French cartoonist Simon Bournel-Bosson is making his graphic novel debut with Graphic Universe's Trumpets of Death. Suffice it to say, this book is one of the most visually arresting comics we've seen in a while, and it should definitely be on your radar.
With Trumpets of Death available in bookstores and comic shops now, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of this graphic novel. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:
Here's the official description for Trumpets of Death:
One rainy night, Antoine gets dropped off at his grandparents' remote house in the middle of the woods. While his absent father searches for his mysteriously missing mother, Antoine is stuck between a doting grandmother and a grandfather openly hostile to his presence, and time crawls by while he waits to hear from his parents. But when Antoine ventures out with his grandfather to forage for mushrooms, the wrong mushroom leads to a stunning transformation for Antoine. The family’s intergenerational conflict, coupled with the mysterious forces of nature, culminate in a fearsome hunt through the forest that will resolve their differences once and for all — but at what cost?
"This sequence was inspired by Jean-Jacques Annaud's film The Bear," Bournel-Bosson tells IGN about the above excerpt. "In the film, a little bear who has lost his mother must survive the forest and predators. What surprised me when I saw it as a child was that the voice dubbing of the bear's cries was done by a human. I always felt as if a small child was inside this little bear. This voice dubbing created a strong sense of empathy for him. We could identify with him. We could put ourselves in his shoes."
Bournel-Bosson continues, "I think all of this inspired this idea of human/animal transference. And directly, this scene where Antoine adapts to his new environment. It's as if a child were trapped in the body of an animal and was commenting on what he could see and observe. I found it subtle to show the forest by changing the point of view, to see it not from the human perspective. But from an animal's point of view."
Humans in the forest have the unfortunate tendency to think they are alone. But there are thousands of eyes and ears to hear and observe them," Bournel-Bosson says. "This excerpt is interesting because it shows the precise moment when Antoine reaches a certain acceptance of his new condition. He isn't trying to return to what he was. He's trying to find balance and a place in his new world. What still connects him to the human world are the words and thoughts verbalized in his head. Soon they will disappear... leaving only his senses."
Trumpets of Death is available in stores now. You can order a copy on Amazon.
In other comic books news, you can check out our exclusive preview of Deadpool/Batman #1 and see a new trailer for Johnny Depp and Ridley Scott's Hyde.
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