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Nikopol #2
A mulher armadilha
Jill Bioskop, journaliste, apprend la mort de son fiancé : John. Pendant ce temps, Horus se libère de la pierre, il tue sauvagement ceux qui passent à sa portée, et ceux qui le porte dans leur corps meurent rapidement. Nikopol, toujours dans un hôpital, sort de sa torpeur, et apprends l'histoire de Jill et l'évasion d'Horus grâce au chat télépathe.
Il retrouve Horus et lui propose un marché : il veut bien l'accueillir dans son corps si celui-ci arrête la boucherie, et lui permet de vivre « des trucs inédits ». Horus accepte, et ils rejoignent Jill Bioskop, complètement désorientée, convaincue d'avoir tué tour à tour trois hommes (mais est-ce un rêve ou une réalité ?). Une longue histoire d'amour commence entre Jill et Nikopol (habité par Horus), sur fond de poursuite Egyptienne.
Il retrouve Horus et lui propose un marché : il veut bien l'accueillir dans son corps si celui-ci arrête la boucherie, et lui permet de vivre « des trucs inédits ». Horus accepte, et ils rejoignent Jill Bioskop, complètement désorientée, convaincue d'avoir tué tour à tour trois hommes (mais est-ce un rêve ou une réalité ?). Une longue histoire d'amour commence entre Jill et Nikopol (habité par Horus), sur fond de poursuite Egyptienne.
56 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1986
3 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Enki Bilal
243 books319 followersEnki Bilal (born Enes Bilal) is a French comic book creator and film director.
Bilal was born in Belgrade, then the capital of Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from Karlovy Vary, and a Bosnian Muslim father, Muhamed Hamo Bilal who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor. When he was five years old, his father managed to take a trip and stay in Paris as a political émigré. Enki and the rest of the family followed him, four years later.
Enki Bilal has no sense of belonging to any ethnic group and religion, nor is he obsessed with soil and roots. He said in one interview: "I also feel Bosnian by my father's origin, a Serb by my place of birth and a Croat by my relationship with a certain friends, not to mention my other Czech half, who I am inherited from mother".
At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied his talent to comics. He produced work for Goscinny's Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote in the 1970s, publishing his first story, Le Bol Maudit, in 1972.
In 1975, Bilal began working with script writer Pierre Christin on a series of dark and surreal tales, resulting in the body of work titled Légendes d'Aujourd'hui.
He is best known for the Nikopol trilogy (La Foire aux immortels, La Femme piège and Froid Équateur), which took more than a decade to complete. Bilal wrote the script and did the artwork. The final chapter, Froid Équateur, was chosen book of the year by the magazine Lire and is acknowledged by the inventor of chess boxing as the inspiration for the sport.
Quatre? (2007), the last book in the Hatzfeld tetralogy, deals with the breakup of Yugoslavia from a future viewpoint. The first installment came in 1998 in the shape of Le Sommeil du Monstre opening with the main character, Nike, remembering the war in a series of traumatic flashbacks.
In 2012, Bilal was featured in a solo exhibition at The Louvre. The exhibition, titled "The Ghosts of the Louvre", ran from 20 December 2012 to 18 March 2013. The exhibition was organized by Fabrice Douar, and featured a series of paintings of "Ghosts", done atop photographs that Bilal took of the Louvre's collection.
Bilal was born in Belgrade, then the capital of Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from Karlovy Vary, and a Bosnian Muslim father, Muhamed Hamo Bilal who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor. When he was five years old, his father managed to take a trip and stay in Paris as a political émigré. Enki and the rest of the family followed him, four years later.
Enki Bilal has no sense of belonging to any ethnic group and religion, nor is he obsessed with soil and roots. He said in one interview: "I also feel Bosnian by my father's origin, a Serb by my place of birth and a Croat by my relationship with a certain friends, not to mention my other Czech half, who I am inherited from mother".
At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied his talent to comics. He produced work for Goscinny's Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote in the 1970s, publishing his first story, Le Bol Maudit, in 1972.
In 1975, Bilal began working with script writer Pierre Christin on a series of dark and surreal tales, resulting in the body of work titled Légendes d'Aujourd'hui.
He is best known for the Nikopol trilogy (La Foire aux immortels, La Femme piège and Froid Équateur), which took more than a decade to complete. Bilal wrote the script and did the artwork. The final chapter, Froid Équateur, was chosen book of the year by the magazine Lire and is acknowledged by the inventor of chess boxing as the inspiration for the sport.
Quatre? (2007), the last book in the Hatzfeld tetralogy, deals with the breakup of Yugoslavia from a future viewpoint. The first installment came in 1998 in the shape of Le Sommeil du Monstre opening with the main character, Nike, remembering the war in a series of traumatic flashbacks.
In 2012, Bilal was featured in a solo exhibition at The Louvre. The exhibition, titled "The Ghosts of the Louvre", ran from 20 December 2012 to 18 March 2013. The exhibition was organized by Fabrice Douar, and featured a series of paintings of "Ghosts", done atop photographs that Bilal took of the Louvre's collection.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 28, 2011
There's something so indulgent about French stories, which is at the same time their strength and their downfall. They lilt along, laughing and provoking, never shying away, but there is also a lack of self-editing there that tends to leave them a bit silly and unfocused.
Sometimes, I think it's a problem of translation, and this translation is so unusually literal from the French, as if it were meant for primary English readers who understand the French language and culture, but who are unable to read in the language on their own. This is certainly one style of translation, but for a story like this, I tend to prefer a translation of idioms, emotions, and speech into the new language; but that requires a new writer just as creative and interesting as the original author.
But I also know it isn't entirely the problem of translation, as I've seen complex, intriguing stories that are delightful and deep even in translation, such as the works of Kurosawa or Charlier's 'Blueberry' comic. Then again, they are both familiar with the same Western traditions I am, so perhaps it's an easier shift.
Nikopol shows some of those indulgent tendencies, but also has an undercurrent of satire for overblown space operas like 'L'Incal'. Between engaging in indulgence and mocking indulgence, we get some fun, ironical, self-aware amusement, but there isn't a very strong plot to hang it all on. Perhaps it's my problem, but I tend to feel that nothing can really replace a good story.
The art was good, but the stylization was rather extreme. Everyone had the same cheekbones and the range of expression was disappointingly lacking. The world design was fun and detailed, though it all became similar rather quickly.
The colors were surprisingly straightforward, showing little dynamic exploration, especially when compared to the Moebius works that inspired it. The soft colors were pretty, but Bilal wasn't exactly pushing the boundaries. People were pinkish and the backgrounds were washed out browns and blues. When people were blue or green, it wasn't a mood choice, just some aliens.
It's always interesting to see the sci fi influence of Jodorowski's failed European Dune, from Blade Runner to most of Moebius' sci fi, but Nikopol is just another entry, not particularly revolutionary in its own right, though it was the inspiration for the sport of Chess Boxing, which is amusing enough, as legacies go.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
Sometimes, I think it's a problem of translation, and this translation is so unusually literal from the French, as if it were meant for primary English readers who understand the French language and culture, but who are unable to read in the language on their own. This is certainly one style of translation, but for a story like this, I tend to prefer a translation of idioms, emotions, and speech into the new language; but that requires a new writer just as creative and interesting as the original author.
But I also know it isn't entirely the problem of translation, as I've seen complex, intriguing stories that are delightful and deep even in translation, such as the works of Kurosawa or Charlier's 'Blueberry' comic. Then again, they are both familiar with the same Western traditions I am, so perhaps it's an easier shift.
Nikopol shows some of those indulgent tendencies, but also has an undercurrent of satire for overblown space operas like 'L'Incal'. Between engaging in indulgence and mocking indulgence, we get some fun, ironical, self-aware amusement, but there isn't a very strong plot to hang it all on. Perhaps it's my problem, but I tend to feel that nothing can really replace a good story.
The art was good, but the stylization was rather extreme. Everyone had the same cheekbones and the range of expression was disappointingly lacking. The world design was fun and detailed, though it all became similar rather quickly.
The colors were surprisingly straightforward, showing little dynamic exploration, especially when compared to the Moebius works that inspired it. The soft colors were pretty, but Bilal wasn't exactly pushing the boundaries. People were pinkish and the backgrounds were washed out browns and blues. When people were blue or green, it wasn't a mood choice, just some aliens.
It's always interesting to see the sci fi influence of Jodorowski's failed European Dune, from Blade Runner to most of Moebius' sci fi, but Nikopol is just another entry, not particularly revolutionary in its own right, though it was the inspiration for the sport of Chess Boxing, which is amusing enough, as legacies go.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
October 17, 2020
De albums van de Nikopol-trilogie nooit gelezen toen deze uitkwamen, zelfs al hield ik enorm van Bilals “De Jacht” en was het artwork van deze albums razend populair bij stripliefhebbers. Niet lang heb ik de strips gekregen van mijn broer. 30-40 jaar later leest het als een tijdmachine die me terug brengt naar een periode in de stripgeschiedenis waarin er meer experimentele strips, gericht op een volwassen publiek, verschenen. Het brengt me terug naar de koude oorlog, de donkere klanken van New Wave, het kille neoliberalisme van Thatcher & Reagan, de films van Wim Wenders, ... alles voelt zeer jaren ‘80 aan. De strip moet het vooral van de surrealistische, grauwe sfeer en het bevreemdende tekenwerk hebben maar het plot is toch niet echt goed te noemen. De vertaling lijkt me enorm slaafs aan het Frans gezien de houterige zinsconstructies en het bevat ‘krankjorum’ veel Hollandse uitdrukkingen.
Toch zeer genoten van deze strip maar dan vooral door het tekenwerk.
Toch zeer genoten van deze strip maar dan vooral door het tekenwerk.
April 30, 2018
After reading Nikopol #1 - La foire aux immortels (Gods in Chaos), i was not convinced... too much weirdness for my taste, and dreaded a bit on reading #2, but to my complete amazement, i really really enjoyed this one.
In my native country (Portugal) we have a saying: “Primeiro estranha-se, depois entranha-se” by Fernando Pessoa. Roughly translated would be something like: First you find it weird but later it grows on you. That's what precisely happen in this case: 1st book was weird and i didn't like that much, but this second one continued with the weirdness to an extent that i started to like it.
So, highly recommended! :)
In my native country (Portugal) we have a saying: “Primeiro estranha-se, depois entranha-se” by Fernando Pessoa. Roughly translated would be something like: First you find it weird but later it grows on you. That's what precisely happen in this case: 1st book was weird and i didn't like that much, but this second one continued with the weirdness to an extent that i started to like it.
So, highly recommended! :)
January 22, 2025
No sé cómo se puede pasar de algo tan chulo como "La feria de los inmortales" a esto pero es muy decepcionante. Es lo que pasa cuando pones a uno de estos señores de la BD a escribir y dibujar a mujeres, que les salen todas las filias y obsesiones misóginas por los poros. La mujer ¿protagonista? se pasa medio en bolas toda la historia, en una especie de delirio extraño con drogas, escritura y amantes/asesinados que, al llegar al final, no tienes nada claro qué significa. El estilo cambia respecto al primer cómic y ahora adopta un tono más neonoir que, por desgracia, no parece dirigirse a ningún lugar narrativamente. ¿Quería contar algo Enki Bilal con este interludio o solo ponerle una "novia" a Nikopol inventándose una trama rocambolesca por el medio? Yo digo que lo segundo porque mensaje no hay ninguno. A ver qué hace con el final de la trilogía después de este experimento tan fallido.
March 20, 2025
Published a good few years after the first book in the sequence, this is not quite a sequel even if familiar characters crop up. The art and the story telling style remain very much the same, although this one is less tongue in cheek. The events in this volume have more sex, death, and angst, making this volume a little less engaging than the first. It is strangely reminiscent of William Burroughs in feel. Anyway, I am glad to have reread this volume on Kindle Unimited some thirty odd years after first reading. Unfortunately the third book in the sequence, which I have not previously read, doesn’t seem to be on Kindle Unlimited.
March 25, 2022
There’s not as much going on in Nikopol’s middle volume, the book is a very quick read that’s enjoyable but feels a little bare. The whole thing feels like a very convoluted way to add a new character and bring Horus back. The best thing about is in its switch of genres, the dystopian sci-fi thriller is out and in is a futuristic noir with shades of psychological horror.
3.5/5
3.5/5
February 1, 2022
The only girlie of the series this far: 1) spends most of the time with her titties out 2) is frequently threatened with sexual violence 3) in the end, gets abducted by a strange man claiming to be 'in love with her', which constitutes a happy ending for her.
fuck off
fuck off
June 28, 2019
Je voulais savoir si le film se rapprochait de la BD...
March 12, 2023
Aussi bien que l'autre ! Ne jamais prendre les pilules rouges!
October 4, 2024
This is the exact thing your mind would conjure trying to imagine a French sci-fi comic from the 80's. That is not a positive or negative statement, it's simply a universal truth
July 5, 2019
Las atmósferas que crea Enki son un todo que atrapa. El color, la historia, uno no sabe por donde comenzar a explicar como lo hace pero es tan surrealista que uno queda atrapado en ese mundo por ese efecto niebla, en el que cuesta enfocar de vuelta los ojos a la realidad y alejar la mente de la historia luego de leer. Enki es para coleccionar, releer y releer.
amazon.com/author/ggmelies
amazon.com/author/ggmelies
April 3, 2021
Comes with a single-folded four page newspaper to be read at the end that "should fill you in on the historical facts deliberately left out of the narration of 'The Woman Trap' so as not to digress from the story itself." that's dated 1993- to which the reports of 2025 are transmitted.
Geeeeeezz. What a do-oozy. My guess is something in the pharma-psychedelic ballpark of DMT. Yes, long-bender material. This thing does not come about sober. It's a whirlwind of who-knows-what-the-hell-he's-going-on-about.
What he's trying to say was TOTALLY lost to me in the madness of it. Trying to figure it out would be pure folly so I just kept reading until I finished it. I had avoided it for quite some time due to the frenzied nature of the first book and it was purely justified because comparatively the first book makes perfect sense.
Catalan closed before the third volume and it's taking forever to find it inexpensive in French.
Basically- it's a disaster of a book with excellent art. Pure Bilal soaked canvas style!
And NO I did not read the newspaper with it. It's a four page bundle of obvious nonsense. Engineered propaganda and such. Maybe someday when I've run out of Catalans and go back through them I'll do that first.
Geeeeeezz. What a do-oozy. My guess is something in the pharma-psychedelic ballpark of DMT. Yes, long-bender material. This thing does not come about sober. It's a whirlwind of who-knows-what-the-hell-he's-going-on-about.
What he's trying to say was TOTALLY lost to me in the madness of it. Trying to figure it out would be pure folly so I just kept reading until I finished it. I had avoided it for quite some time due to the frenzied nature of the first book and it was purely justified because comparatively the first book makes perfect sense.
Catalan closed before the third volume and it's taking forever to find it inexpensive in French.
Basically- it's a disaster of a book with excellent art. Pure Bilal soaked canvas style!
And NO I did not read the newspaper with it. It's a four page bundle of obvious nonsense. Engineered propaganda and such. Maybe someday when I've run out of Catalans and go back through them I'll do that first.
March 23, 2011
Some ancient Egyptian Gods have made their way back to earth in the year 2025 and we explore life in those highly-violent times as we follow the adventures of Jill Bioskop as she tries to make sense of the insanity that surrounds her. She has a special "script walker" that is allowing her to apparently send back journals to the year 1993. How this plays into the craziness that finds itself in the pile of dead men starting to make up her bed is slowly revealed as the mystery behind "Horus" becomes clearer.[return][return]An incredibly well-painted work that is actually the second volume of the "Nikopol Trilogy", this BD certainly has its moments of shock along with intrigue. A high intensity drama/ thriller.
April 20, 2014
Repitiendo lo escrito para el tomo 1 (que perezoso):
Otra re-lectura, rescatada de ese tesoro de BDs/Comic que es Issuee. Issuee es como el YouTube de los Comics. Con un buscador menos brillante, quizá, pero con un poco de paciencia puedes desenterrar perlas raras y maravillosas, como esta. Imposible, creo, encontrar nada de Enki Bilal en mi país. Son lejanos recuerdos de mi juventud universitaria que explotaron al encontrar y reconocer la tapa de esta BD. Me encantó re-leerla. Los ecos de la magia del dibujo exquisito y onírico de Bilal siguen intactos luego de la lectura. La historia me impresionó algo menos, pero igual me pareció genial. Une grandiose retrouvaille!
Otra re-lectura, rescatada de ese tesoro de BDs/Comic que es Issuee. Issuee es como el YouTube de los Comics. Con un buscador menos brillante, quizá, pero con un poco de paciencia puedes desenterrar perlas raras y maravillosas, como esta. Imposible, creo, encontrar nada de Enki Bilal en mi país. Son lejanos recuerdos de mi juventud universitaria que explotaron al encontrar y reconocer la tapa de esta BD. Me encantó re-leerla. Los ecos de la magia del dibujo exquisito y onírico de Bilal siguen intactos luego de la lectura. La historia me impresionó algo menos, pero igual me pareció genial. Une grandiose retrouvaille!
March 26, 2015
Die Frau gibt mir den Blues
Eine Fortsetzung, die sich nur rudimentär an ihrem Vorgänger orientiert. Die Story ist künstlich verworren, ich konnte ihr kaum folgen, textlastig und unansprechend. Der gesamte seltsame Zauber des ersten Bands der Reihe ist verflogen und durch eine prätenziöse Laberei ersetzt worden. Es bleiben nur die Zeichnungen, an deren Stil man sich aber überraschend schnell sattsehen kann.
Den dritten Band lese ich als Komplettist natürlich noch, erwarte mir aber nicht mehr viel davon. Wenn ein Autor einmal auf diesen Zug der Pseudoliterarizität aufgesprungen ist und den Leser vergessen hat, steigt er meistens nicht mehr ab.
Eine Fortsetzung, die sich nur rudimentär an ihrem Vorgänger orientiert. Die Story ist künstlich verworren, ich konnte ihr kaum folgen, textlastig und unansprechend. Der gesamte seltsame Zauber des ersten Bands der Reihe ist verflogen und durch eine prätenziöse Laberei ersetzt worden. Es bleiben nur die Zeichnungen, an deren Stil man sich aber überraschend schnell sattsehen kann.
Den dritten Band lese ich als Komplettist natürlich noch, erwarte mir aber nicht mehr viel davon. Wenn ein Autor einmal auf diesen Zug der Pseudoliterarizität aufgesprungen ist und den Leser vergessen hat, steigt er meistens nicht mehr ab.
August 11, 2013
Deuxième tome de la trilogie Nikopol, on retrouve les mêmes problèmes et les mêmes qualités mais le dessin se fluidifie et même si l'histoire se loge trop dans les à-côtés et que l'intrigue elle-même est trop anecdotique (Jill va à Berlin, Horus va à Berlin, Nikopol va à Berlin puis tous les trois vont au Caire), on sent que Bilal explore un cadre qu'il va développer et qui va déboucher, en fin de compte sur son grand oeuvre.
December 20, 2014
fantastic sci-fi short story, the setting is a distopyan Europe in 2025, this is the second part of a trilogy of albums by seminal eastern europe artist Enki Bilal. The dark grimy settings, the spacehips and vehicles designs, as well asthe stunning artwork by Bilal, makes this an 80's french bande desiseé classic. Recommended.
May 3, 2016
This volume I liked better than the first, probably because the main character was a woman. But also because it made a lot more sense. The story felt tighter and it wasn't nearly as difficult. I still went and read an English translation when I finished to pick up on the things I'd missed. It was an odd story in that nothing really happened. But I did enjoy it.
September 26, 2020
Četl jsem vytržené z trilogie (1. a 3. dál neznám), ale na vstupu in media res by se měl tím spíš poznat kvalitní příběh. I když neznáte kompletní trajektorie postav, měla by vám podstatná část poskytnout aslespoň nějaký přístup k motivacím a dějům. Tohle je jen dobře nakreslená plytká a unylá fantasmagorie.
Read
August 23, 2008isbn,original
October 28, 2013
Huomattavasti parempi eikä läheskään niin taidetta kuin muistin.
November 18, 2013
Indispensable bd qui nous fait (re)vivre d'un futur pas si future que ça... Des dessins somptueux, une atmosphère angoissante, une histoire tragique. A lire ou relire.
July 20, 2016
After all those years since I last read it, this is still good :D
September 17, 2016
Même chose a dire que pour le premier volume. L'histoire est assez secondaire ici. je deteste tjs l'idée des dieux egyptiens. les dessins sont beaux.
February 5, 2023
Segundo álbum de Enki Bilal, da triologia “A Feira dos Imortais”, “A Mulher Armadilha” e “Frio Equador”.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews