Les Cités Obscures
Encyclopedia
Les Cités obscures is a graphic novel
series set on a Counter-Earth
, started by the Belgian comics artist François Schuiten
and his friend, writer Benoît Peeters
in the early 1980s. In this imaginary world, humans live in independent city-states, each of which has developed a distinct civilization, though all are in some way focused on architecture and architectural styles.
All volumes of the official series are available in most Western European languages (in French
and Dutch
by Casterman
, in German, Spanish, and Portuguese by local publishing houses), whereas as of 2008 only few of them have been published in English by NBM Publishing
. Recently, Editions Flammarion
has taken up publication of the series in francophone Canada.
architect Victor Horta
responsible for much of 19th century Brussels
. Another recurring motif is the so-called process of increasing Bruxellisation, denoting the modern destruction of this historic Brussels in favor of anonymous office and business buildings patterned after a hasty, pseudo-modernist idea of New York's Manhattan since the 1960s. Coming from a family of architects, a number of Schuiten's relatives, especially his father and brothers, were instrumental in the Bruxellisation trend destroying much of the historic Brussels setting the background of Schuiten's and Peeters' 1950s childhood memories living in the city. Schuiten himself was brought up to study architecture by his father, both in university and early on at home, while young Schuiten preferred to pursue his escape to the world of Franco-Belgian bandes dessinées
such as those he found in the magazine Pilote
that his older brother introduced him to, with René Goscinny
, Morris
, and André Franquin
among his early favorites.
Around 1980, having become an emerging established graphic novel artist who had made himself a name publishing in Métal Hurlant
and creating a number of standalone albums, Schuiten began drafting a parallel world of vintage architectural splendor reflecting his childhood memories of Brussels, a world which can be reached primarily through remaining buildings of these times gone by. In an ongoing attempt to prevent the spread of knowledge of this parallel world, mostly faceless authorities in our world increasingly have these buildings wrecked down, and in Schuiten's world this was the true reason for chaotic, headless Bruxellisation where functional and organic buildings were wrecked down in favor of seemingly useless and confusing structures such as ill-planned roads, detours, freeways, and anonymous office buildings that destroyed the organic fabric of a city and resulted in rather dysfunctional traffic and living routines.
Approaching his friend Peeters, who by now had become a comic writer, about this imaginary world, Peeters infused his own philosophical ideas into plot lines he developed for the project, and in 1982 the first Les Cités obscures album, Les murailles de Samaris
, began publication as a serial in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine
À Suivre
. Requiring a few revised editions of the early albums, the basic tenets and elements of Le monde obscure are laid down since the late 1980s.
, Winsor McCay
, Franz Kafka
, Marc-Antoine Mathieu, René Magritte
, Giovanni Battista Piranesi
, Victor Horta
, and Henry Fuseli
.
. Most of them remain unpublished in English, whereas those six published in English (first in serialized form in Heavy Metal
and Dark Horse Comics
' Cheval Noir
, then as complete albums by NBM Publishing
) so far often had different cover design and page size. The books published in French so far below:
Beside these "official" parts to the story, Schuiten and Peeters also collaborated, partly with other authors, on a number of works that were not originally linked to the series but that were set in similar settings, were linked to it later, and/or highlighted particular aspects of the Obscure World without being a traditional narrative.
The volume Voyages en Utopie (2000) presents the ongoing and completed work carried on by these two authors, in parallel with the Cités obscures series. Another book Schuiten and Peeters collaborated on in reference to Les Cités obscures is Les Portes du Possible (2005).
It is not uncommon for some Earthlings and inhabitants of the Cités obscures to actually come across each other (among the most notable of these travelers may be noted Jules Verne
, a recurring personage in the series). On websites such as Web of the Obscure Cities and Office of the Obscure Passages, Schuiten and Peeters present alleged reports, often illustrated with photos and drawings, from people that shortly crossed over into the world of the Obscure Cities via Obscure Passages by accident, and by so-called Obscurantists who have been seeking for Obscure Passages for years (compare Obscurantist
, a term based upon the Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum
, aka "Letters of Obscure Men"). These reports on the internet correspond to the pseudorealism
of Schuiten and Peeters when enclosing "authentic" documentary or amateur CDs (Le Musée A. Desombres, 1990) or DVDs (L'affaire Desombres, 2002) to their print publications regarding the Obscure Cities.
before on a documentary entitled Servaisgraphia on Servais's unique animation style that was released in 1992. Subsequently, there is a loose connection between the increasingly multimedia series of the Obscure Cities and the Belgian fantasy film Taxandria
(1994) directed by Servais (starring, among others, Armin Mueller-Stahl
), where Schuiten served as production designer. In the Obscure Cities series, at times characters refer to the vanished city-state of Taxandria which was accidentally removed from the planet during a failed scientific experiment.
-influenced Les Cités obscures, Taxandrian clothing and technology appear to resemble Victorian
times on our earth, Taxandria's architecture is reminiscent of Schuiten's trademark phantasmagorical architectural fantasies, and another feature the film shares with Les Cités obscures is a bloated absurd, Kafkaesque bureaucracy. It is however under dispute among fans of the series whether Taxandria is truly one of the Obscure Cities due to a perceived appearance of a light-hearted children's fantasy movie to Servais's film.
(under the pseudonym Professeur R. de Brok), Le Mystère d'Urbicande purports to be a scientific essay bent to debunk the events of La fièvre d'Urbicande
, heavily annotated in emotional handwriting by Eugen Rodick, the main character of Le fièvre d'Urbicande who is now locked up in Brüsel's Sixth Hospice, the city's mental asylum. Schuiten contributed the book's illustrations under the pen-name Robert Louis Marie de la Barque (whereas the French word barque, meaning barge or rowboat in English, translates to schuiten in Dutch).
Drafting and developing stages of the above-mentioned film Taxandria
and its accompanying graphic novel adaptation began between Schuiten and Peeters as early as 1988.
In 1990, the development was further explored with Le Musée A. Desombres, an audio CD with a small booklet drawn by Schuiten, purporting to be an exhibition catalogue of paintings by Auguste Desombres, an artist living in our world in the late 19th century. The CD contains an audio play that is partly a fake report from Desombres's first exhibition, partly chronicles Desombres crossing over into the world of the Obscure Cities by accident by means of his own exhibition.
In 2002, Schuiten and Peeters published the DVD L'affaire Desombres, a sequel to Le Musée A. Desombres.
in 1992, Schuiten and Peeters convinced the community of Schuiten's childhood district Schaerbeek to acquire one of the last remaining buildings in Brussels built by Art Nouveau architect Horta, La maison Autrique
, and in 1999 opened a permanent pseudo-documentary exhibition inside, regarding the Obscure Cities, 19th century Art Nouveau Brussels, and detailing its ongoing Bruxellisation destruction during the 20th century, tying in with aforementioned conspiracy theories whereby Bruxellisation is supposed to be an attempt by the authorities to destroy a number of Obscure Passages situated in Brussels. In 2004, Schuiten and Peeters published the illustrated book La Maison Autrique: Métamorphose d'une maison Art Nouveau (published as Maison Autrique - Metamorphosis of an Art Nouveau House in English) about the building, its restoration during the 1990s, and Horta's life and work. Also, their latest Les Cités obscures two-part graphic novel album La Théorie du grain de sable (2007; 2008) deals with the maison Autrique.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
series set on a Counter-Earth
Counter-Earth
The Counter-Earth is a hypothetical body of the Solar system first hypothesized by the presocratic philosopher Philolaus to support his non-geocentric cosmology, in which all objects in the universe revolve around a Central Fire...
, started by the Belgian comics artist François Schuiten
François Schuiten
Baron François Schuiten is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series Les Cités Obscures.-Biography:François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956....
and his friend, writer Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters
Benoît Peeters is a comics writer, novelist, and critic. He has lived in Belgium since 1978.His best-known work is Les Cités Obscures, an imaginary world which mingles a Borgesian metaphysical surrealism with the detailed architectural vistas of the series' artist, François Schuiten...
in the early 1980s. In this imaginary world, humans live in independent city-states, each of which has developed a distinct civilization, though all are in some way focused on architecture and architectural styles.
All volumes of the official series are available in most Western European languages (in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
by Casterman
Casterman
Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, Belgium.Founded in 1780, Casterman was originally a printing company and publishing house...
, in German, Spanish, and Portuguese by local publishing houses), whereas as of 2008 only few of them have been published in English by NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing is an American publisher of graphic novels. The company specializes in non-superhero comic genres and has translated and published over 150 graphic novels from Europe and Canada, as well as several works by Americans...
. Recently, Editions Flammarion
Groupe Flammarion
Groupe Flammarion is the fourth largest publishing group in France, comprising many units, including its namesake, founded in 1876 by Ernest Flammarion, as well as units in distribution, sales, printing and bookshops . Flammarion became part of the Italian media conglomerate RCS MediaGroup in 2000...
has taken up publication of the series in francophone Canada.
Background
Schuiten's graphic representations and architectural styles within Les Cités obscures is, among other historical themes, heavily influenced by Belgian Art NouveauArt Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
architect Victor Horta
Victor Horta
Victor, Baron Horta was a Belgian architect and designer. John Julius Norwich described him as "undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect." Indeed, Horta is one of the most important names in Art Nouveau architecture; the construction of his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels in 1892-3 means that...
responsible for much of 19th century Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Another recurring motif is the so-called process of increasing Bruxellisation, denoting the modern destruction of this historic Brussels in favor of anonymous office and business buildings patterned after a hasty, pseudo-modernist idea of New York's Manhattan since the 1960s. Coming from a family of architects, a number of Schuiten's relatives, especially his father and brothers, were instrumental in the Bruxellisation trend destroying much of the historic Brussels setting the background of Schuiten's and Peeters' 1950s childhood memories living in the city. Schuiten himself was brought up to study architecture by his father, both in university and early on at home, while young Schuiten preferred to pursue his escape to the world of Franco-Belgian bandes dessinées
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
such as those he found in the magazine Pilote
Pilote
thumb|Cover of the first Pilote teaser issue, #0.Pilote was a French comics periodical published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as Astérix le Gaulois, Blueberry, Achille Talon, and Valérian et...
that his older brother introduced him to, with René Goscinny
René Goscinny
René Goscinny was a French comics editor and writer, who is best known for the comic book Astérix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris and Iznogoud with Jean Tabary.-Early life:Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, to a family...
, Morris
Morris (comics)
Maurice De Bevere , better known as Morris, was a Belgian cartoonist and the creator of Lucky Luke. His pen name is an alternate spelling of his first name.-Biography:...
, and André Franquin
André Franquin
André Franquin was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best known comic strip creations are Gaston and Marsupilami, created while he worked on the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1947 to 1969, during a period seen by many as the series' golden age.-Franquin's beginnings:Franquin was...
among his early favorites.
Around 1980, having become an emerging established graphic novel artist who had made himself a name publishing in Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant
Métal Hurlant is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, created in December 1974 by comics artists Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet together with journalist-writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet and financial director Bernard Farkas.The four were collectively known as "Les...
and creating a number of standalone albums, Schuiten began drafting a parallel world of vintage architectural splendor reflecting his childhood memories of Brussels, a world which can be reached primarily through remaining buildings of these times gone by. In an ongoing attempt to prevent the spread of knowledge of this parallel world, mostly faceless authorities in our world increasingly have these buildings wrecked down, and in Schuiten's world this was the true reason for chaotic, headless Bruxellisation where functional and organic buildings were wrecked down in favor of seemingly useless and confusing structures such as ill-planned roads, detours, freeways, and anonymous office buildings that destroyed the organic fabric of a city and resulted in rather dysfunctional traffic and living routines.
Approaching his friend Peeters, who by now had become a comic writer, about this imaginary world, Peeters infused his own philosophical ideas into plot lines he developed for the project, and in 1982 the first Les Cités obscures album, Les murailles de Samaris
Les murailles de Samaris
Les murailles de Samaris is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the first volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form in 1982 in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete volume first...
, began publication as a serial in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine
Franco-Belgian comics magazines
Belgium and France have a long tradition in comics. They have a common history for comics and magazines.In the early years of its history, magazines had a large place on the comics market and were often the only place where comics were published. Most of them were kids-targeted.In the 1970s,...
À Suivre
À Suivre
or was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house....
. Requiring a few revised editions of the early albums, the basic tenets and elements of Le monde obscure are laid down since the late 1980s.
Influences
Various commentators, as well as Schuiten himself, have identified visual and theme influences in Les Cités obscures from as diverse works as those by Jules VerneJules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator.A prolific artist, McCay's pioneering early animated films far outshone the work of his contemporaries, and set a standard followed by Walt Disney and others in later decades...
, Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
, Marc-Antoine Mathieu, René Magritte
René Magritte
René François Ghislain Magritte[p] was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images...
, Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons" .-His Life:...
, Victor Horta
Victor Horta
Victor, Baron Horta was a Belgian architect and designer. John Julius Norwich described him as "undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect." Indeed, Horta is one of the most important names in Art Nouveau architecture; the construction of his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels in 1892-3 means that...
, and Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli was a British painter, draughtsman, and writer on art, of Swiss origin.-Biography:...
.
Books in the Cités obscures series
The stories of the cités obscures appear in a series of graphic novels and related books, published by CastermanCasterman
Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, Belgium.Founded in 1780, Casterman was originally a printing company and publishing house...
. Most of them remain unpublished in English, whereas those six published in English (first in serialized form in Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
and Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
' Cheval Noir
Cheval Noir
Cheval Noir was a comics anthology published by Dark Horse Comics, containing mostly English Language reprints of European comics. The title features work by some of Europe's best known comics artists, with contributions from some American and Japanese artists too...
, then as complete albums by NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing is an American publisher of graphic novels. The company specializes in non-superhero comic genres and has translated and published over 150 graphic novels from Europe and Canada, as well as several works by Americans...
) so far often had different cover design and page size. The books published in French so far below:
Official series
- Les murailles de SamarisLes murailles de SamarisLes murailles de Samaris is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the first volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form in 1982 in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete volume first...
(1983, published 1987 in English as The Great Walls of Samaris (Stories of the Fantastic), paperback, ISBN 0918348366) - La fièvre d'UrbicandeLa fièvre d'UrbicandeLa fièvre d'Urbicande is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the second volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form starting in 1983 in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete volume...
(1985, published 1990 in English as Fever in Urbicand (Cities of the Fantastic), translated by Jean-Marc LofficierJean-Marc LofficierJean-Marc Lofficier is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier .-Biography:Jean-Marc Lofficier was born in Toulon, France in 1954...
& Randy Lofficier, paperback, ISBN 0918348862) - La Tour (1987, published 1993 in English as The Tower (Stories of the Fantastic) translated by Jean-Marc LofficierJean-Marc LofficierJean-Marc Lofficier is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier .-Biography:Jean-Marc Lofficier was born in Toulon, France in 1954...
& Randy Lofficier, paperback, ISBN 1561630705) - La route d'ArmiliaLa route d'ArmiliaLa route d'Armilia is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the fourth volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series...
(1988, available in English as "The Road to Armilia" (unofficial edition)) - BrüselBrüselBrüsel is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the fifth volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete volume first in 1992 by Casterman...
(1992, published 2001 in English as Brüsel (Cities of the Fantastic), hardcover, ISBN 1561632910) - L'enfant penchéeL'enfant penchéeL'enfant penchée is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the sixth volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete French volume first in 1996 by...
(1996, English manuscript translation available, but the album remains unpublished) - L'ombre d'un homme (1999)
- La frontière invisible, Volume 1 (2002, published in English as The Invisible Frontier (Cities of the Fantastic), hardcover, ISBN 156163333X)
- La frontière invisible, Volume 2 (2004, published in English as The Invisible Frontier (Cities of the Fantastic), hardcover, ISBN 156163400X)
- La Théorie du grain de sable, Volume 1 (2007)
- La Théorie du grain de sable, Volume 2 (2008)
Spin-offs
- Le Mystère d'Urbicande (1985);
- L'archiviste (1987);
- L'Encyclopédie des transports présents et à venir(1988);CastermanCastermanCasterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, Belgium.Founded in 1780, Casterman was originally a printing company and publishing house...
1988 ISBN 2203903023 - Le passage (1989);
- Le Musée A. Desombres]] (1990: booklet and audio CD);
- L'Écho des cités (1993);
- Souvenirs de l'Eternel présent (1993), an adaptation of the film TaxandriaTaxandria (film)Taxandria is a partially animated fantasy film by Raoul Servais, based on a book by French writer Alain Robbe-Grillet, and starring, among others, Armin Mueller-Stahl...
(see below); - Mary la penchéeMary la penchéeMary la penchée is a work by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters....
(1995); - Le Guide des citésLe Guide des citésLe Guide des cités is a work by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters....
(1996), an illustrated tourist guide to the Obscure Cities; - L'etrange cas du docteur Abraham (2001);
- L'affaire Desombres (2002: booklet and 90-minute DVD).
The volume Voyages en Utopie (2000) presents the ongoing and completed work carried on by these two authors, in parallel with the Cités obscures series. Another book Schuiten and Peeters collaborated on in reference to Les Cités obscures is Les Portes du Possible (2005).
Counter-earth
Location and Obscure Portals
The world (or "continent", according to the authors) of the Cités obscures forms a disparate grouping of cities located on a "counter-Earth", which is invisible from our Earth because it is situated exactly opposite it on the other side of the Sun. Having said this, it should also be noted that travel between the two worlds is possible, by means of "gates" (portes) allowing passage from one to the other or - more poetically - by artistic license. These Obscure Passages are mostly to be found in buildings and constructions similar or identical to each other on both planets, whereas the distinct architectural style of a structure makes it a potential candidate to harbor an Obscure Passage to an Obscure City whose distinct style it resembles.It is not uncommon for some Earthlings and inhabitants of the Cités obscures to actually come across each other (among the most notable of these travelers may be noted Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, a recurring personage in the series). On websites such as Web of the Obscure Cities and Office of the Obscure Passages, Schuiten and Peeters present alleged reports, often illustrated with photos and drawings, from people that shortly crossed over into the world of the Obscure Cities via Obscure Passages by accident, and by so-called Obscurantists who have been seeking for Obscure Passages for years (compare Obscurantist
Obscurantism
Obscurantism is the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or the full details of some matter from becoming known. There are two, common, historical and intellectual, denotations: 1) restricting knowledge—opposition to the spread of knowledge, a policy of withholding knowledge from the...
, a term based upon the Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum
Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum
The Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum was a celebrated collection of satirical Latin letters which appeared 1515-1519 in Hagenau, Germany...
, aka "Letters of Obscure Men"). These reports on the internet correspond to the pseudorealism
Pseudorealism
Pseudorealism, also spelled pseudo-realism, is a term used in a variety of discourses connoting any artistic and dramatic technique, or work of art, film and literature perceived as superficial, not-real or non-realistic...
of Schuiten and Peeters when enclosing "authentic" documentary or amateur CDs (Le Musée A. Desombres, 1990) or DVDs (L'affaire Desombres, 2002) to their print publications regarding the Obscure Cities.
Background
Benoît Peeters had collaborated with director Raoul ServaisRaoul Servais
Raoul Servais is a Belgian filmmaker. He was born in Ostend.-Filmography:* 1963: The False Note* 1966: Chromophobia* 1968: Sirene* 1969: Goldframe* 1970: To speak or not to speak* 1971: Operation X-70...
before on a documentary entitled Servaisgraphia on Servais's unique animation style that was released in 1992. Subsequently, there is a loose connection between the increasingly multimedia series of the Obscure Cities and the Belgian fantasy film Taxandria
Taxandria (film)
Taxandria is a partially animated fantasy film by Raoul Servais, based on a book by French writer Alain Robbe-Grillet, and starring, among others, Armin Mueller-Stahl...
(1994) directed by Servais (starring, among others, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German film actor, painter, writer and musician.-Early life:Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia...
), where Schuiten served as production designer. In the Obscure Cities series, at times characters refer to the vanished city-state of Taxandria which was accidentally removed from the planet during a failed scientific experiment.
Shared themes
A common theme in steampunkSteampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
-influenced Les Cités obscures, Taxandrian clothing and technology appear to resemble Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
times on our earth, Taxandria's architecture is reminiscent of Schuiten's trademark phantasmagorical architectural fantasies, and another feature the film shares with Les Cités obscures is a bloated absurd, Kafkaesque bureaucracy. It is however under dispute among fans of the series whether Taxandria is truly one of the Obscure Cities due to a perceived appearance of a light-hearted children's fantasy movie to Servais's film.
Souvenirs de l'Eternel Présent
A reinterpreting graphic novel adaptation of the movie Taxandria was published by Schuiten and Peeters one year prior to the film's official release under the title Souvenirs de l'Eternel Présent: Variation sur le Film Taxandria de Raoul Servais (Arboris, 1993, ISBN 9034410110, ISBN 978-9034410115), also including production background informations on the film.Multimedia
Schuiten and Peeters increasingly seek to transcend their world of the Obscure Cities from graphic novels into other media to create an entire universe, even though their comic albums remain the core foundation of Schuiten and Peeters's emerging multimedia franchise.Books, CDs, films
This trend for multimedia expansion began with the book Le Mystère d'Urbicande (1985) which marked the series' acquiring a life of its own and whereby Schuiten and Peeters began to realize the true potential of their concept. Written by Belgian author and Obscure fan Thierry SmolderenThierry Smolderen
Thierry Smolderen is an essay writer, and a scenario writer of Belgian comic strips, for example of Gipsy.He is a teacher at École des Beaux-Arts of Angoulême, and he devotes his energy to realising Coconino World, the webzine he animates with some friends and former students.- External links :*...
(under the pseudonym Professeur R. de Brok), Le Mystère d'Urbicande purports to be a scientific essay bent to debunk the events of La fièvre d'Urbicande
La fièvre d'Urbicande
La fièvre d'Urbicande is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the second volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form starting in 1983 in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete volume...
, heavily annotated in emotional handwriting by Eugen Rodick, the main character of Le fièvre d'Urbicande who is now locked up in Brüsel's Sixth Hospice, the city's mental asylum. Schuiten contributed the book's illustrations under the pen-name Robert Louis Marie de la Barque (whereas the French word barque, meaning barge or rowboat in English, translates to schuiten in Dutch).
Drafting and developing stages of the above-mentioned film Taxandria
Taxandria (film)
Taxandria is a partially animated fantasy film by Raoul Servais, based on a book by French writer Alain Robbe-Grillet, and starring, among others, Armin Mueller-Stahl...
and its accompanying graphic novel adaptation began between Schuiten and Peeters as early as 1988.
In 1990, the development was further explored with Le Musée A. Desombres, an audio CD with a small booklet drawn by Schuiten, purporting to be an exhibition catalogue of paintings by Auguste Desombres, an artist living in our world in the late 19th century. The CD contains an audio play that is partly a fake report from Desombres's first exhibition, partly chronicles Desombres crossing over into the world of the Obscure Cities by accident by means of his own exhibition.
In 2002, Schuiten and Peeters published the DVD L'affaire Desombres, a sequel to Le Musée A. Desombres.
Urbicande.be
In 1996, Urbicande.be, the official website of the Obscure Cities went online where Schuiten and Peeters encouraged their fans all over Europe to send in their own ideas regarding the Obscure Cities and accounts of their own experiences in search for Obscure Passages. The response was so overwhelming that Schuiten and Peeters were able to expand their online activities into a complex network of in-universe sites, mainly branching from the URL ebbs.net of their official Obscure magazine called Obskür, where many amateur reports, illustrated by photos and Schuiten's drawings, and various mysterious Obscure artifacts can be found. Along with these, a number of conspiracy theories are explored, regarding authorities of our world intending to prevent the spread of knowledge regarding the parallel world and destroy various Obscure Passages.La maison Autrique
After having colorfully satirized the destructive modernizing fad of Bruxellisation in the Les Cités obscures album BrüselBrüsel
Brüsel is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the fifth volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete volume first in 1992 by Casterman...
in 1992, Schuiten and Peeters convinced the community of Schuiten's childhood district Schaerbeek to acquire one of the last remaining buildings in Brussels built by Art Nouveau architect Horta, La maison Autrique
Maison Autrique
The Autrique House was the first town house built by Victor Horta in the Art Nouveau style. This house built in 1893 represents an essential step in the evolution of the greatest Belgian architect. In many ways it was an innovative dwelling although it doesn't feature the novel spatial...
, and in 1999 opened a permanent pseudo-documentary exhibition inside, regarding the Obscure Cities, 19th century Art Nouveau Brussels, and detailing its ongoing Bruxellisation destruction during the 20th century, tying in with aforementioned conspiracy theories whereby Bruxellisation is supposed to be an attempt by the authorities to destroy a number of Obscure Passages situated in Brussels. In 2004, Schuiten and Peeters published the illustrated book La Maison Autrique: Métamorphose d'une maison Art Nouveau (published as Maison Autrique - Metamorphosis of an Art Nouveau House in English) about the building, its restoration during the 1990s, and Horta's life and work. Also, their latest Les Cités obscures two-part graphic novel album La Théorie du grain de sable (2007; 2008) deals with the maison Autrique.
Further reading
- Various (Schuiten & Peeters among others; 1994). Schuiten & Peeters: Autour des Cités obscures, Mosquito
- Dossier FRANCOIS SCHUITEN, in Reddition, #32, 1998 , Table of Contents & order
- Schuiten; Peeters (2000). Voyages en Utopie, Casterman
- Benoît Peeters (2004). The Book of Schuiten, MSW Medien Service Wuppertal
- 2nd edition (2004), NBM Publishing
- 3rd edition (2004), Casterman
- Schuiten; Peeters (2004). Maison Autrique - Metamorphosis of an Art Nouveau House, Ed. Les Impressions Nouvelles
- Schuiten; Peeters (2005). Les Portes du Possible, Casterman
Official sites
Caution: All official sites by Schuiten & Peeters below treat the Obscure Cities from a strictly in-universe perspective.- Urbicande, official web site of the Cités obscures (French with some English)
- Obskür, the magazine about the Obscure Cities. (French & English)
- Alta-Plana, the City of Archives, editable in-universe WikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
-style enyclopedia on Le monde obscure - Web of the Obscure Cities (French, English, Dutch)
- Office of the Obscure Passages (French & English)
- Dictionary of the Universe of the Obscure Cities (French & English)
- Luminas, Daily Newspaper of the Obscure Cities (French with some English)
- The Light (no longer updated)
- Tram 81 Graphic-intensive site about one of the Obscure Passages (French, English, Dutch)
- Cités obscures. A graphic exploratory voyage of the world
Secondary sources
- The Obscure Cities by Francois Schuiten & Benoit Peeters: A comprehensive review of the Obscure Cities series for English-speaking fans, Text: Sylvain St.-Pierre, Design: Jim Harrison, IKON Press
- Cities of the Fantastic: A Contemporary Series of Verne-inspired Graphic Novels, review of the series by Duane Spurlock, on Pulprack.com
- The Obscure Cites: An Introduction, analysis of entire series
- The World Of The Obscure Cities: A Parallel World Of Architectural Splendour, by Roel van der Meulen, on Project Galactic Guide
- Les Cités obscures, series review, also including a partial list of different editions (in French and other languages), by Julian Darius on The Continuity Pages
- Latour in Urbicande