Les Cités obscures : Livre 1

Les Cités obscures #1

by Benoît Peeters, François Schuiten (Illustrator)

Trois volets introduisant le cycle sur l'univers parallèle des cités obscures. Avec des documents complémentaires et des pages prises dans "Le guide des cités".

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy

305 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2017

About the author

Benoît Peeters is a French comics writer, novelist, and comics scholar.

Reviews

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

For an absolute layman in the world of comic strips or graphic novels (like me), “Les cités Obscures” ("Dark Cities") is an incredibly strange journey. This edition contains the first 4 parts of the series, larded with loose material and encyclopaedic introductions and additions. Schuiten and Peeters have created an enormously rich world that feels exotic and at the same time familiar. As the title suggests, it is always about urban landscapes, in a kind of counter-world, in which the architectural aspects play a major role. That architecture is very late 19th century (especially the Art Nouveau thrives), but also the Art Deco, modernism and futurism fill the pages.

And then there are the stories, or rather the minimalism of them: almost always strange incidents occur that ultimately lead to a dramatic outcome, with main characters that undergo all these developments, worry about it and come to nothing. Also the introductions and additions, in a scientifically distant language, add very little. It seems as if Schuiten and Peeters intentionally wanted to confuse their reader, want him or her to take part in the unreal reality in which the main characters circulate. As if they want to illustrate that even our real-looking reality is, on closer inspection, only an apparent reality, certainly in the cities constructed by people (or is it the architecture that constructs the people?).

This beautiful, bibliophile edition is exceptionally enticing, and makes one want to read the next parts: to enjoy more of the visual pleasure, but especially to get more clarity about what this is all about. But then again, perhaps this could be an illusion.

There’s one big minus: almost all main characters are men, and the few women who are on stage are prostitutes or brothel owners. Rather disturbing, isn’t it?

[Lotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

First tome of the collected Cités obscures:
- Les Murailles de Samaris - Art-nouveau, angst, estrangedness
- La Fièvre d'Urbicande - Art-deco, Very male-dominated, why are all women whores or pimps?
- Les mystères de Pâhry - In which a foreigner visits "Paris" and gets headaches because a Réseau is traversing his head
- L'Archiviste - In which a real-world archivist discovers that Le Monde Obscure is not a legend, but is real.
- All spiced up by the Guide des Cités obscures, designed to make you feel like these worlds might actually be real, and referencing Borges, Calvino and other post-modern writers.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un livre qui inclut un guide d'un monde alternatif - avec cartes ! - et prône le mystère et le doute comme philosophies, c'est tout à fait ma tasse de thé. Les dessins sont splendides avec une majeure aux architectures.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce recueil est à la fois un bel objet, et une somme sur une oeuvre dans laquelle je ne peux m'empêcher de trouver un côté alchimiste urbain assez intéressant. En effet, les auteurs passent leur temps à utiliser les codes de l'architecture, de l'urbanisme pour construire une symbolique de la ville.
C'est très intéressant, même si c'est parfois un peu aride.

[Dustyloup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my! Finally finished after a year and a half, almost two years after getting it! For the art and the world-building, 5 stars * times a million. For the writing 3.5* and for the very retro ideas about women...1.5 stars at best. It's really disappointing to see such paper doll representations of women and to be honest that's why I put the book down for so long, but La mystères de Pahry and L'archivist were so satisfying that I am able to appreciate the immense talent behind these works. What i really love is that you wonder... Well just maybe there is a connection between these cities and the real world. Civilisations before, after our during our time... Who knows?

[Florin Pitea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb omnibus edition, with impeccable printing and elegant stories. A collector's item.

[Karine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Les dessins sont très beaux, mais les histoires ne m’ont pas fascinées. De plus, tous les personnages féminins sont plus que secondaires, et souvent des prostituées. Franchement ordinaire.

[Paul Chassang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très beau livre avec de magnifiques dessins. L' écriture et la façon dont le livre est présenté avec ses histoires et son contenu augmenté permettent de rendre le tout à la fois mystérieux et culte.