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''Les Cités obscures'' (literally ''The Obscure Cities'', but initially published in English as ''Cities of the Fantastic'') 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 fictional world, humans live in independent city-states, each of which has developed a distinct civilization, each characterized by a distinctive architectural style. The full series is available in most Western European languages (in French and Dutch by Casterman, in German, Spanish, and Portuguese by local publishing houses) and other French speaking countries (in francophone Canada by Editions Flammarion). While the first five books of the series had been published in English by NBM Publishing, they discontinued publishing the series in 2008, with the editions going out of print. After a successful kickstarter campaign in mid 2013, Alaxis Press (an imprint of Atomic Vision Entertainment, Inc. and named after the "sulphuric" ''Obscure City'' of Alaxis) were able to fund a complete official English-language edition of ''The Leaning Girl'' (1996; volume 6 of the official series) and ''Leaning Mary'' (1995; spin-off picture book). ''The Leaning Girl'' is slated for release in February 2014, with ''The Theory of the Grain of Sand'' to follow in November 2015.〔(''The Obscure Cities.com'' ), official website of English-language publisher Alaxis Press and their Kickstarter campaign to bring the complete series to the Anglosphere〕〔Schuiten & Peeters (2013). (Official announcement ) of the English-language publishing project of Alaxis Press by Schuiten & Peeters on their official Facebook profile (''Alta-Plana, archives of the Obscure Cities'' ), January 27, 2013〕〔(Entry ) for ''Alaxis Press'' on ''Alta-Plana'', editable Wiki-style encyclopedia on the ''Obscure Cities''〕 ''The Leaning Girl'' received a 2015 Eisner Award nomination as ''Best U.S. Edition of International Material''.〔(2015 Eisner Award Nominations ), Comic Con International〕 Alaxis Press has also stated that they plan to release the rest of the untranslated books (including all rare spin-off materials), before going back and releasing new editions of the books previously released by NBM Publishing.〔http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/59982-alaxis-press-to-publish-obscure-cities-graphic-novels-in-english.html〕 == Background == Schuiten's graphic representations and architectural styles within ''Les Cités obscures'' is, among other historical themes, heavily influenced by Belgian Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta, who worked in Brussels at the turn of the 20th century. An important motif is the process of what he calls ''Bruxellisation'', the destruction of this historic Brussels in favor of anonymous, low-quality modernist office and business buildings. Coming from a family of architects, Schuiten had many relatives, especially his father and brothers, who were instrumental in ''Bruxellisation'', an important part in Schuiten's and Peeters' 1950s childhood memories of the city. Schuiten 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 ''Pilote'' magazine 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 torn down, and in Schuiten's world this was the true reason for chaotic, headless ''Bruxellisation'' where functional and organic buildings were destroyed in favor of ill-planned, 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 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'' were laid down since the late 1980s. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Les Cités obscures」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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