''The Carnival of Immortals'' (french: La Foire aux immortels; also published in English as ''Gods in Chaos'' and ''A Bedlam of Immortals'') is a 1980

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

written and illustrated by the

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n-born French

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and storyteller

Enki Bilal Enki Bilal (born Enes Bilal; born 7 October 1951) is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director. Biography Early life Bilal was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from ...

. It is the first part of the

Nikopol Trilogy ''The Nikopol Trilogy'' is a series of three science fiction graphic novels written in French by Yugoslavian-born Enki Bilal, published between 1980 and 1992. The original French titles of the series are ''La Foire aux immortels'' (1980), '' La F ...

, followed up by ''

La Femme piège LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (''The Woman Trap'') in 1986 and ending with ''

Froid Équateur (published in English as ''Equator Cold'' and ''Cold Equator'') is a science fiction graphic novel published in 1992, written and illustrated by Yugoslavian-French cartoonist and storyteller Enki Bilal. It is the third and final part of the ''Ni ...

'' (''Equator Cold'') in 1992. In 2004, Bilal directed the film adaptation ''

Immortel (Ad Vitam) ''Immortal'' ( French: ''Immortel, ad vitam'') is a 2004 English language French live-action and animated science fiction film co-written and directed by Enki Bilal and starring Linda Hardy, Thomas Kretschmann and Charlotte Rampling. It is loosel ...

'', although many plot elements were changed from the comic book. ''La Foire aux immortels'' is regarded as one of the most original science fiction comics which have revolutionised the conventions of comic art.

Plot

Set in the year 2023, the book follows Alcide Nikopol's return to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

after spending 30 years frozen in space as a punishment for dodging the draft. The Paris he once knew is now ruled by

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

J. F. Choublanc, the city is swarming with aliens, decaying and succumbing to chaos. At the same time, a flying

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

-shaped

space craft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to spaceflight, fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth ...

is hovering over Paris. It is inhabited by

Egyptian gods Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural fo ...

who ask for

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

from the local authorities, as their pyramid vessel has run out of gas. In return for this service Choublanc wants immortality from the gods. One renegade god,

Horus Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...

, meets up with the disillusioned Nikopol in the

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

, and Nikopol agrees to allow Horus control of his body. Together they go on a journey to oppose the corrupt and megalomaniacal powers of the 21st century.

References

External links

The Nikopol Trilogy at Humanoids Publishing

La Foire aux Immortels at Les Humanoïdes Associés
1980 comics debuts Comics by Enki Bilal French graphic novels 1 Science fiction comics Comics set in the 2020s {{FrancoBelgian-comics-stub