Grandville Bête Noire annotations

Go to any of the Bête Noire annotations pages:

- Batch 1 for pages 1 to 20

- Batch 2 for pages 21 to 40

- Batch 3 for pages 41 to 60

- Batch 4 for pages 61 to the end

 

Also see the annotations for all of the other Grandville graphic novels:

- Grandville

- Grandville Mon Amour

- Grandville Noël

- Grandville Force Majeure


Grandville Force Majeure original art and other Bryan Talbot artwork now on sale

Page 54 of Grandville Force Majeure by Bryan Talbot

Grandville Force Majeure original artwork is now available to buy.


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New Grandville miniatures are now available

Grandville miniature figures on sale at Crooked Staff

The Crooked Dice site now has not only LeBrock and Ratzi and Billie miniatures - but also Chance Lucas, Hawksmoor, Koenig and more!



Buy the Heart of Empire Directors Cut

This labour of love from Bryan and myself contains every single page of Heart of Empire in pencil, ink and final full colour format - as well as over 60,000 words of annotation, commentary and explanation from Bryan... - as well as the whole of the Adventures of Luther Arkwright!

Or see the Heart of Empire Directors Cut page for more details.



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But the whole of the original Bryan Talbot fanpage is still online


Grandville Mon Amour annotations - batch 3

The Grandville Bete Noire logo, by Bryan Talbot

Grandville Bête Noire annotations - page 3

This is similar in concept to the Directors Cut of Heart of Empire that Bryan and myself created: it is an attempt to answer the eternal "where do you get your ideas from?" question, and a way to showcase the influences and images that went into the creation of Grandville.

Below are the annotations for the Grandville Bête Noire pages 40 to 59.

We are publishing updates to this page every Sunday and we will cover the entire Grandville series. Also see the annotations to the first Grandville Graphic Novel, and the second, Grandville Mon Amour.

Start reading the annotations below, or jump to page 42, page 44, page 45, page 46, page 48, page 49, page 50, page 51, page 54, page 55, page 56, page 57 and page 59.

Page 42

Panel 2 and 3

Rodericks (correct) advice on handling a posh meal place-setting.

Roderick’s advice is correct.

Diagram of how to lay out a posh dinner setting

Panel 4
Cherie starts flirting: see page 38, panel 6 notes.

Panels 8 – 12
The Kalahari gang are introduced here, and seen later on in the book. They’re meerkats, which do indeed live in the Kalahari Desert in tribes or “clans”. They return to play a vital role in Force Majeure.

Page 44

Panel 4
Professor Agatha Ursine is introduced. Named after “the Queen of Crime”, Agatha Christie, we actually meet her in Grandville Noël. Ursine: relating to or resembling bears (which she is).

Page 45

Panel 1
The east entrance of the Louvre.

Panel 4
This gallery is based on one in the Louvre.

This gallery is based on one in the Louvre.

The paintings are all adapted from works by Peter Paul Reubens (1577 – 1640) of which the Louvre has a fair number.

I was quite pleased with the parquet floor, which I made by copying a metre square sample from a flooring store advert, making a large area by duplicating and fitting sections together, then putting it into perspective and adding the shines and shadows.

Page 46

Panels 1 – 3
I thought the comic timing worked very well here, especially on the last panel, where there’s a noticeable pause because of the placement of the 3rd balloon.

I thought the comic timing worked very well here, especially on the last panel, where there’s a noticeable pause because of the placement of the 3rd balloon.

Panel 4
This place is based on the Louvre’s Great Gallery.

This place is based on the Louvre’s Great Gallery.

The large painting is an anthropomorphic version of The Raft of the Medusa (Le Radeau de la Medusa) by Théodore Géricault (1791 – 1824), which does hang in the Louvre.

The large painting is an anthropomorphic version of The Raft of the Medusa (Le Radeau de la Medusa) by Théodore Géricault (1791 – 1824), which does hang in the Louvre.

The large painting is an anthropomorphic version of The Raft of the Medusa (Le Radeau de la Medusa) by Théodore Géricault (1791 – 1824), which does hang in the Louvre.

For the other painting, see notes page 49, panel 3.

Page 48

The paintings: From left to right:

The Enchanted Pool by Edward Henry Potthaste (1857 – 1927)

The Enchanted Pool by Edward Henry Potthaste (1857 – 1927)

The famous Olympia by Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883). Very suitable for Billie as it does depict a prostitute, and was extremely shocking to audiences of its day.

The famous Olympia by Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883). Very suitable for Billie as it does depict a prostitute, and was extremely shocking to audiences of its day.

The famous Olympia by Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883). Very suitable for Billie as it does depict a prostitute, and was extremely shocking to audiences of its day.

Evening Mood by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 – 1905)

Evening Mood by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 – 1905)

Evening Mood by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 – 1905)

Panel 3
All of Rocher’s descriptions, and the symbols depicted are correct.

Panel 5
In case you’re wondering, the painting in the background is The Oath of the Horatii by by Jacques Louis David (1748 – 1845)

In case you’re wondering, the painting in the background is The Oath of the Horatii by by Jacques Louis David (1748 – 1845)

Page 49

Panel 3
The painting in the background here and in panel 7 is taken from La Comtesse del Carpio, Marquise de la Solana by Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828), which does hang in the Louvre.

The painting in the background here and in panel 7 is taken from La Comtesse del Carpio, Marquise de la Solana by Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828), which does hang in the Louvre.

The painting in the background here and in panel 7 is taken from La Comtesse del Carpio, Marquise de la Solana by Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828), which does hang in the Louvre.

Panel 6
As mentioned, the chimp is a micky-take of Toulouse-Lautrec, who was indeed a man for the ladies.

Page 50

Panel 4
Greater Crested Newts, very common in stretches of water when I was a boy, are an endangered species.

Panel 6
The text that’s being waved is actually a page from the Communist Manifesto, hand-written by Karl Marx.

Page 51

All the paintings are made up, taken from close-up details of figurative paintings and messed-around with in Photoshop, but they are supposed to be similar to those of Gerhard Richter (1932)

Panel 2
Pollo: Italian for chicken. Obviously a joke referencing the name of the famous abstract artist Jackson Pollock.

Panel 5
As previously mentioned in the Grandville annotations, Sarah Blairow (FR. Blaireau: badger) was a version of Sarah Bernhardt, who was known as “The Divine Sarah”.

Page 54

Panel 1
The giraffe's vacuous piece of drivel in his first balloon is actually quoted verbatim from an invitation to a private view I received for an exhibition of the work of a little-known abstract artist a few years ago, I forget who. The review was so ludicrous that I copied it down at the time.

The giraffe’s vacuous piece of drivel in his first balloon is actually quoted verbatim from an invitation to a private view I received for an exhibition of the work of a little-known abstract artist a few years ago, I forget who.

Panel 2
The scrap between the traditionalists and the “New Wave” was inspired by an actual event: the riot that broke out during the Paris debut of experimental musician George Antheil in 1923 that involved several famous artists. Here’s the page that deals with it from the first graphic novel that I drew that was written by my wife Mary, Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes.

The scrap between the traditionalists and the “New Wave” was inspired by an actual event: the riot that broke out during the Paris debut of experimental musician George Antheil in 1923 that involved several famous artists. Here’s the page that deals with it from the first graphic novel that I drew that was written by my wife Mary, Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes.

Panel 4
EEE-URP! : I wonder if anyone got this? It’s a reference to an episode of The Avengers from 1967 entitled The Winged Avenger. Inspired by the then popularity of the Adam West Batman TV Series, it featured a murderer who dressed as the eponymous hawk-headed comic book villain and included illustrations by the veteran master comic artist Frank Bellamy. His battle cry was “EEE-URP!”, something that the writers must have thought sounded comic-booky.

It’s a reference to an episode of The Avengers from 1967 entitled The Winged Avenger. Inspired by the then popularity of the Adam West Batman TV Series, it featured a murderer who dressed as the eponymous hawk-headed comic book villain and included illustrations by the veteran master comic artist Frank Bellamy.

"Warts and all": This phrase is supposedly what Oliver Cromwell, "Lord Protector" of England following The English Civil War, said to artist Peter Lely as he began to paint his portrait. He saw himself as a military man and, rather than have a flattering representation, such as the in the royal paintings that Levy had previously done, he wanted something down-to-earth and realistic. What he reportedly said was "Mr Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it."

Page 55

Panel 1
“There’s a place in France where the naked ladies dance”: a line from the bawdy alternative lyrics to the 1890s ballad The Streets of Cairo. The song is no longer famous, but I bet you’d recognise the tune. As a clue, it’s often known as The Snake Charmer’s Song.

Panel  6
“Such strains as would have won the ear of Pluto, to have quite set free, his half-reagained Eurydice”. John Milton (1608 – 1674). As an aristocrat, the newt would have had the benefit of a classical education.

Panel 7
The air gun is based on one that I snapped in the Police Museum of Paris (Le Musée de la Prefecture), which is housed in the police station of the 5th arrondisement, which is a bit unnerving to be in, as it’s milling with suspects and perps the cops have arrested or have taken in for questioning. It’s strictly forbidden to take photos in there, which is why the snaps are a bit blurry, taken with the flash off and held so as not to be spotted by the surveillance cameras.

The air gun is based on one that I snapped in the Police Museum of Paris (Le Musée de la Prefecture), which is housed in the police station of the 5th arrondisement, which is a bit unnerving to be in, as it’s milling with suspects and perps the cops have arrested or have taken in for questioning. It’s strictly forbidden to take photos in there, which is why the snaps are a bit blurry, taken with the flash off and held so as not to be spotted by the surveillance cameras.

The air gun is based on one that I snapped in the Police Museum of Paris (Le Musée de la Prefecture), which is housed in the police station of the 5th arrondisement, which is a bit unnerving to be in, as it’s milling with suspects and perps the cops have arrested or have taken in for questioning. It’s strictly forbidden to take photos in there, which is why the snaps are a bit blurry, taken with the flash off and held so as not to be spotted by the surveillance cameras.

Page 56

This setting is visually based on the grounds of the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries (literally “Garden of the Tileries”) next to it. Next page, LeBrock refers to it as the “Tilery Gardens”, continuing the conceit that runs through the series, that everybody is speaking French and we’re “hearing” continuous translation.

Page 57

Panel 5
Estimating a person’s height by observing the length of stride between footprints is a Holmesian deduction that I lifted from the very first Holmes story A Study in Scarlet (1887). I added the boot size.

Panel 4
Waterloo Boulevard: in this alternative world, Napoleon won the Battle of Waterloo and it seems likely that he could have named the road leading up the Arc de Triomphe monument, which he commissioned and honours those who died fighting for France, after this great victory. It is, of course, the Champs-Élysées.

Krapaud Tower: named after Trump Tower.

Panel 6
Yet another example of keeping a surprise from the readers until they turn the page, which I do, where possible, throughout the series. It really is important to keep “reveals” hidden. When reading a comic, we read the text in a linear way, but our eyes take in both pages at once. We can’t stop them from flitting around. French comic academics call it “glissage” (sliding). It’s also why it’s important to design facing pages at the same time, to make sure they work together, both visually and in storytelling terms.

Page 59

Panel 1
And here is the Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background, which turns out to be the location of Toad Hall.

And here is the Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background, which turns out to be the location of Toad Hall.

Also see the pages for Grandville Bête Noire pages 60 to the end.