NEW !

At last you can now discover the first book of a new series: Primordial Chronicles.
The first volume is called "The Schools of Arsamia", the first part of a 2 books saga.

Things Have Got to Change

At this time, you've probably noticed, everybody's hoping for some changes.
Well, in this book you won't be disappointed. . .

A Change of Partnership :

For the Altor series I've had the great pleasure of working with Jean Giraud/Moebius. This time it's another friend, Jag, who gave me a hand to weave the intricate background of "Primordial Chronicles."

A Change of Publisher :

Dargaud, publisher of Altor and Sylfeline, was at first going to release the Chronicles. With the impressive increase in their new series however, they quickly changed their mind prefering instead that I work on a new Altor book. I was quite a ways along into my new project, and I chose to stay with it. It turned out Les Editions Soleil grabbed the opportunity.

A Change of Format :

Gone are the collections of ordinary book prints; the Chronicles have graduated to oversize format with a superior print quality on beautiful glossy paper.

A Change of Price :

Well, yes, no pain no gain... You ought to find it for around 78 FF, which is still reasonable.

A Change of Tone :

That's no doubt the most important change for me. Indeed, the Chronicles stand apart from Altor by specifically addressing a more adult audience. I wanted a more mature tone, a more sober drawing quality, for a much denser story. Altor is a character that gives me lots of satisfaction, for it allows me to express a light, luminous, magical dimension. But I couldn't manage to make him deal with more substantial issues, more realistic situations. The character hasn't much of a sexuality for instance. I attempted to nudge him in a more realistic direction, but it is said that the characters one creates acquire their own personality -- that's totally true. I simply couldn't make him do things that didn't belong to his persona.
With the Chronicles, really wanted to stage more grown up characters, with more complex traits. Nonetheless, if the tone has changed, my approach and sensibility stay the same. I intend to tell stories that can be read at many levels, either as an entertaining adventure, or as a means to wonder about the burning questions of what we are, what keeps us moving on, and in what direction. And may the journey continue, beyond pictures and words...

The Story :

Remember, 3.5 billion years ago...

A brilliant culture is blossoming on the planet Mars, then called Arsamia. Hailing from every world of the Confederation, students flock there in the hope of joining the famous schools of Arsamia, for the greatest combat skills are taught there, for defensive purposes.

The school of Scients, which teaches all the means to neutralize an opponent without every touching him in any way.
The school of hand-to-hand combat, where one learns to defend oneself with strength and physical ability, without the aid of weapon technology.
The school of techno-warriors, who study the use of every highly sophisticated weapon that a fighter could need.
The school of global weaponry, which molds military engineers capable of raising high-tech defense systems on a planetary scale.

In spite of its warrior nature, Arsamia has proudly grown into a pacific world.
But will it remain so?
What is being plotted on Taenoura, its neighbouring planet?
Why are these warnings coming from the officers of Internal Unity?

The history of mankind may not have begun on Earth...

The Bande a Bulles company has published a special edition of the drawing you see here, which shows the heros of the story.

It's a "quadri serigraph", 35 x 50 cm, 100 limited prints, to be ordered from:

La Bande a Bulle, 28 chemin des Tourdes
06620 Le Bar sur Loup.
France

Cost: 160 FF including postage in France.

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The pictures included in this page are all © Marc Bati & Soleil Editions, and reproduced here with kind authorization of Marc Bati. They're here for the pleasure of your eyes. Please be kind enough not to take them for a commercial purpose nor misappropriate them in any way.