Bryan Talbot at BICS 2009

By Neil Elkes on Oct 5, 09 08:05 PM

I have already refered to my interview with Bryan Talbot which appeared in the Birmingham Post here. So I won't go over the same ground

One of the joys of reading Bryan Talbot's Grandville is spotting the little references hidden away inside.

Most obvious is the appearance of Tintin's sidekick Snowy, called Snowy Milou, after his name in French.

However I will never see the Herge version in the same light after seeing Grandville's tragic opium addict version of the character, picked on and preyed on by all, dreaming of a more noble existence and adventure.

There is also Nutwood, Rupert Bear's leafy village home, forever tarnished by the bloody death of Raymond Leigh-Otter in the opening scenes.

And of course the references to the impressionist painters of late nineteenth century Paris, such as Manet's Bar at the Follies Bergere.

But Bryan's walk through the anthropomorphic, or animal, character tradition at this weekend's BICS was a real eye-opener.

Popular French characters, such a Spirou the bellboy appear, the fox and badger have a comic tradition going back several hundred years and the fine art references include Gustave Dore's opium den.

It was also great to see the Grandville trailer on a big screen and find out that the sequel, Grandville Mon Amour, is on its way in 2010.

The editor of Bryan Talbot's website, Birmingham-based James Robertson, has produced an excellent CD-Rom collection for fans of the Luther Arkwright stories.

Heart of Empire or the Legacy of Luther Arkwright, is a highly detailed look at Bryan's masterpiece as a work in progress.

The author has opened his files of the pencils, inks and final colour pages of Heart of Empire, the sequel to Luther Arkwright, and put them all on the disc. Only a handful of pages are missing.

He has also handed over files of background research and original sketches and provided a running commentary.

The original Adventures of Luther Arkwright is also included for competeness. A great package for fans, but a computer screen is never the best place to read the graphic novel for the first time.