No Man's Land Investigates Life and Death
In the wake of a national conspiracy, a hard-boiled detective finds himself on the wrong end of a death sentence. The executioner: himself, firing two suicidal shots to the head for his revealed crimes against society. However, as the bullets tear through his synapses, something strange happens. Snapping into overdrive, his brain refuses to give up without a fight, throwing him into an intense psychological odyssey of survival.
The fascinating thing about the book is that it takes place entirely in that single moment. The hero's subconscious it refusing to accept the inevitable, assembling strange scenarios to play out and blurring reality and fiction together. It's been three years in the making and serves as the sequel to 2010's Dog Crime.
The book is available now. Full press release and interiors below.
PRESS RELEASE
“complex and arresting... Blexbolex’s silkscreened prints are both retro and modern” The New York Times
In the wake of a national conspiracy, a hard-boiled detective finds himself on the wrong end of a death sentence. The executioner: himself, firing two suicidal shots to the head for his revealed crimes against society. However, as the bullets tear through his synapses, something strange happens. Snapping into overdrive, his brain refuses to give up without a fight, throwing him into an intense psychological odyssey of survival.
Taking place entirely in this one decisive moment, No Man’s Land invites the reader to witness the inner workings of a psyche hovering between life and death. With its unnamed hero’s subconscious desperately refusing to accept the inevitable, it frantically assembles ever-more bizarre and terrifying scenarios for him to play out. Taking inspiration from the conventions of popular literature, reality and fiction blur together, creating a genre spanning epic that pushes the fourth wall to the limit.
A sequel to 2010’s Dog Crime, Blexbolex picks up immediately from where the events of his mind-bending dystopian homage to detective noir left off. Once again taking inspiration from classic American pulp fiction, he draws upon his love of the classic horror, fantasy, and sci-fi magazines of the 1930s and 40s. Reinterpreting the themes and symbols of those imaginary worlds, he thoughtfully explores genre, along with our own reliance on fiction—asking
the question of why, we as readers are so attracted the fantastic.
Intelligent, experimental and full of wit, No Man’s Land satirises the mind’s ability to seduce itself—mercilessly hurtling its hero around an implausible dreamland designed to mask the processes of mortality. Known for his acclaimed children’s books such as Seasons and People, this graphic novel is a chance to see a whole new side to the French creator. Featuring the idiosyncratic art and rhythmic narrative style that have become the writer/ artist’s trademarks, this book continues Blexbolex’s reputation of redefining the potentials—and pleasures—of the illustrated story format.
Praise for Blexbolex
“Each page of No Man’s Land is a stand- alone thing of beauty. Blexbolex’s style manages to compress a century of visual storytelling, somehow bringing to mind both Frans Masereel and Richard McGuire.” Adrian Tomine, author of Optic Nerve and Shortcomings
"creamy matte paper, rich colors, and deceptively simple imagery combine to breathtaking effect, encouraging readers to take notice of fleeting detail." Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Blexbolex (born in 1966) is a multi-award winning French book illustrator working out of Berlin. His stylish and original work has been featured in Popo Color, Fusée, Ferraille and Comix 2000 (Fantagraphics). His experimental approach to combining illustration with industrial printing techniques and a depth of understanding of the book production processes makes him a true pioneer in his field. For Nobrow he has worked on his first English language books, Abecederia, Dog Crime and now No Man’s Land. In 2009, he received Leipzig Book Fair’s coveted “Best Book Design” award for the French edition of his children’s book People, and Seasons was one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Books of 2010.
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