIL Complete Collection, L'Association 2011 Original front and back covers. Indian ink on paper. Each: 48.3 × 46 cm (19.02 × 18.11 in.) *L'Ascension du Haut Mal*, whose two cover panels for the complete edition are featured here, is a landmark graphic novel that, in the mid-1990s—five years before Marjane Satrapi’s *Persepolis*—established L’Association as the leading French publisher of the era. David B (who discovered Marjane Satrapi) is one of its founders. A pioneer of the autobiographical genre—which has become something of a hallmark of the imprint led by Jean-Christophe Menu—David B recounts his unique childhood within a communal family devoted to macrobiotics, and his close bond with his older brother, who suffered from epilepsy. This cover, featuring a portrait of the two brothers, aptly captures the essence of this graphic novel, in which memories and dreamlike scenes are intimately intertwined.