This imaginative graphic novel presents a fictionalized history of Jules Verne's experience writing the legendary 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Through strange encounters with such characters as an orphaned boy with a mysterious package, an Indian princess on an obsessive search, and an eccentric artist of fantastical creations, Verne discovers and immortalizes the most compelling character of his writing career: Captain Nemo. Weaving together details of Verne's own life with events aboard the infamous Nautilus, Francois Riviere tells a powerful - and cryptic - tale of art, science, and the dangers of passion.
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About the Author
Francois Riviere is a screenwriter, biographer, and author of more than sixty books, among them, graphic-novel adaptations of Agatha Christie mysteries. He lives in Paris, France. Serge Micheli lives in Corsica, where he works as an illustrator and landscape painter. He exhibits regularly in galleries, and his work on Jules Verne was recently shown at Le Centre International Jules Verne in Amiens, France.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A. Ross
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
First of all, this is a stunningly produced book. Absolutely beautiful, rich, popping color inside and out, printed on lovely paper, great endpapers, all as one might expect from art publishers Abrams. However... the actual story is a haphazard postmodern deconstructivst mess -- so much so that the best advice one can give readers is not to bother reading, but to simply absorb Serge Micheli's art for its own sake.
The book was born from co-creators Riviere and MIcheli's childhood love for the works of pioneering science-fiction author Jules Verne -- especially 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In his afterword, Riviere talks about the influence of another pioneering work of science-fiction, Ian Watson's 1973 debut The Embedding, which explored linguistics and posited language as a means to bridge the gap between human consciousness and the otherness of the objective world. Somehow these two fascinations, along with a memoir by Verne's niece, resulted in this unfortunate blend of the fictional characters and world of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with the real world of Jules Verne as he was writing the story, along with a few other fictional characters. This isn't the worst premise in the world, a certainly successful examples of such a concept exist, however in this case the creators agreed that "above all, some kind of demiurgic madness was what [we] felt should be given paramount importance in the narrative we imagined".
Well, some people's madness is other people's mess. You get Verne as the tormented artist figure, a mysterious orphan, an Indian princess, a little demon, and a few other assorted weirdoes. There's occultism, weird green luminescent fluid, and drugs to spice things up further.
... Read more ›0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had purchased this graphic novel several months ago primarily because I am a great fan of the works that the legendary French visionary wrote. Overall, the plot of this story connects events of "20'000 Leagues Under The Sea" and a variety of fictional, if quite unusual, events that take place in the life of Jules Verne, so is the main character featured in this book. These generally weave throughout the novel and they involve an Indian princess, an eccentric artist who creates fantastic metal creatures, witchcraft, and of course, the legendary Captain Nemo and his super-submarine, Nautilus.
The graphics featured in this book are very attractive, colourful and bold. They are definately more wonderful than the ugly graphics featured in similar novels such as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" series by Alan Moore. Also, the story is quite interesting. Sadly, the novel eventually becomes a complete literary and artistic mess as the author includes so many concepts into the story, thus this ruined the whole reading experience for me. However, do not let that put you off reading this novel, because it is quite a splendid read, however was not executed as well as the author had thought when it was being produced. Jules Verne fans will especially enjoy this book!!!
The graphics featured in this book are very attractive, colourful and bold. They are definately more wonderful than the ugly graphics featured in similar novels such as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" series by Alan Moore. Also, the story is quite interesting. Sadly, the novel eventually becomes a complete literary and artistic mess as the author includes so many concepts into the story, thus this ruined the whole reading experience for me. However, do not let that put you off reading this novel, because it is quite a splendid read, however was not executed as well as the author had thought when it was being produced. Jules Verne fans will especially enjoy this book!!!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Art, Mess of a Story
1 Dec 2005
By A. Ross
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
First of all, this is a stunningly produced book. Absolutely beautiful, rich, popping color inside and out, printed on lovely paper, great endpapers, all as one might expect from art publishers Abrams. However... the actual story is a haphazard postmodern deconstructivst mess -- so much so that the best advice one can give readers is not to bother reading, but to simply absorb Serge Micheli's art for its own sake.
The book was born from co-creators Riviere and MIcheli's childhood love for the works of pioneering science-fiction author Jules Verne -- especially 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In his afterword, Riviere talks about the influence of another pioneering work of science-fiction, Ian Watson's 1973 debut The Embedding, which explored linguistics and posited language as a means to bridge the gap between human consciousness and the otherness of the objective world. Somehow these two fascinations, along with a memoir by Verne's niece, resulted in this unfortunate blend of the fictional characters and world of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with the real world of Jules Verne as he was writing the story, along with a few other fictional characters. This isn't the worst premise in the world, a certainly successful examples of such a concept exist, however in this case the creators agreed that "above all, some kind of demiurgic madness was what [we] felt should be given paramount importance in the narrative we imagined".
Well, some people's madness is other people's mess. You get Verne as the tormented artist figure, a mysterious orphan, an Indian princess, a little demon, and a few other assorted weirdoes. There's occultism, weird green luminescent fluid, and drugs to spice things up further. You know you're in for a rocky ride when the back cover even admits that it is a "cryptic" tale. And if you haven't read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it'll all be that much more confusing. This is the kind of free-form non-storytelling that probably would have gone over really well in the late '60s or early '70s (especially with some pot or mushrooms), but has little to offer the average graphic novel reader. It's doubtful it would have ever been translated and published outside of France, expect that Abrams is owned by a French media conglomerate...
The book was born from co-creators Riviere and MIcheli's childhood love for the works of pioneering science-fiction author Jules Verne -- especially 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In his afterword, Riviere talks about the influence of another pioneering work of science-fiction, Ian Watson's 1973 debut The Embedding, which explored linguistics and posited language as a means to bridge the gap between human consciousness and the otherness of the objective world. Somehow these two fascinations, along with a memoir by Verne's niece, resulted in this unfortunate blend of the fictional characters and world of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with the real world of Jules Verne as he was writing the story, along with a few other fictional characters. This isn't the worst premise in the world, a certainly successful examples of such a concept exist, however in this case the creators agreed that "above all, some kind of demiurgic madness was what [we] felt should be given paramount importance in the narrative we imagined".
Well, some people's madness is other people's mess. You get Verne as the tormented artist figure, a mysterious orphan, an Indian princess, a little demon, and a few other assorted weirdoes. There's occultism, weird green luminescent fluid, and drugs to spice things up further. You know you're in for a rocky ride when the back cover even admits that it is a "cryptic" tale. And if you haven't read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it'll all be that much more confusing. This is the kind of free-form non-storytelling that probably would have gone over really well in the late '60s or early '70s (especially with some pot or mushrooms), but has little to offer the average graphic novel reader. It's doubtful it would have ever been translated and published outside of France, expect that Abrams is owned by a French media conglomerate...
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully done!
7 Mar 2007
By Nathaniel Napierala
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
A truly great graphic novel. Amazing visuals, beautiful use of color, fantastic action, and a classic story.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
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